'Mandala' movie review: Great potential let down by the visuals 

The film daringly shows the fact that it has been made on a minimum budget.
A still from the trailer of 'Mandala' starring Kiran Srinivas. (Photo | YouTube screengrab)
A still from the trailer of 'Mandala' starring Kiran Srinivas. (Photo | YouTube screengrab)

With Mandala, director Ajay Sarpeshkar takes the Sandalwood audience to an unexplored territory of alien films and blends it with curiosity, fear, and suspense. But the film deliberately lacks the grandeur that is usually associated with Hollywood sci-fi films we are used to. The film daringly shows the fact that it has been made on a minimum budget.

And this is both the strength and the weakness of Mandala. While it is thoughtful, refreshing, and welcoming even without the high-end VFX, it misses out massively on the spectacle it could have potentially been, reducing itself to mere drama. The story revolves around Arjun (Kiran Srinivas), an Indian- American amateur theatre artist who comes to India to meet his girlfriend Maya (Sharmiela Mandre), an aerospace Engineer.

However, within a couple of days, Arjun heads to the police station with a complaint that his girlfriend has been abducted by a UFO. While none is convinced, and he is considered a suspect, Arjun receives help from Murthy (Anant Nag), a retired investigative journalist, and his wife, Yashodha (Sudha Belawadi), a hacker. With a backstory for the alien, the film treads through some interesting narratives involving the police and journalists, finally leading to an open-ended climax hinting a sequel.

Coming from an engineering background and claiming to be a fan of sci-fi, Ajay’s exploration of such a premise along with drama and his vision of an alien world is well delivered through the characters played by Prakash Belawadi, Anant Nag, Sharmiela Mandre, and Kiran Srinivas. The plot is inspiring, but the director has a long way to go in terms of the making and hopefully, the sequel will see him giving more importance to technology and less on drama.

Sharmiela Mandre is convincing as the aerospace engineer, and she has accordingly worked on her looks and body language. Kiran Srinivas, who plays the role of an amateur theatre artist, is effective, while the key cast of Anant Nag, Prakash Belawadi, Samyukta Hornad, and Sudha Belawadi seem to have enjoyed experimenting with a new subject.

The sci-fi subject needed a little more attention from the music director, cinematographer, and especially from the VFX team. After entering the world of Mandala, the film doesn’t deliver much action or thrills; excluding the interesting bits that involve UFOs and aliens. Despite not being a spectacle, Mandala still makes for an interesting watch and makes you think about the unknown worlds.

MANDALA
Director: Ajay Sarpeshkar
Cast: Anant Nag, Prakash Belawadi, Sharmiela Mandre, Kiran Srinivas, Samyukta Hornad, and Sudha Belawadi
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com