OTT Review: Ohmkar’s Mansion 24

Cast : Varalakshmi Sarath Kumar, Rao Ramesh, Satyaraj, Tulasi, Avika Gor, Manas, Nandu, Bindu Madhavi, Abhinaya, Rajeev Kanakala and others.

Director: Ohmkar

Producers: Ohmkar, Ashwin, Kalyan

Release: Oct 17, 2023

Streaming On: Disney+Hotstar

After a long break, anchor Ohmkar has revealed that he’s completed a new horror series named “Mansion 24” with an excellent cast. The show’s captivating promos have drawn attention from all corners. With a diverse cast hailing from South India, this 6-episode series has generated significant excitement. Let’s see how the series is.

Synopsis:

Amrutha, portrayed by Varu Sarathkumar, is an investigative journalist on a quest to uncover the truth about her father, Kalidas, played by Satyaraj. Kalidas, an archaeologist, is unjustly labelled a traitor for his alleged theft of an excavated artefact, leading to his disappearance. With her mother, Tulasi, in critical health, Amrutha embarks on a mission to find answers. Her journey leads her to a mysterious mansion, the last place her father was seen. Inside the mansion, the security guard, Rao Ramesh, shares a series of chilling ghost stories that are said to have occurred in various rooms. After each story, Amrutha applies her analytical mind, introducing technical, logical, and scientific reasoning to debunk the supernatural aspects, revealing that these tales are not ghost stories at all.

In the end, Amrutha unravels the mystery surrounding her father’s actions and disappearance inside Room No 24, concluding Season 1 with a surprising twist.

Performances:

Varalakshmi Sarath Kumar takes on the role of an investigative journalist and performs it competently. However, if the expectations for her character resemble that of a character like Jayamma from “Veera Simha Reddy,” it might lead to disappointment. While her dubbing has a Tamil touch, she confidently delivers Telugu lines, injecting some life into her character. Nevertheless, there is a lack of emotional depth as she fails to convey the pain of her missing father and her ailing mother’s condition. She primarily serves as an observer who deciphers the stories, which doesn’t quite connect with the audience.

Rao Ramesh, portraying the security guard of the haunted mansion, impresses with his performance. Though the character doesn’t demand a wide range of emotions, his delivery of one-liners and narration of the ghost stories is convincing. While he fits the role well, a more substantial character would have allowed his presence to shine even more. Nonetheless, another actor could have also handled this role effectively, not exclusively Rao Ramesh.

Satyaraj’s appearance in the show is limited, with only a few scenes, and he seems rather routine in his role. Nandu, playing a ruthless conman who targets call girls, has moments of strength in his portrayal. Avika Gor, as a medical shop employee, Abhinaya as the wife of Rajeev Kanakala, a believer in the reincarnation of his dead mother Srimaan as a novelist, KGF fame Archana Jois as a pregnant woman, all have acceptable appearances, but their characters are limited to a single emotion – fear. Most of them perform well, but the straightforward storyline doesn’t fully highlight their presence.

Technical Aspects:

Mansion 24 boasts remarkable production design and cinematography as its standout features. The art pieces effectively capture the mansion’s old interiors and its current state of decay, creating a realistic atmosphere. Manikandan’s cinematography adds another layer of brilliance to the series. He employs diverse tonal qualities, color schemes, and shot styles in each episode, showcasing the investment in production quality.

Additionally, the background score and sound effects design by Vikas Badisa, a protege of DSP (Devi Sri Prasad), offer an intriguing dimension. While we shouldn’t anticipate something on the scale of Thaman’s work in “Bhagamathie” given that both series are of the same genre, Vikas’s efforts truly stand out. It’s worth noting that more than the visuals, scene composition, or performances, it is the sound design and music by this young talent that truly infuse the horror and suspense elements into the series. However, it’s fair to say that the scoring could have been even better.

Despite lots of budget in hand, the poor quality visual effects especially the wide shot of the mansion, the crows, the black cat, and many other CG elements are poorly rendered. They appear fake in almost all the shots and are a big letdown in the show, though those elements have nothing to do with the narrative.

Thumbs Up:

Quality visuals & sound

Thumbs Down:

Predictability of each episode

Routine horror elements

Poor story arcs

Analysis:

On the surface, “Mansion 24” echoes the skeletal structure of “Bhagamathie,” where illusions are spun within a mansion to deliver a vital lesson. In this narrative, those responsible for Amrutha’s father’s demise orchestrate this elaborate deception, evident from the very word go with the ominous warnings about the haunted mansion.

The storytelling format, reminiscent of “Vikramarkudu” and “Bethaludu,” involves Rao Ramesh narrating a new tale each time to Varu Sarathkumar, while the leading lady diligently endeavors to debunk the horror in each conclusion. This initially intriguing approach eventually loses its luster. After learning the truth about Rao Ramesh’s character, many might question the need for him to spin these soap operas instead of swiftly resolving her case in the initial episode.

Each episode brings a distinct flavour: the first conjures nostalgia with hints of Hollywood films and echoes of “A Film By Arvind,” wherein a novelist’s words come to life. The second episode treads familiar ground, featuring an extramarital affair that leads to a family tragedy, while the ghostly twist fails to ignite excitement. The third episode appears to be inspired by the Burari Deaths in Delhi, while the fourth revolves around a pregnant woman, a trope seen in numerous Tamil horror films.

The much-anticipated fifth episode, starring Nandu, leans heavily on artificiality. It seems to borrow from the popular Game of Thrones storyline where followers of a ‘no one’ god craft masks from their victims’ faces. While a fantasy in the source material, it’s portrayed as a disturbing reality here, with the character slaughtering call girls for their skin and body parts despite not being a doctor but a mere butcher.

As the real identity of the security guard (Rao Ramesh) is unveiled at the story’s conclusion, the director attempts to assert that these narratives were merely Goebbels-like tales spun by him. However, the suspension of disbelief regarding the illogical white-eyed ghosts killing people and Varu Sarathkumar deciphering them is understood right from the beginning, for its poor narrative and ineffective direction. Except for the final twist, which resembles a somewhat forced ‘cliffhanger,’ even the concluding episode lacks interest, dominated by the typical commercial formula of Telugu cinema.

People who watch OTT shows to kill time might savor this stuff, while those who have got accustomed to watching some really scary horror films don’t even consider Mansion 24 as a horror film. It’s more of a suspense investigative thriller that lacks a lot of depth in terms of writing.

Bottom Line: Not-so-horror In All The Rooms