Hidimba begins as a police investigation into the strange disappearance of women in the city. As cases increase and public and media pressure rises, IPS Adya (Nandita Shwetha) is pulled into the inquiry by Abhay (Ashwin Babu), who is in charge of it. Abhay and Adya were previously lovers but broke up after Adya passed the IPS exam and moved to Kerala to work. To solve the serial kidnappings and find an organ trafficking network as the offenders, Abhay and Adya work together. The kidnappings continue even after the case is solved and the primary offenders are apprehended.
Another piece of information that Adya discovers suggests a connection to the Kerala serial killings case she previously solved. To investigate the situation further, Abhay and Adya travel to the state. The hints point to startling information that dates back to the Indian subcontinent’s indigenous tribes and the period before independence. The rest of the tale is based on these facts and how they relate to the numerous kidnapping incidents.
The movie moves along quickly since fresh surprises are added frequently. The ‘kala banda region’ sequence, while clearly resembling KGF’s color scheme, holds the first half quite well. The scene where the protagonist devises a plan to catch the kidnappers using the color red works wonderfully. Before the intermission, tightly cut sequences keep the pace moving while the background music keeps the mood light.
After the intermission, the movie ventures into uncharted terrain, but the uneven non-linear plotline and hazy linkages to the current plot significantly detract from the overall experience. Many viewers will find the extreme violence on the screen to be repulsivedisturbing. The conclusion is disappointing because the last surprise is surprising yet not supported by logic. Because of the manner it is finished, the writer-director’s creativity in selecting the subject is utterly lost.
Ashwin Babu and Nandhita Shwetha, the lead couple, did a good job. Ashwin makes an impression on film. Raghu Kunche, Shubhalekha Sudhakar, and Rajiv Kanakala also perform, while Makrand Deshpande has a scary appearance.
Anil Kanneganti, the film’s writer-director, took a risk by tackling a topic that hasn’t been widely seen in Indian cinema. With a little more effort, he might have elevated the movie to the stature of the high topic he picked by giving it a more pertinent ending. Due to stupid commercial and box office demands, what should have been an incisive critique on colonialism and India’s own dark past gets dumbed down.
