Most Telugu Horror Movies
Maya Malbon
Arundhati is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language horror fantasy film[3] directed by Kodi Ramakrishna, and produced by Shyam Prasad Reddy, under his banner, Mallemala Entertainments. The film stars Anushka Shetty in the title role with Sonu Sood, Arjan Bajwa, Sayaji Shinde, Manorama, and Kaikala Satyanarayana. The music is composed by Koti with cinematography by K. K. Senthil Kumar and editing by Marthand K. Venkatesh.
Released on 16 January 2009, the film was a major commercial success and went onto become one of the highest-grossing Telugu films in history at the time.[2] The success of the film turned Anushka into a major movie star overnight in Telugu cinema.[4] The film received several accolades, including ten Nandi Awards, and two Filmfare Awards South.
Arundhati, a woman believed to be the reincarnation of her great-grandmother Jejamma, is engaged to Rahul. While traveling to Gadwal, one of her relatives Ramana and his wife Susheela encounter a mysterious entity and are led to an abandoned mansion. Inside, they encounter a tomb and are trapped in an illusion created by the entity. Arundhati's family arrives in Gadwal due to an accident caused by the entity to her grandfather Bhupathi Raja jr. Arundhati seeks the help of Anwar, a Fakir, who warns her about the danger but she ignores him. Arundhati is later lured by the entity to the abandoned mansion, and is stopped by a man. She ignores him and enters the mansion. She encounters the tomb, but is pulled out by Anwar, who warns her by showing a ghost.
Pasupathi manipulates Ramana to release his spirit from the tomb, and he terrorizes Arundhati. Anwar and Chandramma intervene, and Arundhati learns she is Jejamma's reincarnation. Pasupathi's spirit caused destruction in Gadwal despite being sealed in the tomb. Jejamma visits Aghoras and sacrifices herself to create a weapon from her bones.
Arundhati and Anwar set out to retrieve the weapon, but Pasupathi threatens Rahul and causes an accident. Arundhati returns to rescue Rahul but encounters Pasupathi. Chandramma is killed, and Arundhati confronts Pasupathi to surrender herself to him for sex before killing her. Anwar gives her the weapon, when Pasupathy tries to force her to have sex with him but before he can explain its power, Pasupathi kills him. Arundhati stabs herself with the weapon, becoming stronger, and kills Pasupathi. The manor is destroyed, and Arundhati is presumed dead.
Shyam Prasad Reddy revealed that he got the idea of Arundhati while receiving National Awards for the film Anji (2004).[1] Being inspired from films like Chandramukhi and The Exorcist, he made it a female-oriented story "for a bigger appeal so that the entire family could watch it. I added classical dance to it. I wanted to mount the film on a grandeur scale.[sic] I wanted to play the film on 'fear of the evil spirit'. Arundhati is about good fighting evil. Hence I had to make sure that both the characters of Arundhati and Pasupati equally powerful [sic]".[1][6]
Shyam Prasad Reddy wanted somebody with a 5'10" (5 feet 10 inches) height and "should look royal because she is the queen, and she rides on horses and elephants". Gemini Kiran suggested Shyam Prasad Reddy to choose Anushka for the role. After conducting her photoshoot, Shyam Prasad Reddy explained the story and Arundhati's characterisation.[1] Reddy wanted Tamil actor Pasupathy to enact the role of an antagonist of the same name but since the character has "a royal side to the character where he has to look princely", he had chosen Sonu Sood for the role after seeing his performance in Ashok (2006).[1]
For the characterisation of Fakir who helps Anushka's character in the present era, Shyam Prasad Reddy drew inspiration from the priest character in the 1976 American horror film The Omen.[6] He considered Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar and Atul Kulkarni for the role; however, none of their dates were available. Sayaji Shinde was finally chosen for the character.[1]
Filming took around 250 days, in Hyderabad and other places. The interior of the place is shot at the Annapurna Studios, while the exterior was at Banganapalle fort at Kurnool.[7][8] Filming also took place at Ramanaidu Studios. The drum dance involving Anushka choreographed by Sivashankar who "had to coordinate with the graphics team to get the exact precision" and was shot for 45 days at a set erected at Annapoorna Studios.[9] The costumes for Anushka was designed by Deepa Joshi.[10] According to the film's cinematographer Senthilkumar, they used Motion control camera for the first time in Telugu cinema that "could shoot glittering fort and dilapidated fort with the same motion control."[11]
Sowmya Sharma had dubbed for the character of modern-day Arundhati and Shilpa for Jejjama. Dubbing voice for Sonu Sood was provided by P. Ravishankar. Ravishankar completed the dubbing within 14 days and found it to be "most challenging work" and his voice "has gone sore for 5 times during this process".[12]
Rahul Nambiar was appointed as Creative Director and Visual Effects Supervisor by Shyam Prasad Reddy for this feature film. Nambiar felt that showcasing a ghost as the main villain, throughout the film was challenging. With help of some dedicated scenes written, visualization, and visual effects, Nambiar and his team could achieve and what they had planned with Reddy.[13][14]
Nambiar also stated "We created all the action in computer dolls, animated all of them and added all the film cameras and made it like a film. We saw it as a rough edit and then we shot it. There was a lot of meticulous work. The pre-production itself took about seven months".[15]
The music and background music of this film was composed by Koti. The soundtrack was critically acclaimed. Especially the tracks "Jejamma", "Chandamama" and "Bhu Bhu" and in Tamil "Bhoomi Kodhikum", "Gummiruttil Kudamkizhithu kundril ezhum", "Enna Viratham Ettrai Neeyamma" were huge hits. The album featured eminent singers like K. S. Chithra, Kailash Kher, Kalpana Raghavendar and N. C. Karunya. Koti, while speaking said that this film helped him to prove himself and in his career of 30 years this was his personal best. The track "Jejamma" required a majestic and ambient grandeur, so Koti selected Kailash Kher. The track "Bhu Bhu" took many days for Koti to compose and he felt it should be sung by an amazing singer who could aptly give the ferocious feel and hence went with Chithra. Lyrics were written by Veturi for "Bhu Bhu Bhujangam", Anant Sriram for "Chandamama", and C. Narayana Reddy for "Jejamma". This album features four songs and three instrumentals.[16]
The Tamil dubbed version of the film, which was distributed by Sri Thenandal Films, was released on 20 March 2009.[17] The film received an "A" certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification for excessive violence and gore.
Arundhati's success turned Anushka into one of the most sought-after actresses in Telugu and catapulted her into the foray of leading Telugu actresses.[24] Sonu Sood attained stardom with this film and went on to work in several South Indian films as an antagonist. After the release of Arundhati, people began recognising him as Pasupathi. P. Ravishankar who dubbed for him also became popular and was referred to as 'Bommali or Bommali Ravi Shankar' by the media thereafter.[25]
But Indian film audiences have no dearth of horror movies to call their own. With elaborate folklore to draw from, Indian horror cinema has a style of its own, and when it comes to the regional South Indian film industries, they have mastered an even more idiosyncratic take on the horror genre. From mind-bending thrillers that remind you of the horror offerings of Japanense and Korean horror cinema to fully-fledged entertainment packages featuring action, comedy, and a healthy serving of the paranormal, here are 14 of the best South Indian horror movies you need to watch.
Directed by acclaimed Tamil director Mysskin, the 2014 movie Pisaasu made a definite mark on its viewers with its unique take on the horror genre, blending it with heartfelt romantic notes. The movie begins with an up-and-coming violinist named Siddharth, played by Naga, witnessing a violent accident one day. A compassionate man, he is moved to help the victim to the fullest and rushes her to the hospital, where she passes away while holding hands with the protagonist. Following this incident, strange events begin taking place at his home, and Siddharth finds himself heading towards a discovery that will move him to his very core.
The 2022 Malayalam-language film Kumari is one of the most memorable horror offerings to come out of India recently. A unique and well-realized premise combines the eerie familiarity of Indian mythologies with the terrifying unknowability of classic Lovecraftian mysteries. Actress Aishwarya Lekshmi appears in the leading role as the titular Lekshmi, an exuberant young woman who is unceremoniously married off to a village far away. Even as she tries to make the best of her circumstances, her life is thrown into terrors of the cosmic variety. She discovers that the family she has married into is under the debt of an otherworldly entity, and her soon-to-be born child might be at imminent risk because of it.
Kumari is an excellent watch among South Indian horror movies with its superior ambiance. It develops its story less with idle plot points and more with its compelling atmosphere, which continuously whispers through each frame to craft a truly memorable watch.
Telugu-language film Arundhati falls more in line with the standard horror offering that comes out of the regional South Indian film industries. Anushka Shetty, who is effectively the default choice for powerful women leads in Telugu cinema, appears as the titular character in this movie about reincarnation and powerful occultist spirits. Written as a chapter in the lore of an ancient royal clan, Arundhati centers around the enmity between an illustrious heir of the Gadwal royal clan and an evil sorcerer who desires her. As supernatural elements come into play, it is only until two generations later that the saga is finally concluded.
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