Yemen S, Sep 5, 2025, 05.20 PM ISTCritic's Rating: 1.0Raja Ravi Kumar’s 31 Days sets up an intriguing concept, a couple testing their compatibility by living together without gadgets in a secluded house, bound by a ₹15 lakh penalty if one leaves. The setup promises a mix of romance, horror, and humour, but the film quickly loses its footing in execution.
Niranjan Kumar Shetty as Niru struggles to hold the film together. His weak acting, constant hair-flipping, and awkward delivery fail to generate empathy for his character. Prajwaly Suvarna, as Nikitha, grins through almost every line. Chillar Manju, though entertaining in parts, is excessively loud, often overshadowing scenes.
The technical side does little to salvage the film. The camera work feels amateur, continuity errors are distracting, and the production resembles a student project. The graphics are poorly executed, while the soundtrack, though occasionally decent, suffers from unnecessary and misplaced background music.
The film’s humour is its biggest downfall. Instead of clever wit, it leans on cheap, smutty jokes that feel forced and out of place in a supposedly romantic-horror narrative. Adding to the discomfort is its orthodox approach - condoms spoken of in code words, menstrual pads wrapped in black covers, makes the film seem regressive despite being set in 2024.
What could have been a refreshing exploration of intimacy and trust devolves into a cluttered mess of half-baked horror, weak romance, and juvenile comedy. The paranormal angle, instead of heightening tension, feels like an afterthought. By the time the climax arrives, the audience is left disengaged.
31 Days is neither scary, nor romantic, nor genuinely funny. Instead, it feels like a test of endurance, where viewers, much like Niru and Nikitha, are just waiting for the ordeal to end.