“Kakuda” is a Hindi comedy horror film released in 2024, helmed by director Aditya Sarpotdar and backed by producer Ronnie Screwvala under the RSVP Movies banner. Featuring Riteish Deshmukh, Sonakshi Sinha, and Saqib Saleem in the lead, the film brings a quirky blend of humor and horror. The screenplay is crafted by Avinash Dwivedi and Chirag Garg. “Kakuda” made its digital premiere on ZEE5 on 12th July 2024.
Cast and Crew
- Directer: Aditya Sarpotdar
- Writer: Avinash Dwivedi, Chirag Garg
- Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
- Star Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Saqib Saleem, Riteish Deshmukh
- Cinematography: Lawrence D’Cunha
- Editer: Faisal Mahadik
- Production company: RSVP Movies
- Genres: Comedy, Horror
- Distributor: ZEE5
- Release date: 12 July 2024
- Running time: 116 minutes
- Country: India
- Language: Hindi
Kakuda movie 2024 Trailer
Film Star Cast
- Riteish Deshmukh as Victor Jacobs
- Sonakshi Sinha as Indira / Gomati
- Saqib Saleem as Sunny
- Aasif Khan as Kilvish
- Hemant Singh as BulBulaa
- Mahesh Jadhav as Kakuda
- Rajendra Gupta as Indira’s father
- Neelu Kohli as Indira’s mother
- Taniya Kalrra as Gilloti
- Yogendra Tikku as Kishanchand, Sunny’s father
- Alok Gutch as a Bespectacled old villager
- Sameer Khakkar as Kalamandi Goyal
- Garrvil Mohan
- Ravi Ranjan
- Magan Luhar
- Suraj Raj Madhwani
- Arun Dubey
- Kirron Arya
Story of the film
Kakuda, a dwarf ghost, has afflicted Ratodi hamlet, where the narrative is set. There are two doors in each village home: a regular door and a little door. Every Tuesday, Kakuda arrives at the community around 7:15 p.m. If the little door isn’t open, he goes inside, kicks the male resident who is in charge of opening it, and after 13 days, the resident gets a hump and passes away.
Ratodi native Sunny (Saqib Saleem) has feelings for Indira (Sonakshi Sinha), who lives in a different hamlet. However, Sunny’s inability to speak English causes Indira’s father to reject him. Indira and Sunny intend to elope and be married later. Sunny’s pal informs him that Tuesday is their selected day and that if he doesn’t have the little door open by 7:15 p.m., Kakuda will kick him.
Sunny is booted by Kakuda after they are married since she is unable to return in time. The locals, especially Sunny’s father, object to Indira’s insistence that they travel to Delhi to visit a doctor to rectify the hump, claiming it is a curse for which there is no cure. Indira, who doesn’t think ghosts exist, stubbornly brings him to the doctor. After being corrected, the hump reappears the next day. When a watchman at the hospital hands Indira a card for a ghost hunter named Victor (Ritesh Deshmukh), she chooses to ask him for assistance.
Victor utilizes his specialized ghost detection technology to paint an image of a modest cottage next to a well on an empty canvas to discover more about the spirit. A scarecrow with a lot of flies comes to life and assaults Sunny, Indira, Victor, and Kilvish as they are making their way back across a field of crops. Terrified, they flee after saving themselves. If they don’t know of an empty well, Victor uses a ghost radio to record ghosts conversing. A description of a place with an empty well is then given to him.
Victor notices a note on the wall when the gang arrives there that reads, “If you face any health problems, please call Pelwan Master.” In the meantime, two skeletons—one wearing a hat—are discovered when Sunny and Kilvish dig a hole. They manage to get away before Kakuda becomes enraged and assaults them once again. Victor peers at the hat, which bears the name of a circus. In an attempt to connect with Kakuda, he and Indira go to the circus. According to the owner, they had a dwarf who was well-known for his ability to heal with his right kick. The dwarf chose to remain in Ratodi during a circus performance. He gained the moniker “Good Luck” by using his kick to heal people, moved to the hamlet, and lost contact with the circus owner.
When Victor chooses to enquire about Kakuda, he discovers that the villagers are organizing Sunny’s burial even though he will pass away in 13 days. Victor is determined to have a direct conversation with Kakuda. He informs Indira that they will face him at night in the cornfield.
While ranting loudly in her residence, Indira asks Gomti why Kakuda tortures the peasants. In a spectral voice, Gomti discloses that the villagers set fire to Kakuda’s home, but she later forgets what she said. Victor enters the residence covertly later that night and observes Gomti strolling. He pursues her, shouting, thinking he sees Indira, but she doesn’t answer. Victor recognizes that he is pursuing her twin sister as Indira emerges from behind. Indira reveals that she chose to lock herself in her room every night after her sister’s sleepwalking ended her engagement and caused her to be shunned by the town. They choose to pursue her and discover her giggling at the scarecrow in the agricultural field. They call out to Gomti, and the scarecrow comes to life. Victor says that the ground will burn, so Kakuda kicks it, creating a crack. Following Kilvish’s burning of the scarecrow with a lighter, Kakuda enters Gomti.
According to Gomti, who speaks in a spectral voice, Kakuda was acquainted with a widow and her son, whom nobody was permitted to see. At night, the widow’s son went to Kakuda for assistance when he had a severe backache. The people were provoked by Pelwan Master, who claimed that Kakuda had an affair with the widow. After his house was set on fire, Kakuda ran to the agricultural field, where he passed away 13 hours later. The widow was buried alive, as was her kid. Every Tuesday at 7:15 p.m., Kakuda returns to get revenge for his pain. He kicks an adult resident if the little door is closed, and after 13 days—a representation of the hours he endured—he murders them. Kakuda departs from Gomti’s body after disclosing this.
Sunny, Kilvish, Indira, Gomti, and Victor intend to take out Kakuda by chopping off his powerful right foot. They choose to entice him inside by leaving the little door open. Once Kakuda gets there and sees Gomti, Victor attempts to cut his leg off. However, Kakuda is distracted as Sunny yells for Indira. Taking Victor by the collar and hurling him against the wall, Kakuda enters Gomti and challenges Victor to slash his leg. Then Kakuda embeds the knife in the wall and tosses it at Victor. After Sunny dares Kakuda to a battle, Kakuda leaves Gomti’s body and attacks Sunny.
Kakuda strikes Victor while in Gomti’s body, pinning Sunny down. But only after Gomti is sleeping does Victor realize that Kakuda has her. He gives Kilvish strict instructions to keep Gomti awake. Kakuda then approaches Victor after he lights the widow’s and her son’s excavated graves. Indira, who is costumed as Gomti, diverts Kakuda’s attention so that Victor may ultimately amputate his limb and vanish into thin air. Sunny and the villagers are released from the curse once Kakuda leaves. Indira is eventually accepted as Sunny’s daughter-in-law by her father. With a suggestion of a potential romance, Victor asks Gomti to come see him in Delhi just before leaving the hamlet.
Production
Producer Ronnie Screwvala announced on July 20, 2021.
Filming
The Kakuda film’s main shooting started on July 20, 2021. The movie was shot in various locations in Gujarat, including the village of Vaso in the Kheda District and the nearby port town of Mandvi in Kutch. The last day of the shooting was September 17, 2021.
Release
Originally planned for a theatrical release, it was rescheduled for a ZEE5 streaming release on July 12, 2024.
Songs/Music
- Lyricist: Manoj Yadav
- Music Composer: Gulraj Singh.
| No. | Title | Singer |
| 1 | “Bhasma” | Divya Kumar, Gulraj Singh |
| 2 | “Shukra Guzaar” | Aditi Paul, Gulraj Singh |
Review
Twenty percent of five reviewers’ reviews on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes are favorable, with an average rating of four out of ten.
“Kakuda” leaps into an expected hump and remains there, according to a comment by Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express.
Giving a Rediff.com review the movie received two stars from Deepa Gahlot, who said that Kakuda has a paint-by-numbers, grab-the-trend-before-it-fades vibe.
Hindustan Times critic Monika Rawal Kukreja noted in her unfavorable review that the movie has a very uninteresting plot with strange happenings that don’t have any bearing.
India Today’s Sana Farzeen noted that while the story is excellent, the script should have been more coherent.
Filmfare’s Devesh Sharma also penned a critical review, saying that the movie’s weak attempts at comedy fall flat and don’t even make you laugh.
Notwithstanding its shortcomings, Shreyanka Mazumdar of News18 rated the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars and noted that it is a fun movie that skillfully employs mythology to evoke a sense of omnipresent fear.
The film features plenty of goofery, very few shocks, and no intention of becoming much more than a time-passer, according to Nandini Ramnath of Scroll. is investigated.
References
- Wikipedia contributors. (2025a, February 17). Kakuda (film). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakuda_(film)#Filming
- Kakuda (2024)? 5.4 | Comedy, Horror. (2024, July 12). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15181064/
