Laxmii
- Director
- Raghava Lawrence
- Studio
- Fox Star StudiosCape of Good Films
- Release Date
- 8 November 2020
- Running Time
- 141 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹100.00 Cr
Review
Raghava Lawrence's "Laxmii" ventures into horror-comedy territory with an intriguing premise that touches upon social prejudice and supernatural intervention, yet the execution falters in balancing its ambitious thematic layers. The film begins promisingly with an interfaith marriage narrative that grounds itself in real family tensions, particularly the patriarch's disapproval, which initially promises meaningful commentary on religious divides. However, once the possession arc kicks in, the film becomes increasingly uneven—while the concept of multiple spirits inhabiting a single body offers rich dramatic potential, the screenplay struggles to develop these entities with genuine depth. The tonal shifts between horror and comedy feel jarring rather than complementary, undermining the darker elements that could have elevated this beyond standard genre fare.
Where "Laxmii" truly stumbles is in its handling of sensitive subject matter. The portrayal of the transgender and intellectually disabled spirits veers dangerously close to caricature, prioritizing shock value over authentic representation in ways that feel exploitative rather than enlightening. The film had the opportunity to subvert typical supernatural tropes by giving these marginalized identities narrative weight and dignity, much like better executed horror-social commentaries manage, but instead opts for spectacle. Akshay Kumar delivers a committed performance during the possession sequences, displaying the physic
Storyline
So basically this guy Asif is super skeptical about anything supernatural, living his best life with his wife Rashmi and their nephew. They get dragged to some family gathering at Rashmi's parents' place in Daman, and there's already tension because her dad doesn't approve of their whole interfaith marriage situation. Anyway, while Asif and the kid are messing around in the neighbor's yard playing cricket, they accidentally unearth something seriously dark — turns out there's a dead body buried there. Asif doesn't even realize what he's touched and ends up contaminating this lemongrass plant with the remains.
Once that plant gets involved with the household, weird things start happening to everyone. The family brings in a priest and confirms what they feared — there's definitely a spirit hanging around causing chaos. Here's where it gets intense: Asif makes tea from that same plant and drinks it, and suddenly he gets possessed. The whole dynamic shifts and he starts behaving completely differently, going out at night doing terrible things while the family watches in horror, totally unaware that he's the problem.
Turns out there are actually multiple ghosts trapped inside him — a violent transgender spirit, a Muslim man, and a boy with an intellectual disability. The family realizes they need serious supernatural intervention, so they hire an exorcist to help get whatever's inside him out. Everything from there gets absolutely wild, and I don't want to ruin the ride for you if you're planning to watch it.