Darling - Just another Hor-Com!

It makes me wonder whether a good number of directors in Kollywood are currently being possessed with the horror genre. ‘Darling’ being the latest instalment under the horror comedy genre, draws its origin from its original in Telugu, ‘Prema Katha Charithram’. GV Prakash, makes his debut as an actor and Nikki Galrani from Sandalwood debuts as the heroine. Balasaravanan who was seen in minor roles has been given a beefy role and he manages to make us tickle along with Karunas.

The plot was as lame as its characters - 3 friends (GV, Nikki and Balasaravanan) decide to commit suicide at a secluded place. Before that they want to freak out and enjoy (this by itself slimly draws a parallel with the yesteryear movie, ‘Vaaname Ellai’ directed by late Mr.KB!). They land up at a farm house in ECR. There is a twist in the tale and the supernatural element kicks-in. The rest of the story deals with how everyone gets out of the mess.

One of the key strengths of the movie was that debutant director Sam Anton knew what would work to strike a momentary laughter. Of course slapstick elements were exploited thoroughly, but the mockery of the ghost and the accompanying supernatural element was something that was leveraged to its fullest in order to make the humor work, even though many of the tropes that were employed occur repeatedly. Especially the episode involving ‘Ghost Gopal Varma’ was some piece of funny writing. Almost the ushering in of the spirit was controlled with poise - whenever the girl is ‘touched’ she gets possessed and this trope was used to dish out the humor element in the script as well.

At the end, the reason for the possession of the spirit is nothing but an age-old cliche that gives way to some throwback and cliched masala elements like a revenge saga and a climax fight that serves as that boring piece of dessert for a rather bland meal that was served in an unconventional way.

The movie was clearly aimed at masses, serving as a safe ‘entry vehicle’ for the music director turned actor, ‘GVP’, with loads of commercial elements tucked in with toppings of equal doses of humor and supernatural thrills, which is the hottest flavor currently in Kollywood! Why complain if you can mindlessly laugh for just a little over 2 hours without paying much heed to the story and its goofy presentation.

Verdict: Average

Rating: 2 / 5