Movie: Lapachhapi Rating: ★★★ Genres: Horror Censor: A Duration: 130 min. Studio: Wild Elephants Motion Pictures, A Midas Touch Movies Producer(s): Jitendra Patil, Aroona B. Bhat Director: Vishal Furia Writer: Vishal Furia, Vishal Kapoor Cinematography (DOP): Chandan Kowli Cast: : Pooja Sawant, Usha Naik, Vikram Gaikwad, Anil Gawas, Hridaynath Rane, Aparna Ambawane, Dhanashree Khandkar Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke

Inspired by Foreign and Bollywood films, many Marathi film makers have attempted horror filled films in the past. During the past few years there were horror based Marathi films like ‘Aik‘, ‘Yeda‘, ‘702 Dixits‘, ‘Dhyanimani‘ & ‘Kanika‘ to name a few. But, none of them received the desired response from the audience. However, writer director Vishal Furia thought it the other way. Through his latest released debut Marathi film as a director, he has presented one such relevant social subject, set on the backdrop of horror taking place at a deserted place in a village.

So, from the very beginning of the film, the audience is hammered with the horror filled happenings, giving a clear indication to them, about what will be the next surprise . But, the bold and beautiful Neha( Pooja Sawant) who is 8 months pregnant, arrives in this village along with her insolvent husband( Vikram Gaikwad) to take shelter in the old house vacated by a older couple Bhaurao( Anil Gavas) and Tulsabai( Usha Naik) known to her husband.

Pooja experiences strange happenings in the so called haunted house located within the wide spread sugarcane fields. But, being a bold woman, she takes up the challenge and turns a protagonist, to understand the real reasons behind all such happenings. She not only fights injustice on women but also the blind faith practiced by the old couple. Her illusions show her the way, which helps her to uncover the mystery. Certain scenes in this film are beyond convincing and have no logical thinking, but the presentation part of the film is good, to keep the audience guessing till the horror filled climax.

Writer director Vishal Furia, himself being a VFX expert, could plan the sequences very well, so as to create the desired horror impact cleverly, on many occasions. The selection of artistes for the five important characters and few others has been perfect. Pooja Sawant gets an opportunity to display her real acting talent and she has performed very well. This performance will surely find her better offers from other Marathi film makers. Another female artist Usha Naik is highly impressive through her superb performance. Excellent support comes from Vikram Gaikwad and Anil Gavas, though they don’t have much to offer.

Wonderful sound design, background music, besides splendid cinematography Chandan Kowli and superb art direction Satish Bidkar are the other plus points of ‘Lapachhapi‘ film. Technically, it is a well made film and will surely impress horror film lovers. In short, it is a horror filled film with the game of illusions. However, pregnant women and people with weak heart should stay away from this film, as there are few violence filled scenes, besides some terrifying shots with creepy music.