Jun 21, 2026 5:34pm IST
‘Ghabadkund’ Review: Sandeep Pathak, Pritam SK Patil’s Movie Has Swell Visual Imagery but Lacks Content
“Ghabadkund” positions itself as the first movie from the Marathi film industry to attempt to build a franchise. Horror, comedy and folklore come together in Pritam SK Patil’s directorial, which is set in a village in Maharashtra. Dilya (Sandeep Pathak), a villager faces daily verbal lashings from his wife, Soni (Prajakta Hanamghar) over his lack of ambition. She badgers him to take up a job in Mumbai or Pune to fund their dreams for a better life. Fed up, he leaves the house for a late-night ride on his motorcycle only to end up near a haunted well. The spirit tells him to take the gold, which belongs to him. Dilya is extremely hesitant but gets further pressured by a motley group of people who, too, are after the gold. The bounty, however, comes with a brutal backstory and retrieving it is no less than a potentially fatal mission.
On the brighter side, “Ghabadkund” starts on an imaginative note. The narration of the tale where a rich, debauched nobleman is murdered by a group of outlaws seems straight out of a story book with visuals to match. Dhurya (Sahil Annaldewar), an outlaw, robs his ring leader of a sack of gold and hides it in a well. That very night he meets his end. Years later, Khangri (Devdatta Nage) is on the hunt for a person who gets a ‘call’ from the well. His compatriots are a tantrik Baba (Shashank Shende), an black magic practitioner Rangi (Smita Paygude Anjute) and an inspector ASPP (Kushal Badrike). After locating Dilya as the chosen one, the quartet takes on the dangerous mission of entering the well.
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“Ghabadkund” is the start of a film franchise but the story of the first film is weak. Viewers do not get to know the actual compulsion why Khangri decides to enter the well or why Rangi's little daughter also joins the dangerous mission. Quite early in the film, viewers can guess that the spirit inside the well is that of a dead pregnant mother. The film has a run-time of a little over two hours but our attention dips after the interval. Pritam SK Patil and Akshay Dharmpal’s story lacks meat and is inconsistent.
Also, the characters are quite caricaturish. Sandeep Pathak does his best as the beleaguered but compassionate Dilya. Shashank Shende is also in fine form as the tantrik. Kushal Badrike’s comic timing is decent and even Smita Paygude Anjute’s salvages Rangi to some extent. With decent actors at their disposal, the directors could have worked more on the content.
The inspiration for “Ghabadkund,” ranges from “Tumbbad” to the climax reminding viewers of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull.” On the technical side, the CGI is quite average. The cinematography by Yogesh Koli is decent but the lighting is too dark. The final visuals of the ghost evoke scares similar to the “Bhool Bhulaiyaa” franchise.
“Ghabadkund” tries to pack in too many elements, but none of them are adequate enough to give it coherence or a distinct appeal. If the makers had given some thought to the written material as they did to the visual imagery it could have been a different film.
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