Bhaagamathie 2018

In Hyderabad, Eshwar Prasad, the Home Minister, publicly vows to resign if the government fails to recover stolen idols within six months. This bold promise unsettles his political rivals, who craft a scheme to ruin his reputation with the help of CBI Joint Director Vaishnavi Natarajan and ACP Sampath. Their plan centers on questioning Chanchala Reddy, who is jailed for murdering her husband, Shakthi, Sampath’s brother. To avoid drawing attention, they relocate her to the eerie Bhaagamathie bungalow, a dilapidated, supposedly haunted house on the village outskirts that carries a legend of a queen named Bhaagamathie from before independence.

The interrogation unfolds with Vaishnavi probing Chanchala for clues about Eshwar, but Chanchala speaks in cryptic terms that cast doubt on Eshwar’s integrity without presenting solid proof. That night, the spirit of Bhaagamathie seems to seize control of Chanchala. The CBI enlists a psychiatrist, who concludes that Chanchala appears to be schizophrenic, adopting different personas and reciting stories from a book as if they were her own memories.

As the story within the story emerges, the psychiatrist recounts the legend: Bhaagamathie was a princess who defied a Nawab when the Devraj dynasty lacked a male heir. She crossed paths with Chandrasenan, a man who disguised kindness to gain power. He true colors surfaced when he seized wealth, land, and even faith, and rumors spread that Bhaagamathie had gone mad, leading to her imprisonment and eventual suicide. The psychiatrist suggests institutionalizing Chanchala in an asylum.

But Sampath suspects a ruse and brings in a spiritual guru to test for genuine paranormal activity. The guru’s indicators appear, and Sampath also discovers Chanchala harming herself under the influence of the ghost. This leads to Chanchala being taken to a mental asylum. Later, Eshwar visits her there, where it is unveiled that Chanchala had orchestrated the entire feint to escape the CBI in exchange for a ₹300 crore (US$35 million) kickback from Eshwar. It is further revealed that Eshwar had coerced Chanchala into killing Shakthi, threatening to murder villagers tied to a welfare project to conceal his scam.

Vaishnavi realizes that Chanchala was attempting to reveal the truth about Eshwar’s crimes through the Bhaagamathie legend, uncovered among writings and artifacts in the bungalow. She also uncovers evidence of Eshwar’s misdeeds and the site where he hid the villagers after Shakthi’s death. When Eshwar learns that his scheme is exposed, Sampath confronts him and ultimately ends his life, vindicating Chanchala. In the aftermath, Chanchala runs a charity in memory of Shakthi, and Vaishnavi reflects on how little people truly knew about her. The revelation that Chanchala might possess magical abilities or an understanding of Arabic—counter to her claim of not knowing Arabic—leaves the investigators unsettled, hinting that real paranormal activity still lingers in the old house.