December 16, 2010 (Sampurn Wire):

Director: P Vasu

Cast: Venkatesh, Anushka Shetty, Richa Gangopadhyay, Shraddha Das, Poonam Kaur, Kamalinee Mukherjee

Genre: Supernatural

Rating: ***1/2

Nagavalli is a continuation of the story of the popular Kollywood film Chandramukhi which had hit theaters in the year 2005 and had later been dubbed for the Tollywood industry. Therefore this is reason enough for viewers to visit theaters playing Nagavalli over the weekend. Needless to say there were huge expectations resting on Nagavalli and going by the initial reactions, the film has been able to meet them.

The story of Nagavalli revolves around a family living in the historical South Indian city of Mysore. All is well with them before a portrait of goddess Nagavalli falls into their lap. The members of the family start experiencing unnatural problems from this time onwards and it is through these problems that the horror element of the film comes out. The family has to now take the help of a magician and a psychiatrist, both of whom are played by actor Venkatesh. The mystery is unveiled as Nagavalli reaches its climax.

Venkatesh is very impressive in both his avatars in Nagavalli. Though he is surrounded by so many girls, Venkatesh does not get the opportunity to romance them which comes as a disappointment to the audience. Nevertheless, we become well aware about the historical significance of the character Nagavalli and the story too is captivating. It is the screenplay of the film which gets a special round of applause.

-- Sampurn Wire