KAKUDA is an engaging and entertaining flick. It had a chance of working in cinemas Movie Review: KAKUDA is an engaging and entertaining flick.

Star Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Sonakshi Sinha, Saqib Saleem

Director: Aditya Sarpotdar

Kakuda Movie Review Synopsis:
KAKUDA is the story of a wife trying to rescue her husband. The village of Rataudi is haunted by a midget ghost called Kakuda. The ghost roams in the village every Tuesday at 7:15 pm. All villages have two doors – one for normal-sized adults and a small one for Kakuda to enter. The villagers need to keep the smaller door open at 7:15 pm on Tuesday. If they fail to do so, Kakuda attacks the owner of the house. The owner develops a hump on the back after the attack and he dies 13 days later. Sunny (Saqib Saleem) resides in this village and he’s in love with Indira aka Indu (Sonakshi Sinha). Indu’s parents (Rajendra Gupta, Neelu Kohli) are against their relationship. Hence, Sunny and Indu decide to elope and get married. The muhurat for their wedding falls on Tuesday at 5:00 pm. Sunny and Indu get hitched and once done, Sunny rushes to his house to open the door for Kakuda. He gets late and Kakuda attacks him. The villagers make preparations for his demise. But Indu is not ready to be a widow. She bumps into a ghost-hunter Victor Jacobs (Riteish Deshmukh), who promises to save Sunny and rid the village of the menace of Kakuda. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Kakuda Movie Story Review:
Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg’s story is intriguing and makes for a great horror comedy. Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg’s screenplay is captivating, and the writers have managed to add humour and scary moments in ample doses. Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg’s dialogues add to the fun and madness.

Aditya Sarpotdar’s direction is first-rate. Those who have seen MUNJYA [2024] and also his earlier film ZOMBIVLI [2022] would know that he’s a pro at handling such films and adding a dash of humour to them. KAKUDA is no exception. He keeps the duration in check (116 minutes) and from the start, the film keeps one engaged. The manner in which Sunny gets cursed by Kakuda and how Victor enters the picture make for a great watch. The villagers preparing for Sunny’s funeral, while he’s alive, is too funny and witty. The intermission point is scary. The flashback portions and the backstory of the ghost are interesting, and it adds to the build-up for the finale.

However, the finale is not as power-packed and is also a bit unimaginative. Secondly, it’s bewildering that Victor never asks villagers about Kakuda. The villagers, too, have no idea about his origins though the senior citizens should have been aware of it.
Kakuda | Official Trailer | Riteish Deshmukh, Sonakshi Sinha, Saqib Saleem

Kakuda Movie Review Performances:
Riteish Deshmukh has a late entry but makes up for it with his entertaining performance. Sonakshi Sinha rocks the show with her act. Her character, in fact, has an interesting twist, and it adds a lot to the film. Saqib Saleem gets a bit overpowered by the other actors. Nevertheless, he is nice. Asif Khan (Kilbis) is damn good as the sidekick. Rajendra Gupta is funny. Neelu Kohli, Taniya Kalra (Gilloti) and Yogendra Tiku (Sunny’s father Kishanchand) are decent. Alok Gutch (bespectacled old villager) is okay. The late Sameer Khakhar (Kalamandi Goyal) is fine, but his scene is not as funny, as intended.

Kakuda music and other technical aspects:
Gulraj Singh’s music is not of chartbuster variety but works well in the film. ‘Shukra Guzaar’ is sweet while ‘Bhasma’ is quirky. ‘Shubh Yaatra’ is funny. Gulraj Singh’s background score is apt for a film of this genre.

Lawrence Alex D’Cunha’s cinematography is neat. Snigdha Karmahe and Pankaj Shivdas Poal’s production design is passable. Rushi Sharma and Manoshi Nath’s costumes are realistic, and the ones worn by Riteish are quite stylish. Faisal Mahadik’s editing is slick.

Kakuda Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, KAKUDA is an engaging and entertaining flick. In this season of horror comedies, a film like this had a chances of working in cinemas.