AGADHA MOVIE REVIEW &RATING

Banner: Sri Adi Varaha Productions
Cast: Kamakshi Bhaskarla, Shravan Reddy, Ulka Gupta, Jovika Vijaykumar, Bhanu Chander, Shiju, Vanitha Vijaykumar, Roshan Basheer, Shreya Rani Reddy, Viva Raghava, Robert Master, Aarna Muler, Kanakavva and others
Music Director: Rakesh Venkatapuram
DOP: Nani Chamidisetty
Editor: Junaid Siddiqui
Production Designer: Rajeev Nair
Producer: Kasi Visalakshi Balusu
Written and Directed by: M.S. Raju
Release Date: August 14, 2026

MS Raju, the successful producer of films like Okkadu, Varsham, and Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana, turned director and ventured into bold filmmaking with Dirty Hari. He has now entered the horror genre where the divinity wins over evil, with his latest directorial, expressing strong confidence in its success.

Does the film live up to his confidence? Let’s find out.

Story
A writer travels to a remote village in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, to write about Mahadevi (Kamakshi), a woman believed to possess divine powers and the ability to deal with ghosts.

When Mahadevi learns that her cousin Mahima (Ulka Gupta) has committed suicide, she begins investigating what really happened.

Mahima and her boyfriend had earlier ventured into a cave deep inside the forest, where they encountered an evil force called Agadha.

The entity vows to kill every member of Mahima’s family. Why does it target them? And can Mahadevi stop it?

Performances
Kamakshi Bhaskarla fits the lead role well and carries the traditional attire and appearance required for her character and setting. She is particularly effective in latter part of the movie.

Shravan Reddy plays a dual role and is more convincing in the negative shades. Ulka Gupta is just okay, with most of her performance limited to weepy scenes. Jovika Vijaykumar makes a decent impression as a teenager possessed by a spirit.

Bhanu Chander is wasted in a role that offers very little scope. Vanitha also fails to make an impact. The characters played by the writer and her boyfriend lack importance and hardly contribute to the narrative. Sijju appears briefly.

Technical Aspects
The cinematography is the strongest technical aspect of Agadha. The visuals effectively create the feeling of being deep inside a dense forest. The production design complements the setting.

The background score is good, while editing is also fine. One good thing about teh film is that it has no songs that disturb the narrative.

Highlights
The climax twist
Cinematography

Drawbacks
Lack of novelty in the horror genre
Forced characters
Cliched episodes

Analysis
“Agadha” belongs to the horror-drama genre with the element of divinity winning over evil. Indian horror films often bring in a goddess or divine force to counter an evil entity, much like how Hollywood horror films frequently use Christian symbolism. This ultimately creates a familiar God-versus-demon template. “Agadha” follows the same basic structure, with the setting and packaging being its primary differences.

Writer-director MS Raju places the story largely in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, and partly in Saluru, Andhra Pradesh, using tribal, forest and hill regions as the backdrop.

The film takes a conventional route, but the first half is weighed down by multiple subplots and flashbacks. In fact, the entire first half essentially functions as one long flashback, with the narrative eventually reaching the point where the movie initially began.

The subplot involving Ulka Gupta and her boyfriend entering a cave and encountering strange incidents has some intrigue. Unfortunately, the rest of the proceedings fail to generate much excitement. The first half is extremely passive and lacks the thrills expected from a horror film.

The second half is comparatively better. It introduces a couple of twists, including one involving the villain and another concerning Mahadevi. The best episode in the film, however, comes just before the climax, involving kala tantra. This sequence provides the film with the kind of intensity that was largely missing earlier.

The climax is effective, and the second half is clearly an improvement over the first. Yet, “Agadha” struggles to offer anything new to the horror genre. It largely follows a familiar template seen in several Indian horror dramas and, at times, even reminds us of MS Raju’s own production Devi.

Several characters are also poorly integrated into the narrative. Actors such as Bhanu Chander and Vanitha, along with the writer and her boyfriend, appear to have little importance beyond getting an occasional scene or two. Their presence often makes the proceedings look unintentionally silly.

The film also suffers from abrupt scene transitions and continuity issues, particularly in the first half.

Overall, “Agadha” does not provide excitment. It neither scares nor thrills consistently. Apart from the kala tantra episode and a few portions in the second half, it remains a routine horror drama. The ending also hints at a possible second part.

Bottom Line: Cliched Horror

THE SOUTH INDIA TIMES RATING _3.5/5.