What follows is a roller-coaster ride as the quartet moves into the mansion. While their initial days are filled with slapstick comedy and bickering, the tone shifts in the second half as real paranormal events begin to unfold. The film cleverly balances the horror and comedy, leading to a finale that answers the central question: is the house truly haunted?
: A naive sidekick easily rattled by his surroundings.
The film is notable for releasing just two weeks before Damayanthi , another Kannada horror comedy that was reportedly inspired by the same Telugu original.
— End of Monograph —
: The film successfully blends horror with comedy, ensuring that scares are followed by laughs, making it accessible for family audiences. Mane Maratakkide - Darr Ka Ghar -2019- Hindi OR...
The storyline follows Shravana, a Dubai-based NRI who wants to sell his ancestral home, "Shravana Nivasa," following the death of his parents. However, rumors quickly spread that the property is heavily haunted, tanking its real estate value and scaring away buyers.
Audience reviews on IMDb were similarly positive, with one user calling it "The Kannada Movie of the Year" and an "excellent family entertainer." The reviewer noted that the acting was superb with excellent editing, crediting director Manju Swaraj for the film's success, and recommended watching it "with family and friends."
The story revolves around a Dubai-based NRI, Shravana, who wants to sell his ancestral home after the death of his parents. However, the mansion is rumored to be haunted, making it nearly impossible to find a buyer. Desperate to prove there are no ghosts, Shravana hires four quirky men—Raghupathi, Raghava, Raja, and Ram—who are in dire need of money. www.cinemaexpress.com
, released in 2019 , is a popular Kannada horror-comedy directed by Manju Swaraj that gained massive widespread popularity across India under its Hindi-dubbed title, "Darr Ka Ghar" . The film balances spine-chilling spooky haunted house tropes with loud, frantic slapstick comedy. It features a stellar ensemble cast of Sandalwood’s finest comedians, including Chikkanna, Sadhu Kokila, Kuri Prathap, and Ravishankar Gowda, alongside acclaimed actress Sruthi Hariharan. What follows is a roller-coaster ride as the
The 'Darr Ka Ghar' was designed to push the participants beyond their physical limits and into a psychological game of fear. Each week, the house would feature a unique theme to terrify the contestants and test their patience and power. One notable example was 'insomnia week', where the contestants would be subjected to horror elements that made it impossible to rest peacefully. The house was an environment of constant fear, where unexpected scares were a daily reality.
Performances
The film's popularity was such that it inspired another Kannada film, Damayanthi (2019), and even a Pakistani film, Lafangey (2022). Director Manju Swaraj demonstrated a strong understanding of what made the original script work, skillfully adapting its soul for a Kannada audience. As one review notes, "Manju too seems to have understood the soul of the film, and presents the film without many flaws" .
A review from Cinema Express gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5, describing it as a "roller-coaster laughter ride" and praising the "awesome foursome comedians" for their "jugalbandi of sorts to outshine each other, and deliver top-notch comedy". The review further noted that the film succeeds because director Manju Swaraj understood the "soul of the film" and presented it without many flaws. The performances of the lead comedians, particularly Chikkanna, Sadhu Kokila, and Kuri Pratap, were singled out for their comedic timing. Overall, the film was deemed a "superb comedy and a family entertainer" by viewers. : A naive sidekick easily rattled by his surroundings
Desperate to sell the property, Shravankumar agrees to give a ten percent commission to Raghupathi (played by Chikkanna) if he and his team can stay in the house and prove it is not haunted. Raghupathi, a bartender by profession, assembles three other quirky individuals who are in desperate need of money:
The 2019 film Mane Maratakkide (translated as "House for Sale") is a Kannada-language horror-comedy directed by Manju Swaraj
The quartet agrees to stay in the mansion for five days. While the house is indeed inhabited by spirits—including a young woman, an old man, and a small girl—the ghosts find themselves baffled by the four men’s quirky and unpredictable reactions to their haunting attempts. The second half shifts into a "roller-coaster laughter ride" as the group inadvertently scares the spirits back.
The film revolves around a middle-class family who, due to financial constraints, moves into a sprawling but dilapidated bungalow in the hills of Maharashtra. Unbeknownst to them, the house has a dark history involving a tantrik (occultist) who performed forbidden rituals. Soon, the father begins experiencing sleep paralysis, the daughter sees a "lady in white" with her neck twisted backward, and the family dog mysteriously disappears. The plot thickens when a local priest reveals that the house is a "Darr Ka Ghar"—a literal magnet for malevolent spirits that feed on human fear.
