“Cinderella” (2021) is a Tamil horror movie directed and written by Vinoo Venketesh. Raai Laxmi plays a dual role, with Sakshi Agarwal in support. The movie combines supernatural revenge with an emotional past and is shot in a hill station surrounded by mist.
“Akira” (Raai Laxmi), a sound designer, travels to a hill station to capture unusual bird sounds for a Hollywood film. As she goes out, she purchases a Cinderella outfit from an old shop. Shortly thereafter, she starts to see bizarre and eerie paranormal occurrences. At the same time, “Ramya” (Sakshi Agarwal), a rich and snobbish woman, is killed, and her mother Sandra is also attacked. Akira is taken into custody as a suspect but claims she's not guilty. Sandra spots Akira at the police station and looks shaken. She reaches out to her spiritual advisor, Saint Gonzalves, seeking assistance. It stages a spooky flashback.
The scene follows Thulasi, a servant of Ramya and Sandra. Thulasi, who is the spitting image of Akira, is a miserable life subject to continuous abuse. She is envious of a Cinderella outfit and saves up for it. On Ramya's birthday, Thulasi wears the gown and attracts the notice of Robin, Ramya's dance choreographer. Robin falls in love with Thulasi, which infuriates Ramya. Ramya and her mother, in a rage and jealousy, kill Thulasi. Her spirit gets stuck in the Cinderella gown.
Back in the present, Akira becomes possessed by Thulasi’s vengeful spirit. Through her, Thulasi takes revenge by killing Ramya and, with the help of another wronged spirit, finishes Sandra too.
“Cinderella” attempts to mix horror, fantasy, and drama by having a ghost revenge theme. Though the premise is promising and Raai Laxmi does a good job playing two roles, the execution of the film falls short of being tight. The horror aspects are cliche, but the emotional background gives the revenge story some added complexity.