Kapkapiii is an Indian horror-comedy film, directed by Sangeeth Sivan, and the cast includes Tusshar Kapoor, Dinker Sharma, Shreyas Talpade, Siddhi Idnani, Jay Thakkar, Sonia Rathee, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Varun Pande.
My Thoughts On Kapkapiii
The horror-comedy genre is a tightrope strung between two emotional registers that rarely play well together. Lean too far into the horror, and the comedy feels forced or inappropriate, or go too hard on the laughs, and the horror elements lose any semblance of threat.
In Kapkapiii, a Hindi-language remake of the 2023 Malayalam film Romancham, director Sangeeth Sivan embraces this contradiction with unrepentant energy. The result? A film that’s half ghost story, half bro-comedy, and entirely chaotic.
Set in the urban limbo of a shared bachelor pad, Kapkapiii follows Manu (Shreyas Talpade) and his group of similarly underachieving friends - Achyut (Dinker Sharma), Nanku (Jay Thakkar), Nirup (Varun Pande), and a rotating door of other names you’ll forget before the credits roll.
They are, in cinematic terms, "directionless youths", in real life, they are the guys your landlord warned you about. Unemployed and unmotivated, they spend their days engaged in the noble pursuits of gossip, snacks, and occasionally acknowledging that they probably should get jobs.
Then, like any great tragedy, or episode of Scooby-Doo, it all goes downhill when someone brings home an Ouija board.
Naturally, what begins as casual occult dabbling (because what else is there to do between chai breaks?) soon escalates into unexplained disturbances. Lights flicker. Doors creak. Shadows loom. The characters react with the precise level of disbelief that says, “Yes, ghosts are scary, but unemployment is scarier.”
One almost feels that the supernatural might be a welcome distraction from their existential drift. The horror elements, when they do appear, are less about building dread and more about punctuating scenes of male incompetence with jump-scares and the occasional off-screen moan. Think of it as haunted house theatre, directed by the guy who also runs the snack bar.
Kapkapiii is more of a series of comic sketches loosely held together by ghostly interference than a tightly woven story. And that’s not necessarily a criticism, after all, the film knows exactly what it is and makes little effort to pretend otherwise. The story structure feels less like a traditional three-act arc and more like someone heard “save the cat” and thought it was a menu item.
The film’s female characters, Kavya (Siddhi Idnani) and Madhu (Sonia Rathee), arrive early and do little. They move in next door, offer the illusion of a romantic subplot, and then fade into the background like underwritten side characters in a sitcom pilot.
Their primary function seems to be to remind us that women exist, if only briefly, in this overwhelmingly male-centric narrative universe, and you could analyze this choice through a gendered lens, or simply observe that the screenplay treats them like the cinematic equivalent of decorative throw pillows: present, but not essential.
The ensemble of male characters in the movie are each portrayed with the kind of exaggerated bravado that suggests they’ve spent more time watching YouTube prank videos than engaging with real human emotions. Shreyas Talpade, as Manu, turns in a performance that is loud and erratic, and Dinker Sharma, Jay Thakkar, and the others that round out the gang all come with suitably quirky mannerisms and enough one-liners to keep the script from going completely off the rails.
And then in that second half we get Tusshar Kapoor. the film’s narrative pivot and, quite possibly, its saving grace. His character Kabir is introduced with a mix of absurdity, and his comedic instincts are solid, his timing crisp, and his expressions wonderfully exaggerated. His presence injects the film with a renewed sense of momentum, even if the plot surrounding him isn't doing him any favors at all.
The film opts for a vibrant, overlit aesthetic that rarely ventures into anything resembling horror visual language. Shadows are minimal, tension is undercut by punchlines, and the camera movements often feel more interested in tracking slapstick than evoking dread. It’s less “cinema of unease” and more “cinema of yelling.” The editing, too, leans toward quick cuts and reaction shots, reinforcing the film’s commitment to broad comedy over atmospheric build-up.
The music by Ajay Jayanthi complements this tone, energetic, playful, and entirely unconcerned with the emotional nuances of fear. At times, the score seems to wink at the audience, acknowledging that what we’re watching is more parody than pastiche. And the film is better for it.
Despite its flaws, Kapkapiii does manage to capture a certain raw, unfiltered energy. There’s a genuine camaraderie among the characters, a kind of lived-in chaos that can’t be faked. It’s the kind of film where you can practically smell the unwashed laundry and unfinished instant noodles. There's something oddly comforting about that.
Sure, the screenplay is overcrowded, the scares are inconsistent, and the female characters are underwritten to the point of invisibility. But there’s something endearing about a film that goes all-in on its silliness and never once tries to be something it’s not. This isn’t horror with a message. It’s not satire. It’s not subtle. It’s a haunted house movie where a bunch of idiots try to outshout a ghost, and somehow, that’s enough.
Kapkapiii is not high art. It’s not even medium art. But it’s a fast, rowdy, mildly spooky ride through the collective brain fog of men who really should’ve just gotten jobs instead of messing with the spirit world.
Recommended if you enjoy ghost comedies, noisy roommates, or films that are one bad decision away from becoming found footage.
Avoid if you were hoping for nuance, feminist representation, or coherent plotting, though.