Bhaagamathie

Story:

“Bhaagamathie,” a 2018 Indian thriller film penned and directed by G. Ashok, features Anushka Shetty in the titular role, marking Jayaram’s Telugu debut alongside Unni Mukundan, Murali Sharma, and Asha Sarath in pivotal roles. The narrative, shot concurrently in Telugu and Tamil, unfolds around a former district collector incarcerated in a haunted house while being interrogated by law enforcement probing a politician suspected of corruption.

Commencing principal photography in June 2016 in Hyderabad, the film debuted on January 26, 2018, in Telugu and Tamil, accompanied by a dubbed Malayalam version. A commercial triumph, it grossed over ₹26 crore, with Anushka Shetty becoming the second Indian actress, after Sridevi, to achieve a $1 million grosser at the US box office. “Bhaagamathie” was remade in Hindi as “Durgamati” in 2020.

The story unfolds in Hyderabad, where Home Minister Eshwar Prasad pledges to resign if stolen idols aren’t recovered within six months, causing concern for his political rivals. Collaborating with CBI Joint Director Vaishnavi Natarajan and ACP Sampath, they devise a plan to tarnish his credibility by implicating Chanchala Reddy, a close confidante in jail for murdering her fiancé.

To discreetly interrogate her, they relocate Chanchala to the supposedly haunted Bhaagamathie bungalow, a dilapidated house connected to a historical queen. Vaishnavi attempts to extract information against Eshwar, but Chanchala cryptically asserts his innocence without evidence. As night falls, Bhaagamathie’s spirit takes possession of Chanchala, prompting the CBI to seek a psychiatrist’s expertise.

The psychiatrist suggests schizophrenia due to Chanchala assuming different personas and narrating a story as her own. The tale revolves around Queen Bhaagamathie, who fought the Nawab during a Dynasty crisis. Chandrasenan, a deceptive general, orchestrated her downfall, labeling her mad and imprisoning her. The psychiatrist recommends institutionalizing Chanchala, but Sampath suspects a ruse and seeks a spiritual guru’s guidance.

Indicators hint at paranormal activity, leading to Sampath discovering ghostly presence and Chanchala harming herself under supernatural influence. Sampath decides to transfer Chanchala to a mental asylum, where it’s unveiled that she orchestrated the situation to escape the CBI, receiving a ₹300 crore kickback from Eshwar. Additionally, Eshwar coerced Chanchala into murdering Shakthi, threatening the villagers involved in a welfare project to conceal his scam.

Simultaneously, Vaishnavi deciphers that Chanchala used the story of Queen Bhaagamathie to convey Eshwar’s crimes, supported by evidence found in the bungalow. As the truth unfolds, Eshwar, exposed, meets his demise at Sampath’s hands, revealing Chanchala’s innocence in Shakthi’s murder. Vindicated, Chanchala establishes a charity in Shakthi’s memory, surprising Vaishnavi by showcasing her childhood prowess in magic and knowledge of Arabic, hinting at actual paranormal occurrences in the haunted house.