Director: Pavan Wadeyar
Cast: Dhananjay, Parul Yadav, Raghu Mukherjee, Sumalatha Ambareesh, Gowthami, Chikkanna, Avinash, Sadhu Kokila.
On the verge of death when the end is inevitable, a young man is seeking promise from his mother to bid adieu with a smile, and even as he blinks for the last time he sees someone very beautiful and his heart starts beating for her. But its too late and his final desire captured through his eyes remains unfulfilled! Sounds dramatic, but the handling of this spirited subject resounds the brilliance of Pavan Wadeyar who has yet again showcased his impeccable talent, and this time he has mashed up a scary love story. After debuting with comedy, he excelled in romance and then the action, and now he has 'shocked' everyone with Jessie.
Thankfully, a rare among the very few directors who strictly believes in straight subjects and vows never to do a remake, has webbed a simple story treating it with utmost care, and the technical support of background score which is always the 'soul' of an effective horror movie is at its best making Jessie a good watch. With no rocket science involved in the plot, it revolves around three characters - a beautiful young doctor Nandini (Parul Yadav), Jessie (Dhananjay) and Shyam Prasad (Raghu Mukherjee). A typical set up of a triangular love story but the catch here is around the third one who is beyond the reach.
The first half is obviously the builder to maintain the tension to twist it just before the interval, and hence the beginning is all about the scenic location, a couple of soothing songs, romantic atmosphere filled with titbits of comedy with Chikkanna as a lover boy. Though it does not evoke much of laughter, it still gets get away with the performance of typical Chikkanna.
With the entry of spirit in the second half, the signs to fasten up seat belts for scary ride takes momentum. Parul Yadav, has grown as a performer here beyond all that glamour portraying the perfect lady - first as a lover and then the vulnerable wife. Dhananjay outsmarts himself playing the 'central' character while reassuring audience on whey he is one of the best findings in the recent times. Raghu Mukherjee is yet again subtle and adds value to the script playing the perfect husband. Sadhu Kokila who has been in the habit of getting beaten up by umpteen number of ghosts, continues here too. More than the soothing number by Anoop Sileen, it is the background music which strikes perfect.
What is refreshing here is how the spirit is dealt in the end. A perfect weekend thrill which offers romance, entertainment and also manage to scare! Just needs a bit a patience till the second half strikes.
