Fasten Your Seatbelts—This Ride Has Ghosts, Gags, and Guts
Every once in a while, an Indian film comes along that manages to cram half a dozen genres into one gloriously overstuffed package and still comes out looking slicker than a brand-new Contessa on a Sunday joyride. Taxiwaala is one of those films—a supernatural comedy thriller that proves you don’t need a Ferrari to deliver a fun, high-octane ride; a haunted hatchback will do just fine.
Directed by Rahul Sankrityan, and powered by Vijay Deverakonda’s undeniable charisma, Taxiwaala is part ghost story, part screwball comedy, part emotional family drama, and part public service announcement warning viewers never to buy used cars off mysterious strangers on the internet. It’s also one of the rare horror films that makes you laugh, tear up, and check your rearview mirror for spirits—all within the same scene.
The Plot: Ghost in the Machine (Literally)
The movie kicks off with a double tragedy: a stillborn baby in one hospital room and a grieving young woman mourning her dead mother in another. If that sounds grim, don’t worry—the film quickly downshifts into something lighter, proving that Taxiwaala can do tonal swerves smoother than its lead actor’s hair.
Enter Shiva (Vijay Deverakonda), a small-town drifter with a charming smile, a knack for bad decisions, and a wardrobe sponsored by “struggling but stylish youth.” After failing at a series of odd jobs, Shiva decides to become a taxi driver—because in Telugu cinema, if your life lacks purpose, it’s either time to start a business or punch someone in slow motion.
With help from his loyal but perpetually broke friends, Babai and Hollywood (yes, Hollywood), Shiva goes car shopping on a shoestring budget. Just when hope runs out, a mysterious seller offers him a classic Hindustan Contessa that looks like it’s been resurrected from a 1980s car chase scene. He buys it, of course, because what could possibly go wrong?
Spoiler: Everything.
The Car That Had More Soul Than Most Humans
The Contessa, it turns out, comes with a built-in ghost—Sisira Bharadwaj (Malavika Nair), a tragic figure whose soul has decided to turn the back seat into a supernatural Airbnb. Before you can say “Mileage kitna hai?”, weird things start happening.
The car locks people in, terrifies drunk passengers, and once even drives itself—making it the only vehicle in history to be possessed and more reliable than an actual cab driver during rush hour.
At first, Shiva is understandably freaked out. But as the story unfolds, he learns the tragic backstory behind Sisira’s spirit: a dead mother, a murderous stepfather, a shady doctor, and a failed experiment in astral projection that went horribly, beautifully wrong. It’s a classic “ghost with unfinished business” setup, except this ghost’s unfinished business involves a parapsychology professor and some very awkward conversations about reincarnation.
Vijay Deverakonda: The Coolest Cab Driver in Cinematic History
Vijay Deverakonda is, quite simply, a delight. He plays Shiva with a perfect mix of swagger, sincerity, and “I have no idea what’s happening but I’ll roll with it” energy. Whether he’s chasing a haunted car, charming a passenger, or yelling at invisible spirits, he does it all with the kind of effortless charisma that could convince even the dead to tip five stars on the Ola app.
He’s helped along by excellent comedic timing from Madhunandan as Babai and Vishnu as Hollywood—the kind of best friends who would both help you hide a body and accidentally livestream it on Instagram. Their banter gives the movie a breezy, grounded humor that balances the ghostly chaos.
Priyanka Jawalkar, as Anusha, the kind-hearted doctor and potential love interest, provides the emotional anchor. And Malavika Nair’s Sisira—beautiful, tragic, and occasionally terrifying—is the rare cinematic ghost who feels like a fully realized character instead of a plot device with bangs.
Horror Meets Humor: Ghostbusters, Telugu Edition
What makes Taxiwaala such a joyride is its fearless blending of tones. The film moves from slapstick comedy to heart-wrenching tragedy to supernatural suspense faster than you can say “engine check light.”
One moment, Shiva and his friends are scamming passengers and cracking jokes about fake fakirs. The next, they’re stealing a corpse from a hospital freezer in an attempt to reunite a soul with its body. It’s absurd, but it works. The transitions are smoother than you’d expect, thanks to Rahul Sankrityan’s direction and Jakes Bejoy’s sharp, moody soundtrack.
Even the horror sequences have a distinct sense of personality. Instead of relying on cheap jump scares, Taxiwaala leans into its atmosphere—a flickering streetlight here, a lonely stretch of highway there—and a healthy dose of dark humor. It’s a reminder that the supernatural doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom; sometimes it just needs a good laugh and a great soundtrack.
The Science (and Nonsense) of Astral Projection
Every good ghost movie needs a pseudoscientific explanation, and Taxiwaala delivers with full confidence. The film’s parapsychology subplot introduces us to a professor who looks like he walked out of a paranormal TED Talk.
Through flashbacks, we learn how Sisira’s attempt to contact her late mother through astral projection went sideways—because nothing says “I miss you, Mom” like accidentally tethering your soul to a midrange sedan. The movie’s take on metaphysics is wildly entertaining: it’s equal parts science lecture, mythological fable, and midnight fever dream.
By the time the professor starts talking about the “bond between spirit and steel,” you’ll either be scribbling notes for your own séance or wondering if your microwave is haunted.
The Ending: Ghost Babies and Emotional Payoffs
After a whirlwind finale involving fiery confrontations, ghostly vengeance, and a flaming car (as all good Telugu films require), Taxiwaala swerves—pun intended—into sentiment. Sisira’s soul, having fulfilled her unfinished mission, reincarnates into the stillborn child of Shiva’s sister-in-law.
It’s ridiculous. It’s touching. It’s somehow both. The film ends not with terror, but with hope—a crying newborn symbolizing redemption and renewal, while everyone gathers around the haunted Contessa like it’s an emotional support vehicle.
You half expect the car to honk in approval.
Technicals: Smooth Cinematic Mileage
Visually, the film looks great. Sujith Sarang’s cinematography bathes everything in glossy city lights and eerie shadows, while editor Sreejith Sarang keeps the pacing tight, never letting the story stall. Jakes Bejoy’s score is a mix of thumping techno, melancholic piano, and ghostly wails—a playlist for anyone who’s ever wanted to vibe while being haunted.
Even the visual effects are surprisingly effective for a mid-budget Telugu film. The possessed car sequences look stylish rather than silly, and the supernatural elements blend seamlessly into the grounded narrative. It’s not Fast & Furiouslevels of spectacle, but it doesn’t need to be—it’s more like Fast & Flirtatious with the Afterlife.
The Secret Ingredient: Sincerity
What truly makes Taxiwaala shine is its sincerity. For all its absurd twists, the film never laughs at its premise—it embraces it wholeheartedly. There’s no cynicism here, just a genuine desire to entertain, to make you care, and to occasionally make you shriek at your screen.
It’s a film that wears its heart on its haunted dashboard.
Final Verdict: A Spooky Joyride Worth Every Mile
Taxiwaala is that rare supernatural comedy that hits all the right notes—scary when it needs to be, funny when you least expect it, and unexpectedly moving by the end. It’s proof that when a film has heart (and a slightly demonic Contessa), it doesn’t need fancy effects or highbrow symbolism to win you over.
Vijay Deverakonda delivers charm in spades, Rahul Sankrityan directs with flair, and the story hums along like a perfectly tuned engine of entertainment.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5 Haunted Horns
Watch Taxiwaala if you love your horror with humor, your sentimentality with ghosts, and your road trips with just a hint of existential terror. Because sometimes, the fastest way to redemption… is through a haunted cab.
