Kalpana 2012

Raghava, portrayed by Upendra, is depicted as a regular young man with no job, who spends most of his free time playing cricket with his friends. He is burdened by an irrational fear of ghosts that drives him to seek refuge in his home once the sun sets. This intense phobia leads him to share a bed with his mother, Umashree, requiring her to accompany him on nightly trips to the bathroom, much to the dismay of his family, including his brother (Achyuth Kumar), sister-in-law (Shruti), and their children, who grow increasingly irritated by his behavior.

The plot thickens when Raghava and his friends are forced to find a new cricket field after their old one becomes unavailable. They happen upon an abandoned plot of land rumored to be haunted, and they are soon unnerved by an unexpected change in weather. In a twist of fate, Raghava brings home his cricket stumps, which unknowingly bear the blood of a corpse buried beneath the ground. Despite his strange circumstances, Raghava is intent on wooing Priya, portrayed by Raai Laxmi, who happens to be his sister-in-law’s sibling.

As days pass, peculiar occurrences begin to take place at night, witnessed by Raghava’s mother and sister-in-law. They become certain that their house is haunted when they encounter a ghost roaming the hallways. Seeking guidance, they consult a priest, leading to three rituals aimed at uncovering the truth of the haunting:

1. A coconut placed on a rangoli spins on its own during prayer to Lord Shiva.

2. A cow is fed but refuses to eat and escapes the house in fright.

3. A lit lamp and two drops of blood are left behind, resulting in the appearance of a woman’s ghost that licks the blood.

Fear escalates, prompting Raghava’s mother and sister-in-law to hire two priests, Om Prakash Rao and Bullet Prakash, who turn out to be frauds and flee for their lives. That night, Raghava becomes possessed by a ghost that alters his behavior dramatically; he begins to present himself in a more feminine manner, distancing himself from Priya while wearing women’s clothing and jewelry. This transformation ignites the fury of his family, and it’s revealed that Raghava is under the influence of three spirits: a violent woman, a Hindi-speaking Muslim man, and an intellectually disabled boy.

To rectify the situation, Raghava’s family seeks an exorcist who manages to send the spirits away from his body. The trapped ghost reveals her tragic past: Kalpana, played by Sai Kumar, was a transgender woman shunned by her own family. She found sanctuary with a generous Muslim man, Babu Antony, who had a mentally challenged son. Although her aspirations to become a doctor were dashed, she devoted herself to supporting another transgender individual named Geetha. After Geetha left for medical studies abroad, Kalpana bought land to build a hospital for the needy, but this land was illegally seized by corrupt MLA Shankar.

In a fit of rage, Kalpana confronted Shankar, who ultimately orchestrated her murder alongside that of Akbar Bai and his son. Before her death, she vowed vengeance against Shankar and his associates, with their bodies buried on her land. Although the exorcist feels sympathy for Kalpana, he remains bound by duty, but after hearing her heart-wrenching story, Raghava finds himself moved. He takes the grave risk of allowing Kalpana to repossess him once more.

In a climactic turn of events, Raghava/Kalpana seeks revenge on Shankar, confronting him while brutally dispatching his henchmen. The MLA attempts to hide in a Narasimha temple, a place from which Kalpana is barred; however, she pleads to the deity for justice. Ultimately, she manages to chase Shankar into the temple, culminating in a combined effort of the three spirits that leads to the MLA’s demise.

Years later, Raghava fulfills Kalpana’s dream by establishing the hospital for Geetha. The film concludes on a haunting note, with Priya exclaiming “deva” (meaning ghost in Kannada) while a terrified Raghava finds himself clinging to her.