Does ‘Shaitaan’ Break The Dry Spell Of Horror Movies In Bollywood?

The Bollywood movie Shaitaan fails to give you feelings of dread and makes you cringe because the movie and the situations that it imagines are truly, naturally terrifying. They are the result of the scenario reaction model that is almost constantly and consistently delivered by captivity dramas and twisted psychological thrillers.

Both of those subgenres are taken and combined in an overly supernatural way in Vikas’ film (With even a scene that has a call-back to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining). That’s what gives the finished product its blandness.

Shaitaan movie director Vikas Bahl creates some authentic moments in unsettling situations, supported by a delicate idea and compelling performances, but he shockingly shows an upright swing in the battle overs.

Does Shaitaan Break The Dry Spell of Horror Movies in Bollywood?

Plot of Shaitaan Movie

The narrative is straightforward and at first, seems to have been covered in the 140-second teaser. Ajay and Jyothika portray a metropolitan couple who are having difficulty controlling their street-smart children. While visiting their farmhouse, they meet Vanraaj, a stranger (Madhavan).

 

He presents himself in the beginning as a kind man in need of help, but he quickly reveals his actual identity as a fluent English satanist who has taken possession of their child Janvi (Janaki Bodiwala).

Their parents witness silently as their once loved and adored daughter turns into a toy of the stranger’s desire. From crying to dancing to laughing to dancing to his tunes to attacking her dad and even trying to injure her younger brother, Vanraaj takes complete control of their daughter and intends to steal her with other younger women to take control of the entire world.

Writing

It is a scene-to-scene remake of the Gujarati film Vash minus the ending. The ending of the film has been changed from what it originally was in the Gujrati film Vash. It was a darker and gruesome ending which would have shocked the Bollywood audiences if it was kept. Sadly, the ending has been changed and it is a more dumbed-down ending which was possibly kept to make it more palatable to the masses.

This change does more harm than good for the film as the ending of the film loses its point of sacrifice and retribution and it is like a forced happy ending.

Writer Aamil Keeyan Khan captivated critics and audiences with his impressive and meticulous writing in the Hindi adaptation of Drishyam 2, but he failed this time with a weaker and more dumbed-down narrative.

Performances

R Madhavan impresses and steals the show in the film. His slick attitude and unpredictable nature make him all the more menacing and violent in the film and they are sure to give you the shivers to your spine.

 

Speaking of Ajay Devgn, there are a few scenes when you’d like him to take control of the situation, but he falls victim to the role of a miserable parent. Only at the end of the story do you find him in his authentic element. Shaitaan movie feels more of an extension of his earlier films like Drishyam and Bholaa, so he keeps operating in his comfort zone, nothing new that we know of.

Jyothika and Janaki Bodiwala have done a formidable job with Janaki having to carry out the entire film on her shoulders alongside Madhavan. Jyothika has essayed the role of the loving and caring mother well, perfectly maintaining the balance between her anger and her sadness, sprinkled with despair.

 

This is where the writing and direction fail her as there is not enough material for her character to thrive and do something about the entire thing. If the original ending had been kept, she would still have made a point and a better conclusion could have been provided for her character, but that did not happen.

Janaki Bodiwala is one hell of a performer who tries her best in this movie, she tries her best to showcase the inner anger and frustration of Janvi, even if she is enchanted by Vanraaj. But there is not enough build-up for the character for you to completely empathize and feel sad for her situation. She faces a few hiccups in the emotional scenes and a few other character-oriented scenes. She has a lot of potential and talent, but she needs to polish and practice her skills well to hone them and strike a chord with the audience.

Editing and Technicalities

The first half of the Shaitaan movie is good, the story is established in a quiet fast-paced way, which helps to elevate the narrative without adding to the boredom of audiences. It is only in the second half when things start to go downhill for the film.

 

The film loses its cohesive nature, there are too many flashbacks with cuts, much to the dismay of the audiences, and the plot points become incredibly loose and fail to tighten the narrative of the movie which was established so well in the first half.

 

The VFX team of the film has done a commendable job, with the graphics and CG looking quite authentic and the color grading has also been done with great contrasts and framing. The same cannot be said about the blocking of the actors and shot compositions though. The cuts are too frequent and the reaction shots overburden the scene which makes it lose a lot of its impact. The angles of the shots are quite off as well, which makes it look a bit jarring.

Sound Design

The sound design of the film is done exceptionally well, with the title track of Shaitaan standing out the best. There are only two other songs in the album, but this film is incredibly dependent on the background score, and it is delivered well and it packs the punch well, almost to the extent of covering a few of the loopholes in the narrative and performances and it evokes a sense of empathy for the characters and the kind of chaotic mess they are in.

Ending Thoughts

Shaitaan movie simply fails to deliver because its writers and producers either underestimated their audience’s intelligence, thinking they would not be able to digest the original ending of the film, or were simply unwilling and lazy about fleshing out further details and nuances of the story which would have made the plot worthwhile, but in stark contradiction, the changes in the script make the narrative lackluster and degrade the film in it is entirety, making the whole first half pointless and wasting it’s potential, along with the actors and background score.

Shaitaan movie is currently running in theatres and will be streaming on Netflix after its theatrical run is over.

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