Mantra 2017

Mantra relocates to Hyderabad after securing a software job, carrying the quiet weight of losing her parents years ago and spending much of her life in hostels. On arrival, a taxi driver—the man from Jharkhand Adil Hussain—presents himself as an assistant sent by her employer and suggests she consider a paying guest arrangement with an elderly couple in the city. The setup feels warm and simple at first: Ramarao and his wife welcome her, easing what could have been a difficult transition, and Mantra begins to settle into a steady work routine that makes the move feel more hopeful than daunting.

Yet the calm quickly shivers into unease. As days pass, she becomes convinced someone is following her, a sense that grows into a troubling fear. The tension peaks when she is confronted by a police team, who accuse her of being involved in a scandal. The truth behind the accusation flickers into view: a prank carried out by Vijay, a former classmate who has become a police officer in Hyderabad. The collision between suspicion and truth reshapes Mantra’s world, nudging her toward a fragile trust with the man who once teased her about everything and nothing.

What begins as a tense, thorny friendship slowly deepens into something more intimate. Vijay’s warmth and protective instincts push them closer, and he introduces Mantra to his family with the intention of marriage. In the midst of this growing bond, Mantra speaks of the strange, deadly experiences she has endured—encounters with people who seem intent on harming her. The couple’s life becomes a shared vigil as Vijay resolves to take her fears seriously, even as the mystery surrounding her intensifies.

The situation escalates when Vijay discovers that Mantra’s strange stay in a house is entangled with a murder investigation. He finds a file filled with photographs that tie the elderly couple and the driver to a dark history, complicating any hope of a peaceful escape. The home becomes a refuge that suddenly feels haunted: reception fails, doors close by themselves, and the once-welcoming space turns claustrophobic and ominous.

As the supernatural pressure mounts, the group experiences a series of shocks. A death occurs in a moment of sheer panic—the killer’s presence is betrayed by the sight of Mantra’s photograph, which somehow unsettles the very fabric of the house. The plot unfolds through a discovered letter that reveals a staggering truth: Mantra is actually the daughter of the elderly couple’s family friends, born alongside a twin sister named Anjali. Anjali’s life is cut short in a tragedy tied to the couple’s past, and Ramarao learns that his other daughter has become an orphan in the wake of a calamity that also claimed his wife. This revelation reframes the entire residence as a place where two generations collide, and it illuminates the motives behind the protective walls the family built around themselves.

In the wake of this revelation, Ramarao’s younger brother orchestrates a fatal scheme, aiming to seize what remains of the family’s wealth. Unaware of the danger, Mantra continues to live in the same house, a situation that makes her an easy target for the elder brother’s plan. Just as the danger closes in, a dramatic twist unfolds: Ramarao’s soul, long trapped between memory and vengeance, possesses Mantra to strike back at the threat—killing the brother in a display of spectral power that redefines the night’s terror.

The film reaches its emotional and cathartic turning point as Vijay and Mantra, bound by both fear and affection, choose to confront the truth together and escape the house. They step out into the world beyond the haunted walls, carrying with them the weight of a family’s secret and the undeniable promise of a future unshackled by the past. The final embrace signals not just relief, but a cautious optimism—the kind that only emerges after facing a ghostly history, a web of lies, and the unbreakable connection between two people who refused to surrender to fear.