You know, when the whole city is talking positively of a film, it is not very long that you can survive the curiosity however much busy you are. Yesterday, after all the daily chores and studies, me and my mom finally decided to haunt, oops, I mean go to the nearby multiplex at about 10:30 p.m. Myself had some 56 scary reviews screaming at me, hence had warned Mommy dearest to be well equipped. Out came a shawl, a bag of popcorn and two chilled cokes. And we were ready for the scare. I also thought of carrying a bed-pan, but dropped the idea at the last moment...lol...So did the flick scare me...read on to find out:
First 15 minutes of chill
Eerie credits start. A pyre burning. With some fast, interesting angles, we are taken into the Mumbai’s streets. The background music thumps. And lo! The film finally starts. Vishal (Ajay) is talking to a contractor about a new flat, when suddenly he notices something strange in this building from his car and after a short conversation with the owner of the house(who informs him about a suicide of a girl called Manjeet and her kid, which Vishal shrugs off), shifts in with his wife Swati (Urmila). Two weirdo characters enter—the eerily staring watchman and the eerily laughing maid-servant (Seema Biswas). [Something tells me , there’s some definite action enstored]....the end of these 15 minutes see Swati discovering the fact about Manjeet’s suicide which starts all the funny [chilling, as you say] moments....
Next 30 minutes of still
Lift going up, lift going down, then again up, then again down...[Ah! I counted the number of cables and ropes], Vishal enters his Astra, Vishal leaves his Astra, Vishal enters his office, Vishal leaves his office, then he again enters, then he again leaves...what’s happening? Nothing. [Yawn...this is simply the most boring part of the flick...unnecessarily dragging...if a mood had to be built up, more screen time should have been given to Swati] At home, there’s even more still. Swati sees something in the mirror, then she doesn’t. Then she goes near it..slowly, slowly...Thaaan!! What’s that...maid servant at the door...lol [I was practically rolling on floor laughing, so funny were those scenes of false scares] Then Swati and Vishal go out for a flick. The hall becomes empty suddenly. Swati runs. [It was just a dream...Yawn!!]
Next 60 minutes of thrill
Swati starts sleep-walking. Wrings a neck of the watchman [Ah! That was the funniest moment..which 3D rendering software you used Ramu ji?]. Enter Inspector Liyaqat [Nana] who starts investigating into the case [Nothing solid here...squatting, guessing, throwing one-liners are all what we know he’s doing]. Swati gets worse. One afternoon, when Vishal tries to touch her, she gives him a solid punch [So she has turned into Yokozuna eh...what with 2 spirits in one body!!!] The Yokozuna has to be tied up to get in control. Double voices come out of her mouth. A top psychiatrist (Victor) is consulted meanwhile [who gets confused on seeing Swati whether he is hearing Swati or his cancer-stricken daughter....me still laughing.]
Maid-servant suggests Vishal for a tantrik (Rekha) and enter this awesome-looking know-all lady tantrik who identifies quite fast what the ghost inside Swati wants...Revenge.
Rest god-knows-how-many minutes of drill
Enter flat owner’s son (Fardeen) who is actually the murderer of Manjeet and the kid. For the rest of the flick, you don’t need rocket science to guess what happens at the end [It’s a goody-good, happy-go-home predictable climax.]
~~Why I loved Bhoot~~
The Sound Effects and the Background Score: Probably the heroes of the film were Dwarak Warrier and Salim-Sulaiman who gave some loud trumpets and congos banging in your ears for all the scares. If it wouldn’t have been for them, Bhoot would have been a boring comedy flick.
Performances: Part of the credit goes to Ram Gopal Verma’s (RGV) masterful direction. While Urmila comes up with the year’s most seasoned performance, rest of the cast (Ajay, Fardeen and Seema) fits the bill with consummate ease, though presence of stalwarts like Rekha and Nana is superficial what with utterly sketchy characterisations.
Something different: No music [I missed it...atleast a song in the credits], no purani haveli, no white flowing sarees, no creaking doors and no out-of-this world masks does make Bhoot a tad different visually.
~~Why I hated Bhoot~~
Story and screenplay: Probably the weakest link in Bhoot is its story. Wafer-thin and predictable, the plot broils with the oft-repeated soul-enters-body-to-take-revenge theme. So the content value is practically zero. And its not that I don’t believe in ghosts, its just that towards the climax [which though binds the story], that the flick turns so filmi, that even Son Pari on television has better climaxes. Moreover, the screenplay is hollow. When the viewer expects something, there’s absolutely nothing, but a laughing maid or some other moron, and when he doesn’t, there’s not much either. One wringed neck there, one hallucination there after prolonged periods of boredom, is not my sense of horror.
And then the harrowing questions left unanswered. Why just Swati as a victim? If conditions were getting worse for the couple, why didn’t they leave the flat? And then, how does the spirit inside relate to her mother? Or for that matter the tantrik? And then, why does she leave Swati? Just because she’s taken a revenge. Oh c’mon, if this is the way murder mysteries get solved, then probably no police is needed anywhere in the world. As for the police, what does Liyakat do? Or for that matter why is the psychiatrist there? And what are the sounds he hears from Swati’s mouth?
Direction and scary factor: I think Ram Gopal Verma is probably one of the best directors India can boast of. But frankly, he is not in form here. Although, he does identify the medium [the first possessed scene is the only proof for that], towards the climax, all this horror-thing just becomes a joke when the film goes into the predictable broils of murder mystery. Actually there’s just nothing to look forward to after the intermission. I mean, we have been told that a certain Manjeet has committed a suicide, and her spirit has possessed Swati. What follows next is the most common revenge stories ever portrayed on the big screen.
Characterisation: Another glaring flaw in the flick. The film is so repetitive in the first half that unnecessary lift and office-going shots are given more importance, rather than building up the characters. I mean, I simply didn’t feel for any of the characters in the flick...be it Swati, Vishal or Manjeet...even when we see Swati possessed, it is all so expected...[she’s the actress of the film, if she doesn’t get possessed, then who else? And the fact that Urmila is in the film, only takes away the scare factor, thanks to her track record].Moreover, why do we have Liyakat and tantrik lady. Just to add to the fear factor. Except for behaving strangely, they don’t amount to anything in the story.
~~On an ending note~~
Bhoot comes across as a highly superficial flick. Even though it boasts of some excellent sound and camera effects and performances, a complete lack of an original gripping story and a week screenplay means it seriously lacks repeat value.
Continued in the comments section....