Movie: Paapa

Director: Kodi Ramkrishna
Cast: Venkatesh, Soundarya, Anjala Zaveri, Suresh, Baby Sheri.

It is a film that makes a sincere attempt to be something different. Dubbed from Telugu, it has graphics and special effects that have been very imaginatively conceived. The script could have been trimmed in the second half. Again, one is not sure whether the film is targetted at children or adults. Some scenes are a little too violent and complicated for a kid, while others are a little too simple for an adult.

Venkatesh has handled his dual role of a conman and an archeologist creditably. The story opens in Dwaraka, touching on the legend of Krishna and a mysterious box buried deep in the ocean that contained a supernatural godly power that protected the world from being destroyed. The story then moves to the present and to the antics of conman Venkatesh in Mumbai. Venkatesh, posing as the official guide, escorts Anjala and her grandfather from Mumbai to Dwaraka hoping to get his hands on the priceless diamonds he mistakenly thinks they have. But the duo is on the way to meet Anjala's pregnant sister and her archeologist husband (Soundarya - Venkatesh) whom they had never seen.

At Dwaraka they find the couple missing. Venkatesh is attacked by five men-in-black and hounded by an evil sorcerer. He encounters a mysterious little girl (the Paapa of the story) who sheds light on the happenings and takes the audience on a flashback trip. Archeologist Venkatesh had hauled the box out of the sea, ignoring the warnings of the locals. But when he realised the power of the box, he had decided to put it back. But he had been thwarted by the five men who wanted to possess it for their nefarious activities. The archeologist is killed and his wife tortured, killing the baby in the womb. The baby takes the form of a little girl and helps Venkatesh to complete the work begun by her father.