Kalam (2016)

As for as debut efforts go, Kalam is a well-made piece of work. The filmmaking is assured, the performances decent and the plot has surprises to keep us engaged. There are times when we can see the director, Robert Raaj, ticking off one must-have after another in this genre (hooded figures, possessed kids, suspicious-looking maid, creepy props, et al), and thankfully, they mostly do not come across as cliched. And it also helps that they are tense and scary, thanks to Mukesh G's camera angles and the background score by Josh Franklin and Subish Chandran (who has also written the dialogues).…