Critic Rating: ★★★☆☆
A Punchy Blend of Comedy and Horror
The young filmmaker Niharika Sahni makes her feature directorial debut with Aatmaram Live, released this week in select theatres. The film boldly explores the obsession of today’s youth with social media fame—an area mainstream filmmakers have often avoided. It highlights how the desire to become an overnight “superstar” drives individuals to unexpected extremes.
Story
The narrative follows a struggling social media influencer who arrives in a big city from a small village, dreaming of fame and virality. His father enrolled him in a B.Tech program hoping he would build a stable career, but the young man has his sights set firmly on social media stardom. He shares a tiny rented room in the city and collaborates with a local vendor’s son—a jovial Sikh boy—yet every attempt they make at creating content fails miserably.
Things take a turn when his friend’s grandfather passes away, and the duo visit the cremation ground for the final rites. There, the influencer gets the idea to shoot horror videos using the cremation site as the backdrop. While filming, his foot accidentally lands on a burning pyre’s ashes, and some residue gets stuck in his boot.
This moment triggers a chain of comic and eerie events. The two friends begin to experience bizarre happenings, even as their horror videos suddenly go viral overnight. Unknowingly, they bring back the presence of an “Aatmaram,” whose influence begins to disrupt their lives. In the chaos, a young woman named Vaishnavi—already grieving her grandmother’s death—finds herself pulled into the supernatural whirlpool.
