Category Archives: Hindi

Thamma

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Vampire Owl: Now, they are sneaking into vampire territory.

Vampire Bat: We do not usually let humans make mockery of us.

Vampire Owl: Unless they can really make a good movie this time.

Vampire Bat: It feels like a near impossible situation for humans.

Vampire Owl: Well, they do make strange dumb movies out of nowhere.

Vampire Bat: We cannot deny their special ridiculous skills, can we?

Vampire Owl: At least death ends them all, the useless mortals.

Vampire Bat: You know that they can do the hate-everyone part well.

Vampire Owl: Well. Hate is only the beginning, the dawn.

Vampire Bat: You know that even death is not the beginning or the end.

[Gets a podi masala dosa and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: A group of vampiric creatures known as Betaals have been wandering in the forests and nearby villages of Indian subcontinent for thousands of years, making the first known appearance to outsiders during the invasion of Alexander the Great. Yakshasan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) has remained the leader of the group since the creatures were created, and has given birth to many other vampiric creatures during his long existence as an immortal. Among the vampires, Tadaka (Rashmika Mandanna) has remained the only female presence among the warriors for the last few years. After witnessing the violence among humans during the partition of Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan, the group had decided not to drink blood from humans whose violence make them poisonous and make vampire as violent as them. But this leaves vampires weaker, and with lesser quality blood from random animals that they capture from the forest where they have set their base. This does not go well with all vampires, as drinking blood from at least the most evil humans had kept them going without any remorse for their actions.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: After years of controlling the urges, Yakshasan decides to go against the decision and also turns a number of humans into vampires after drinking their blood. This violation of promise makes the situation leads to vampires imprisoning their leader in the caverns until someone else makes a similar violation which would be drinking human blood and bringing new vampires to existence. In the case of vampires, these promises are to be kept immortally. At the same time, a journalist named Alok Goyal (Ayushmann Khurrana) is caught in the same forest and is attacked by a bear, only to be saved by Tadaka. As the vampires come to hunt him, she takes him out of there and reaches his home with him. Even though his mother Sudha Goyal (Geeta Agarwal Sharma) agrees to provide her refuge as Tadaka had saved her son’s life, his father Bajaj Goyal (Paresh Rawal) remains highly suspicious. But in the vegetarian household she struggles to find enough food, almost drinking blood from the neighbour’s dog. Still, there are more troubles that await them, and it would require them to face bigger horror.

The defence of Thamma :: There is always something about Stree and its related universe that keeps us going. That kind of a strength is right behind here. The romance does have its moments even though not really going too far ahead into the depths. The music is pretty much working in favour of the mood and the songs have different touches here. The visuals nicely create the folklore mood and the looks of the city also works well. The darkness is nicely used and some horror also walks in here and there. The action stays alive as much as the feeling of danger. The dance numbers will grace our world for a long time too. There are some parts of the story which makes the connection really well, and some of the humour comes out of nowhere to create a big impact. The ending nicely sets up the situation for a fine sequel, even though one would still doubt the collaboration of so many movies. There are references to many vampire beliefs though, and the historical connections are nicely done, even though the relevance could be questioned. The movie also manages to take some strength out of the universe which has been created here, as Leo did from its world which was already established with ease.

The claws of flaw :: The movie keeps on missing the opportunities which are provided in front of it right from the beginning itself. Some of the humour would feel too silly to have the funny side going here. There are many easy routes taken here as the in-depth journey into folklore is surely not present here. We are faced with a lot of predictabilities here too. The final sequences are not that interesting and the fight just seems to be there to bring the movie too an end – not many surprises or innovations there too. The movie’s use of elements from multiple sources seems to have hurt it too, and calling this movie an action-adventure-romance-horror-thriller-comedy makes it more of something which is not really here or there. The audience can also have the doubt if this would a vampire romance trend as brought on by Stephenie Meyer a long time ago. As this particular film of the popular franchise did not bring the fame and glory that much, one can still feel that this might not even have its own single sequel. The way vampires greet each other and the unrealistic jumping fight scenes do not serve the cause either.

The performers of the soul :: Ayushmann Khurrana leads the way pretty well, even when the situation keeps on moving to the silly side. Rashmika Mandanna makes an interesting vampire, and despite the flaws of the character, manages the humour well – the look here is suited for the vampire too. After all, seeing a few scenes from Pushpa and its sequels had us feeling that her acting skills had gone missing, but here, she takes on the vampire essence really well. There might not be many actresses who would suit this kind of a vampire role. The best of humour comes from Paresh Rawal who checks out for monsters and keeps the funny side alive – Geeta Agarwal Sharma is also around with her funny moments. Varun Dhawan’s cameo was totally unnecessary as just talking about him at the end of the movie was enough – that one never really suited the movie and just pauses the fine flow around there. Sathyaraj’s cameo was fun though and it is nice to see Nora Fatehi as a vampire as much as the dancer. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s villainy is more related to the looks and movements and there is not much to perform to create the terrifying antagonist except for in the words of others. Faisal Malik also has his shorter nice moments.

How it finishes :: Right after Rashmika Mandanna shows her vampire teeth, we see the Sensodyne Pro-enamel ad on Amazon Prime Video, which becomes the best advertisement that can be shown for a toothpaste – who better than a vampire for a toothpaste and toothbrush ad? Well, this movie serves well in many aspects, but surely not in all of them, especially as Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra did it so well a few months ago. Matching with that particular movie would feel rather difficult here. It might be the same reason why that Malayalam movie grossed so much more than this one, that too on a lower budget. As it is displayed on various websites, the success of that movie is ten times the making cost, while this one has only managed to take home the expense. But a comparison would do only half the justice, as the genre itself has some divergence, with superhero action on one side and action horror comedy on the other side. Still, this one could have managed to do better with the folklore background, as it fuels both of them. Yet, what this movie has done is pretty much interesting and engaging, as it gives us hope for connection with other movies and sequels.

Release date: 21st October 2025
Running time: 149 minutes
Directed by: Aditya Sarpotdar
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Paresh Rawal, Geeta Agarwal Sharma, Faisal Malik, Rachit Singh, Alex O’Nell, Ankit Mohan, Vinod Suyavanshi, Hritika Kanwar, Deepak Kalra, Raj Premi, Shailesh Korde, Krishna Kant Rai, Janardhan Kadam, Hashim Haider, Deepak Daryani

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Bloody Ishq

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Vampire Owl: It has been a long time since love was seen as bloody.

Vampire Bat: Well, all relationships beyond marriage are bloody.

Vampire Owl: Yes, people do fall in love and die.

Vampire Bat: It is quite natural, as we know the same news.

Vampire Owl: So many people die due to this romance.

Vampire Bat: Yes, such Ishq not in marriage is bloody and terrifying for sure.

Vampire Owl: Are they bloodier than Romeo and Juliet?

Vampire Bat: Well, at least they were really true to each other.

Vampire Owl: We cannot really have the dead people to talk, can we?

Vampire Bat: Not if they do not become vampires or at least zombies with a little bit of brain activity left in their heads.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of Yercaud tea].

What is the movie about? :: Neha (Avika Gor) is a young woman who has only recently had a near-death experience by drowning, and had lost her memory. She had fallen in love with Romesh (Vardhan Puri) and married her only a few months ago, and they had fallen in love when she was in Scotland, undergoing her studies. Now, they live in their large mansion on a deserted Scottish island, and as it is a grand old building, which he hopes to transform into a grand hotel by lakeside. Romesh assures her that she will regain her memory slowly and steadily as she goes backs to the same mansion and do things as she used to do. She also feels that she is going to heal in the mansion by herself while he goes to the mainland and work goes on in the building. But soon she feels that there is something hiding behind the grandeur of the mansion in its dark corners which seems to have something for her, as scary situations keep happening against all odds. She feels that there is something paranormal and that the house is haunted.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Now, it seems that she cannot go out of the island as she has developed a fear for water. But inside the house, there seems to be some spirits trying to communicate with her and there are doors which seem to be locked forever with the strongest of locks. There are arms coming after her with some of them bloodied, a naked woman is on her bed with moaning sound heard, and glasses of the house seem to break for no reason and there are weird noises which seem to suggest something out of this world and intending to cause her harm. It is then that she is visited by Devdutt Sinha (Shyam Kishore), an officer from the Scottish police department, who tells her that her husband is the prime suspect in the murder of her father-in-law. She feels that death is also wandering rather too close to her and her falling in water might also have some other explanation to it. Fear and confusion seem to be regular part of her life, with hope seemingly far off.

And what more would happen here as the supernatural is ready to have its final say, making humans feel irrelevant? :: A woman who claims to be her best friend Ayesha (Jeniffer Piccinato) tells her that her husband is a liar and has rather to many secrets hidden within him. She tells Neha to find out the truth before it’s too late. Abhay (Gautam Sharma), a paranormal investigator lets her know that he had come to their mansion with Tanisha (Arshin Mehta), a medium who was possessed temporarily by an unknown spirit at the same building, and he adds that it was a terrible experience. Tanisha was seriously injured during the incident and due to her lasting trauma, do not go for any paranormal investigations anymore. Soon, Neha comes to know about deaths that had happened in their mansion and also understands that the death of her father-in-law was not an accident. There is some mystery surrounding her husband and there is more to the place than what meets the eye. Can Neha find out the truth before time runs out or will the mixture of truth and lies consume her slowly and steadily?

The defence of Bloody Ishq :: There horror stays alive in this movie, and there is fear generation that stays strong. The setting of an old mansion on a remote island with nothing else around, is a location which supports the horror environment so well, and the building itself does the rest with the support of darkness, lighting and antiquity which stands apart. The choice of Scotland is even more interesting with that landscape and the Hollywood feeling provided on the visuals. It also remains a stylish world, and the spirit is also something that generates interest. There are some nice twists around here, and the paranormal suspense is nicely maintained around here. The use of twists over twists work, as they are not that huge and just following the flow of things. The psychological tension is always present and it becomes as significant as the supernatural which gets the support further. Avika Gor leads the way here, as the leading actress who try to find meanings out of lost memories. She seems to nicely suit the horror genre as much as romance. The background score keeps us interested, and the songs are soothing.

The claws of flaw :: The movie is not something we have not seen before, and the feeling of repetition is definitely there. There are moments which provides the feeling that it has happened before, and we have seen enough of this. A lot of things around are there to be guessed correctly, and the twists are not enough to keep us away from knowing some of these truths early enough, even though the protagonist is not smart enough to know the same. The predictability seems to have come from some inspiration that might be from the earlier movies. There are times when things get rather exaggerated, and there is too much of time in getting to that area which could have been reached with so much ease. There is a little bit too much of melodrama here, and that is also stretched towards ending, where the twists towards end lose the steam. There is no real grand terror on the screen by the end as one would expect after this big buildup. The loss of steam in between is mainly due to the romantic side being weak, and never really getting up after falling down multiple times.

How it finishes :: Bloody Ishq takes on the horror genre in that manner which makes one think that this one could have been another sequel to that good old horror genre – Murder with the supernatural or even Raaz. Love and deaths are common elements, and this one was also going to be a step closer to Hate Story it had come from another angle. In a perfect setting, this one tries, and even though never really managing to go in full power, gets an interesting thriller here – entertaining horror target has been achieved without that much of a difficulty. Even though there is certain lacking, this is not as bad as these reviews would say – this one is indeed a very much watchable romantic-horror thriller with good performances and a fine mood despite running predictability. If you enjoy Bhatt-style thrillers, this is for you, but not if you expect to anything new or even has the scope of innovation around here. After all, romance and blood come together in romantic thriller with added horror. Let us hope that Bollywood gains further power to improve on the usual and come up with something bigger.

Release date: 25th July 2024
Running time: 138 minutes
Directed by: Vikram Bhatt
Starring: Avika Gor, Vardhan Puri, Jeniffer Piccinato, Rahul Dev, Shyam Kishore, Coral Bhamra, Arshin Mehta, Gautam Sharma

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Munjya

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Vampire Owl: The universe of Stree always have our attention.

Vampire Bat: Well, they have the vampires, werewolves and witches who form seventy five percent of the population in our realm.

Vampire Owl: I still do not know if anything could match Stree and its sequel.

Vampire Bat: Well, we never know how far horror comedy can go.

Vampire Owl: Comedy can never be horror enough.

Vampire Bat: It is yet to be seen, and we can only wait for the best.

Vampire Owl: I did not know that you have Jio Hotstar.

Vampire Bat: I use a Jio connection with a good plan. So, I would have always had that.

Vampire Owl: We use this in the vampire world? It is news to me.

Vampire Bat: There is nothing that a vampire cannot use, for we are an experienced species.

[Gets a chilli porotta and three cups of Valparai tea].

What is the movie about? :: In 1952, somewhere in the Konkan coast, a boy in his early teenage years tries to marry a woman more than seven years older than him much to her dismay, but they end up getting him a purification ceremony and gets her married off earlier. The relatives feel that everything is solved now, and the boy has also left the impure thoughts, but that was very far away from the truth, as he had other intentions, soon fleeing the village to the forests on the outskirts with his only sister. The boy named Gotya (Ayush Ulagadde) who is not happy with the happenings, plans to perform a human sacrifice as part of black magic, and this is about to happen under a peepal tree in the Chetukwadi forest in the outskirts of the village, but he finds himself falling down while chasing the girl, getting hurt and dying in the process. His remains are buried right beneath the tree to contain the spirit called Munjya which would do anything to get what it wishes for, no matter how many years pass.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: In the present day in Pune, Bittu (Abhay Verma) a young man who lives with his family which consists of his mother Pammi (Mona Singh) and grandmother Gita (Suhas Joshi), and runs a family saloon where he assists his mother while hoping to go abroad for studies. As his childhood friend and crush Bela (Sharvari) gets engaged to her British friend Kuba (Richard Lovatt), Bittu is highly disappointed. When his family travel to their ancestral village for his cousin Rukku’s (Bhagyashree Limaye) engagement, Bittu overhears a conversation about his late father’s mysterious death linked to a peepal tree in a haunted forest. There is a fight regarding his visit to the forest and the possessed tree, and the circumstances leading his father’s death have been unknown to him as they speak about it for the first time in front of him. Disturbed, he visits the mentioned place, and ends up releasing the creature, known as the brahmarakshas in the past, and it also kills his grandmother.

And what more is to follow as the demon wishes to haunt more? :: Bittu is devastated as the villagers feel that he was responsible for the death of his grandmother. His father’s brother Balu (Ajay Purkar) particularly feels the same and is not hesitant to assert the same in front of others even on the day of funeral. He leaves for Pune with his mother, but understands that the demon has imprinted on him and has followed him to the city. It is revealed that only someone who is related to his father’s family can see the demon, and therefore, his mother would not understand what is happening to him. The demon never really stops haunting him as it keeps appearing after the sun sets, and it comes out of him like in the tale of Vetala, as if attached to the person. Everyone around him feels that he is too sad about the demise of her grandmother and the related guilt that he has been taking drugs, explaining his strange behaviour. The demon says that it will not leave him until it gets what it wants, and it is not a simple thing. It wishes to get married to the girl whom the boy of the past wished to marry, but could not, despite even trying black magic. Can Bittu get him the same or destroy it in the process?

The defence of Munjya :: The movie, like the others of the same franchise, takes the roots of its horror from the folktales which had spread through the villages, and this time through the Konkan coasts which are less explored. The details are really good with the scary visuals of forests, big trees and villages making an impact. The Computer Generated Imagery works in favour of he same, and the demon’s detailing also works in its favour. The acting is also very good, led by Abhay Verma who gives life to this character incredibly well. Sharvari Wagh in this role, proves that she can do almost anything, up to that final dance, from that memorable work in Vedaa. Bhagyashree Limaye who plays the cousin also scores so well, and she blends in here really well – hoping to see her as lead soon too. Sathyaraj is the one person who handles most of the comedy, and the same works because of him – whenever he is around, this is just too much fun. Taranjot Singh also supports the humour while Suhas Joshi and Mona Singh remains memorable. The thrills feel real as much as the danger, as scares work and the atmosphere remains a gem.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does not have its humour working that well, and it is a surprise when you consider its premise – to have the jokes somewhat working around here and tries to pull this one by parts. Its feeling of the need to bring a British man to the story to make joke out of his situations was surely not funny and would remain the lowest points of the movie. The movie’s romantic side is weak, and the one romance that does seem to do dome good is that of the demon that hopes for immoral bonding in love. There is a certain amount of predictability about the happenings by the end, as we look at the whole thing. The demon could have been scarier too, when we keep thinking about the situations where the same could have been reflected. After all, so much of work has already been put into this group of movies, and one cannot help thinking about so much more that could have added as extra here. When there is a demon like this one involved, there should be no limit for scares.

How it finishes :: The movie becomes another bonus to the Stree series, and has managed to come up with a fine folktale legend with so much of ease. This is the kind of idea which has been made better by Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra now, and that much of a blending of local folktales has not happened here. Yet, we know that with the kind of demon this movie uses, it is not that easy to make things work, but we some skills at display here for sure. With a cameo in the end, the movie is nicely set in the universe of folklore. I would say that we surely require more of such movies, as local legend and folklore have been often forgotten in comparison to the commonly accepted religious narrations. It is our duty to support the local folklore as much as we keep on going through a view of the world internationally. These movies will keep us energized enough to do the same and will also keep the stories of different regions in the spotlight, for those are as much needed as the stories that come as a whole.

Release date: 7th June 2024
Running time: 123 minutes
Directed by: Aditya Sarpotdar
Starring: Abhay Verma, Sharvari Wagh, Sathyaraj, Mona Singh, Suhas Joshi, Taranjot Singh, Ajay Purkar, Bhagyashree Limaye, Ayush Ulagadde, Shruti Marathe, Richard Lovatt, Anay Kamat, Padmini Sardesai, Shrikant Mohan Yadav, Reema Chaudhary, Rasika Vendurlekar, Radhika Vidyasagar, Akshay Vengulikar, Abhijeet Chavan

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Yudhra

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Vampire Owl: It is always good to watch those lesser-known Bollywood movies.

Vampire Bat: Especially movies like this one without those usual nepo kids.

Vampire Owl: How many movies work without that infinite nepo nonsense?

Vampire Bat: It is too difficult for Bollywood these days. Every movie can’t be Shaitaan.

Vampire Owl: Bollywood without nepo kids and too much mass still works.

Vampire Bat: In the case of nepo kids, their performance is always appreciated for no reason.

Vampire Owl: Yes, their performance will be considered the perfect one, no matter how bad it is.

Vampire Bat: I am surprised by the number of fans these people get when there are so many quality actors whose works feel so realistic.

Vampire Owl: This why I watch Hindi movies only on OTT these days.

Vampire Bat: Well, Amazon Prime and Netflix got most of them and brings us happy smiles.

[Gets a tomato uthappam and three cups of orange tea].

What is the movie about? :: Girish Dixit (Saurabh Gokhale) is an honest police officer who has been known for taking strict steps against the criminals and drug dealers of the city, often becoming target of gangsters. One day, after attending a party with fellow police officers, he and his wife Prerna Dixit (Sharvari Deshpande) meet an accident involving a truck and ends up dead, but the unborn baby miraculously survives against all odds. His best friends Karthik Rathore (Gajraj Rao) and Rehman Siddique (Ram Kapoor) from the Police Department decides to take care of the child, with Karthik adopting him and Rehman serves as a mentor. The child grows up to have anger issues from childhood itself. As he grows up, the situation gets worse, and Yudhra Dixit (Siddhant Chaturvedi) is an even angrier young man not to be controlled by anyone. They decide to send him to Pune in an attempt to make him join the military in the future. There he meets his childhood friend and daughter of Rehman, Nikhat Rehman (Malavika Mohanan).

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Yudhra and Nikhat are once again interested in each other and starts meeting each other regularly. But on one of those days, Yudhra brutally beats up some goons to protect his fellow cadet, leading to them being critically injured and admitted in the hospital. This leads to him being arrested and court-martialed. At the same time, Nikhat leaves for Portugal to study medicine. Karthik who had gone on to become a politician after retiring from police, tells Yudhra that he is disappointed, to which Yudhra asks him not to support him for his actions any more. At the same time, Rehman asks him to join him on an undercover operation, as there are already cases on Yudhra, which could get him to the prison where some of the gangsters related to the drug smuggling are located – he could do something here to find these drug consignments and also find the man who might have been behind the murder of Yudhra’s parents. Now, it seems that there is a motive for life in him, but how well can he achieve that?

The defence of Yudhra:: Yudhra can be considered stronger and sharper than most of the movies of the same genre, and those using similar situations, which are not at all uncommon in Bollywood. This one also has a soul and we feel for characters even when things go a little too further in the name of making it interesting for the crowds – while the nepo kids play themselves, these actors and actresses play rightly according the needs of the characters and not to impress the blind fans. The visuals, especially that of Portugal, remains stunning additions here. The action continuously impresses, as it is not really the mass masala type, and more believable than most of the Bollywood movies. The romantic side is also effective, and the twist work well enough. The moments of thrill in between keep the viewers engaged. The feeling of having more than what meets the eye will still be around there. The narrative moves really well around here, and the romance or drama never really feels out of the place either.

The claws of flaw :: Yudhra never really tries to take the big risk, whether with the action or the romance, even though the chances were always there to be used. The romance disappears too soon after first appearance, and there could have been more moments to contribute to it as well as the action in Portugal, as the scope was very high with the events around. There are moments when we feel that the movie is not going to get to that final resolution. The villains, despite being strong, never really shows that much of their villainy. The movie is also a little bit long, and by avoiding a few dialogues things could have been more interesting. The moments at the military could have also had more attention. The ending could have also been more intense instead of seemingly everything going in the easier path. If we consider even the lesser movies, the intensity in the end would be much more. This one surely works, but for this long a movie which has been building up to this kind of an end, more was there to be taken.

The performers of the soul :: Siddhant Chaturvedi leads the way, and reflects the angry young man really well, unlike those nepo kids of Bollywood who could begin acting only after so many chances being given due to the influence of their parents, uncles, aunties and all. When an actor in Bollywood has too many relatives in the industry, it has been a reflection of how bad that particular person could perform, and thankfully, this one does not have such an actor, and it might also be the reason why Bollywood and its fans decided not to make this one a superhit in a world of dumb Bollywood blockbusters which keep coming without any signs of stopping – they are the zombies of Bollywood. But our leading actors stands taller than any of them in this particular role for sure. Malavika Mohanan, at the same time, seems to be fitting perfectly around here, changing language and industry, and being the right choice, even better than those highly paid Bollywood actresses and nepo actresses. Maybe Bollywood can learn something from Malayalam movie industry about how a family in the film industry can really act from the first movie itself. The villainy is fine, but underused throughout the movie in the case of each negative character.

How it finishes :: One can be assured that this is a fine piece of entertainer with good dose of action and thrills. It is also free from that mandatory Bollywood nepo kid or mass masala influence, which keeps this one a step ahead. The lack of success of this movie can only be attributed to the prejudice of the viewers of its world, and I do not even remember this one releasing here. If we wish to stop the mass masala movies and nepo kids getting all the awards and those who struggle all the way up in the cinema gets avoided, movies like this one needs to be supported. After all, it is so much better than those so-called action movies which grossed rather too much for its standard. This movie never loses its direction, even when the objectives of the protagonist seem to change. We are in for a solid action thriller in here, and we will love without those overrated superstars; there lies the beauty of it and others like Vedaa and Agni in a zone free of nepo kids who would do anything to gain attention. Even though there is no such chance, I would love a sequel to this one too.

Release date: 20th September 2024
Running time: 142 minutes
Directed by: Ravi Udyawar
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Malavika Mohanan, Raj Arjun, Raghav Juyal, Gajraj Rao, Ram Kapoor, Shilpa Shukla, Martin Fernandez, Saurabh Gokhale, Sharvari Deshpande, Shireesh Sharma, Dolly Verma, Joao Mario, Anubha Arora, Kabeer Bhartiya

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Sector 36

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Vampire Owl: Have you travelled through Sector 36 of the extended castle?

Vampire Bat: It is not an extension of the castle, but our graveyard.

Vampire Owl: Nowadays, we consider it as part of the building itself.

Vampire Bat: Why are you making the castle feel bigger?

Vampire Owl: A bigger castle means better respect.

Vampire Bat: It also means more taxes for all of us.

Vampire Owl: Aren’t we the government? So, we are paying ourselves, right?

Vampire Bat: It is not that direct. There is a procedure for it.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that we do not get most of it?

Vampire Bat: Well, we can only explain it as part of a system.

[Gets a sambar vada and three cups of extra light tea].

What is the movie about? :: In the busy city of Noida, the number of missing kids has been on the increase. A lot of cases reach the police station, but the cops are not much bothered about them as the lost children are of migrants from villages around the city. Inspector Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), the corrupt inspector of the police station is not interested in anything, and does not even lodge an FIR for these cases, as the life of these commoners do not matter to him, and is of no profit either. His senior officers also ask him not to bother about the same and work with those which matter. Prem Singh (Vikrant Massey) is the house help of a wealthy and powerful businessman Balbir Bassi (Akash Khurana), and is involved in kidnapping the kids, whose bodies are not found later. He murders them and chops them into pieces without remorse, and no remains are usually found. When part of a skeleton is found, the police dismisses the same as the bones of a monkey which came through the sewers.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Ram Charan gets serious only when Prem attempts to kidnap his daughter, but fails. Prem had misunderstood that the girl was a migrant’s child, and leaves her behind when chased. This leads to Ram Charan going on a hunt for the person who has been trying to kidnap the kids, with the help of Constable Shravan Kumar Pathak (Ajit Palawat). But DCP Jawahar Rastogi (Darshan Jariwala) stands on his way, as he would not let anything bad happen to the owner of the house, Balbir. He asks Ram Charan to leave the idea of any investigation near that house, and soon gets him suspended. But he would not stop, and will come up with other plans. But it remains to be seen if he can stand against one of the richest men around, and get to his house worker. This also puts his own family in danger, and the cops of his own police station are now against him. Can he stand as one unstoppable force against them all or will he be destroyed like many others before him?

The defence of Sector 36 :: The movie follows a realistic mode from the beginning itself. There is nothing that seems to be not possible as far as this particular movie is concerned, especially due to taking inspiration from a real-life incident featuring killings. It keeps a chilling mood with the realism that keeps the audience expecting more all the time. There is also a grim, claustrophobic setting that brings the unease and dread with ease. The fear stays on, and the tentacles of the serial killer keeps the movie going forward, and with the police officer finally ready to face him, the audience is left with those high expectations. It also serves as a reminder that the poor never really stands a chance when the highly influential is on the other side. Even though it is not shouted about, the world indeed belongs to the rich, the ones who belong to the one percent or even ten percent. The middle class that tries to side with the poor, would also suffer, as shown here. Well, if you need support, you need money, and that is indeed the point here and the core of realism.

The claws of flaw :: The strength of thrills is low in this one, as the pace itself is low, and that seems to align with the need to keep the whole thing realistic. The transformation of the protagonist also sems to be too quick, and that pace also seems to confuse the writing related to the character, who does not become any smarter despite getting out of the chains that were binding him. The system feels like having no loopholes at all, as if there is no way to escape – there should be some flaw in the design to keep the optimism alive. The ending is also weaker than one would expect, and even if it was done so for the purpose of supporting a sequel, there would be better options. With serial killers or psychos in hand, even within the realistic mold, more is always possible. The absence of a real good figure outside the subaltern is rather disappointing too. The terror her is implied, but the escape is never shown as an option.

The performers of the soul :: The move rests on Deepak Dobriyal and Vikrant Massey to do the expected work, as they play the two characters getting the most screen time, and both needed to perform on different layers. Both characters undergo many changes and are not the same people that we see in the beginning of the movie. While the former is successful in showing the cop being the father and undergoing a positive change, which he emotes really well, the latter who is damaged from the beginning to the end, shows the different shades of his character. There is a lot of depth related to the two characters, and we see the effectiveness with which they are portrayed, and how the same elevates the movie to another level even when it is just going on and on in the usual manner. Akash Khurana plays his role exactly as one would expect from such a character. Darshan Jariwala plays the corrupt side that makes us believe with ease. Ajit Palawat also shows a similar side that works. In comparison, the female characters are to do less work.

How it finishes :: Sector 36 might not be as interesting as the other movies featuring psychos and serial killers, for movies like Memories, Abraham Ozler, Forensic, Anjaam Paathira, Kooman, Antakshari and others will always be above this one by some way. The pacing is slower, and there is no attempt to make it that thrilling. Yet, the fantastic performances and a realistic feeling runs through this one more than ever. As it is based on the 2006 Noida Sector 31 serial murders, that feeling will be more. I do not remember much of it, but the movie follows the realistic mode and the connection is not something that we can think about now. If you are looking for a slow-moving and realistic story about serial killings, this could always be the right movie for you. Then, it also gives a reminder about the system, and how it works, for there will always be something missing and something beyond repair, something about which it is good to be reminded at times.

Release date: 13th September 2024 (Netflix)
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Aditya Nimbalkar
Starring: Vikrant Massey, Deepak Dobriyal, Akash Khurana, Darshan Jariwala, Baharul Islam, Saikia Ihana Kaur, Tanushree Das, Subir Bisawas, Kacho Ahmed, Ajit Palawat, Mahadev Lakhawat, Fareed Ahmad, Trimala Adhikari

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

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Vampire Owl: We have been reviewing only a smaller number of Hindi movies.

Vampire Bat: Well, we are not that much exposed to Bollywood anymore.

Vampire Owl: Bollywood has not come up with very good movies.

Vampire Bat: If there were such movies, they would not come our theatres.

Vampire Owl: It is such a shame. They still show us dumb Bollywood movies for fans.

Vampire Bat: The so-called superstar movies will come. But they are truly dumb.

Vampire Owl: The Khans and Hritik Roshan will surely get all the screens.

Vampire Bat: Most high budget films without content will get here with more shows.

Vampire Owl: Yes, just put any Khan in there and thrown it this way.

Vampire Bat: We would have wanted Irrfan Khan to be around then.

[Gets a vegetable puffs and three cups of white tea].

What is the movie about? :: Ruhaan (Kartik Aaryan) is a fraud spiritual ghostbuster known by the name “Rooh Baba”, and pretends to be an expert in exorcising spirits and slaying demons who harass people or haunt buildings. But he is actually an opportunist who makes good use of situations and make people feel that he has done something magical and has driven away monsters. He solves problems of non-existent demons for people who always have something to hide. There would always be some mistake committed by a random person who want to put the blame on someone not complaining, and that would be the spirit of a dead person or a demon from another world creating nuisance, misplacing things, setting something on fire etc. It makes him the best-known ghostbuster in the area, and his understanding of people’s superstitions has helped him to set up an office near Howrah Bridge of Kolkata. It is then that he is approached by Rajkumari Meera (Triptii Dimri) who has proof of his activities and asks her to come with her to deal with a paranormal activity in a far away village.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: They leave for this particular place where she belongs to a royal family which has been living in a stable near their old palace because of fear of a spirit that has been living there. The fear has become so much that the whole family has decided to live through a life of poverty forever until they found Ruhaan who is believed to be a reincarnation of a dead prince who somewhat looks like him. This provides them with enough confidence to think about moving to the palace of riches, and after making it look better, hope to sell the palace. He is the only one who is supposed to open the door to a room where a spirit haunting the palace is kept locked, and he is the only one who can save them from the supernatural entity. But he is to wait till the day of Durgashtami to open it, or something worse can happen there. He has to stay there for quite some time now so that he could manage to get his share. At the same time, Ruhaan falls in love with Meera and she seems to feel the same, as he keeps raising the confidence of her family as well as the villagers.

And what more is to follow with the demons and other evil spirits in a haunted palace? :: It is then that a woman named Mallika (Vidya Balan) arrives from a firm which is specialized in restoring old mansions and artefacts. She claimed to replace another employee who had taken a long vacation. There seems to be something strange about her, and feels like too much about the palace and its history is known to her. She stays there with them to further understand the needs for restoration. It is then that another woman named Mandira (Madhuri Dixit) also reaches the palace, after another room is opened. She identifies herself as someone who has come all the way there to buy the palace. She also gives them an offer above everyone else, as she stays there. Now the question remains about what this vengeful spirit really is. One has to wonder what it really tries to achieve – is there any plan other than the ghostly murder of all the residents and the family lineage? What is the worst thing that can happen on the day of Durgashtami? With no real ghostbusters around, is there a chance to save their world?

The defence of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 :: The movie has successfully blended comedy and horror, even though the funny side could have risen even more. The visuals with the old palace and the scary elements remain the fine works around here. There is something that interests one a lot about the old buildings of Bengal, and the feeling of strong history is more in there than any other – it will surely keep us going and wishing for the location to be there for long. There is always some place for twists and some fine scares to happen around here. The fear generation gets active very early, and the atmosphere nicely supports he same. Karthik Aryan has surely added a fresh perspective and freshness to this film. Triptii Dimri does the same, and it is good to see her getting more movies, because Bollywood needs to move on as much as with Karthik Aryan, that much with the actresses around. It needs to find new talents instead of those old superstars from where there is the need the move on.

The claws of flaw :: The humour does not always work, as we often why there is an attempt being made when there is no need, as some of these surely feels forced. The template seems to be repeated, as if there are no particular new ideas to be added to an already existing world, from where this gets the strength, not focusing on innovations. The focus gets the struggle, as too many things get rolled in without justifications, and the final scenes are ridiculously emotional without the required intensity, with the purpose of the evil spirit itself lost in the process of making it appealing to each and everyone even though not perfectly. There seemed to be a feeling of need to give focus to the veteran lady superstars, even when they were never really the focus here. Their presence here seems to be just to add nostalgia and the star value, as these are roles which one of the existing characters in the palace could have done. The story seems to be a little too much deviating from its purpose. As expected, this would not do just to the original at all, with a certain struggle as there is some legacy involved.

How it finishes :: We have watched Manichitrathaazhu and the not much needed sequel called Geethanjali. I have not watched the second part of this particular Hindi series, and therefore do not have an idea how all these have been connected without Akshay Kumar. But I could feel that this particular title could stand alone from the beginning itself. It has surely tried to blend its genres well, but never does it manage to rise to the level of Stree, and it is to be remembered that Stree 2 actually released in the same year. Bollywood does seem to be doing pretty good at making horror-comedies than we had thought it could manage to do. As it depends on the skilled performers instead of both male and female superstars, it moves out of the past, and begins to think better and have some classics. The industry should know that there is a lot of young talent waiting, that too without the nepotic kids becoming weak elements in good movies, something we have witnessed in remakes of movies like Helen – there is also too many of them for the time being. It is not like you say Shazam and you learn acting all of a sudden. Let us hope that the best talents rise out of nowhere and make the industry classic.

Release date: 1st November 2024
Running time: 158 minutes
Directed by: Anees Bazmee
Starring: Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit, Triptii Dimri, Vijay Raaz, Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra, Ashwini Kalsekar, Rajesh Sharma, Arun Kushwah, Manish Wadhwa, Shataf Figar, Saurabh Dubey, Denzil Smith, Suresh Menon, Moumita Pal, Shivam Dubey, Surendra Thakur, Kanchan Mullick, Prantika Das, Agrim Mittal, Ajay Tiwari, Yogesh Jadhav, Rose Sardana, Swagatam Halder, Averi Singharoy, Badri Chavan, Arvind Prakash, Parineeta Borthakur

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<<< Click here to go to the most read review on this website.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vedaa

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Vampire Owl: We are once again into Hindi movies, aren’t we?

Vampire Bat: Well, we have the skills to find the best among them, don’t we?

Vampire Owl: The good ones are rarely noticed though.

Vampire Bat: They do not even travel that much to reach our theatres.

Vampire Owl: We will only have the movies with big names around here.

Vampire Bat: Well, human world would never be fair. They won’t transform.

Vampire Owl: I would question the existence of humanity among humans. Maybe it can be found in the atlas.

Vampire Bat: Humanity is not part of human nature – for them, it is just a word formation.

Vampire Owl: Maybe they should use vampire before the last three letters.

Vampire Bat: They are murdering their arts subjects and languages – soon, they will be left without any word to express their existences. There is no chance to rise like a phoenix either.

[Gets a savala vada and three cups of Yercaud tea].

What is the movie about? :: Vedaa Berwa (Sharvari Wagh) is a Dalit law student who hopes to make it big in studies as well as through sports. She lives with her family in Barmer, Rajasthan, and an IIT-educated Jitendar Pratap Singh (Abhishek Banerjee), a man who seems to be very progressive due to his care for the environment and use of green and renewable energy is the chief of one hundred and fifty villages there. She is always made fun of and verbally abused by the upper-caste people as part of the existing caste discrimination there, and even hesitates to drink water from the same tap which others use. As her siblings also face the same fate, she decides to train herself in boxing to protect her family. But she is forced to clean the floors due to her caste status and is not allowed to learn the sport. Her sister Gehna Berwa (Tanvi Malhara) feels that she should boxing and become the defender of the family in one way or the other.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Her brother Vinod Barwe (Anurag Thakur) has fallen in love with Aarti Meghwal (Urvashi Dubey) who is from a high caste, and due to the lawlessness there and with police being the goons of the higher caste people, there was never going to be an inter-caste marriage, even if both families agree to the same. The higher caste men would take the law into their caste and beat up both families, and if they complain to the police, it is them who would be locked up – there are many fake cases that could be charged, from inciting violence to human trafficking with a whole police station and goons working together. It is shown that the highly educated Jitendar Pratap Singh is the one who controls all of these, and maintains the order of castes in the name of divine origin of the practice. He would go to any extent to make sure that his world is maintained as he wishes.

And what more is to be added to this world awaiting chaos at all times? :: It is then that Abhimanyu Kanwar (John Abraham) makes an entrance. He was a major in the army who was court-martialed for disobeying orders to bring a terrorist named Ilyas Kashmiri (Gowhar Khan) back alive. The same terrorist was responsible for the brutal murder of Abhimanyu’s wife Raashi (Tamannah Bhatia). Abhimanyu joins as an assistant sports coach in Vedaa’s college. He sees her attempts, and also how she is humiliated repeatedly for her caste despite her academic skills and efforts at sports. One day, she is brutally beaten up by the higher caste boys, who also record the same on their mobile phone. Abhimanyu decides to train her, and she shows steady improvement, but the love story of her brother comes to the picture, and lands them all in trouble. As both of her siblings are killed, Abhimanyu decides to protect her. But how far can he succeed in the same while being hunted by people in power?

The defence of Vedaa :: As a movie with a realistic side and the elements that would appeal to the general audience, there is a lot of strength that can be seen around here. The movie starts really well, and also maintains an emotional side throughout its run. The action sequences are effective too, and never goes on with an overdose. This never lowers the level like those mass masala entertainers of superstars. John Abraham is perfectly suited for the role here, and he is one actor who brings lesser known, but classic works to the screen. Sharvari is also really good and blends in here with ease. She brings the emotional side to work while going through the helplessness of the character really well. Abhishek Banerjee makes a sinister villain to create an impact with more than one face and Ashish Vidyarthi also provides good support. Tanvi Malhara as the sister remains lovable. The message of the movie works well, and it elevates the movie at times, especially during the first half. Due the same, the movie gains further strength.

The claws of flaw :: The strong start of the movie is not maintained throughout its run, and there is no rising in level for the work. Some of the moments just deviate from its central idea. The movie could have also been better hyped to bring the interest of people, without which it seems to have struggled to make its presence felt. After all, there are other similar sounding movies, and without the big names at the top who does the usual dumb mass masala stuff, this was always going to go through some struggle. The ending does seem rather predictable, and some of the decisions taken by experienced adult characters seem to be strange too. There were also so many other things which could have been achieved with this particular movie which seems to feel the need to go with the ordinary, maybe to be on the safe side. If this was in another language far into the south, there would have been risks taken, and the movie improved. There is a lot that a flick can achieve with this premise for sure.

How it finishes :: Vedaa seems have suffered due to the lack of audience who would watch a movie without big superstars and staying close to reality – it has never been the thing with Bollywood for a long time as we think about it. The lack of interest of the Bollywood audience in movies like these is rather disappointing, as mass masala seems to be the only genre that could make an impact. It is to be noted that there were times when we actually preferred Hindi movies over others, but nowadays the only good ones stay for such less amount of time in the theatres even if they come. Let us celebrate movies like this at least now, and hope for more to come. The revival of Bollywood to focus on quality material in still awaited, as a few drops of quality come like this one. These days, it seems that John Abraham is one actor who can really be trusted, from the greatness of Madras Cafe and a following Rocky Handsome.

Release date: 15th August 2024
Running time: 151 minutes
Directed by: Nikkhil Advani
Starring: John Abraham, Sharvari Wagh, Abhishek Banerjee, Ashish Vidyarthi, Kumud Mishra, Rajendra Chawla, Tanvi Malhara, Anurag Thakur, Urvashi Dubey, Rajoshri Vidyarthi, Parag Sharma, Danish Husain, Kapil Nirmal, Ajeet Singh Palawat, Meena Shankar, Kshitij Chauhan, Akshay Sharma, Toshab Bagri, Abhishek Deswal, Paritosh Sand, Gowhar Khan, Nirmal Chaudhury, Manu Shekhar, Monisha Advani, Tamannah Bhatia (Cameo), Mouni Roy (Cameo)

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Agni

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Vampire Owl: Are we looking for vampires of fire?

Vampire Bat: There are none, as fire burns and ends us in seconds.

Vampire Owl: I was talking about the fire inside us.

Vampire Bat: Well, we are going to need firefighters in that case.

Vampire Owl: I would let the fire burn right inside us.

Vampire Bat: None of us vampires require fire, as we are the dark chilling frost.

Vampire Owl: The darkness in us resists the fire and brings the frost.

Vampire Bat: The northern witches have spread the darkness throughout the realm.

Vampire Owl: The magic in the world has been darker than ever and creating more shadows with the shades making an entrance.

Vampire Bat: The pure evil darkness has replaced our original dark, nocturnal world. Now there is darkness during daytime too.

[Gets a kadai chicken pizza and three cups of iced tea].

What is the movie about? :: Vitthalrao Dhonduba Surve (Pratik Gandhi) has been serving as the Chief of Parel Fire Station in Mumbai, and is disturbed by the fact that there are too many fire outbreaks in his area, leading to restless nights. Sr. Inspector Samit Sawant (Divyenndu), his brother-in-law, is asked to investigate into the matter by the authorities. The two are not in the best of terms, and searches in their own ways. Their wives Rukmini Surve (Sai Tamhankar) and Sayali Sawant (Sakhi Gokhale) are not really happy about this lack of understanding, but there is nothing that they can do about the same. Fire Officer Avni Purohit (Saiyami Kher) finds out that not everything is right around there due to the illegal constructions and lack of enough facilities to fight the fire. But there seems to be something more sinister at work, as Vitthal finds out that there was something about the fire, and it seems more than just a usual one. It seems to spread and cause destruction like no usual accident has been doing.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Senior Fire Officer Mahadev Nigde (Jitendra Joshi) and his own family asks him to take care of his health, as he struggles to breathe at times, but that does not stop him from trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. As time runs out, Samit arrests a businessman, and blames the whole thing on him. He is appreciated by the government, but Vitthal feels that he has captured the wrong person, and the accused might have done many things, but not this particular crime. His son Amar (Kabir Shah) also appreciates his uncle more than his father as he is a decorated police officer. Now, what all awaits the city, and someone knowing this all wander in the streets looking forward to burn the world? Can this particular person be identified and stopped in time? Will there be a final showdown with burning buildings or an arrested criminal who had his strange reasons to get people killed?

The defence of Agni :: The feeling of realism in Agni is too good, and there seems to be no traveling through a journey of nonsense that has plagued Bollywood for a long time. The special effects, cinematography and sound design used here are normal and never makes us feel that it is overdone. There is a lot of fire in this movie, but there is nothing that keeps us away from reality. The performance also feels real and so do the situations. At no moment does this movie try to do the unreal, and that is the beauty of it. It explores the bravery, sacrifice and underappreciated service that the firefighters have been providing, but without gaining that much of an attention. The question remains about how many firefighters do we know even though we might know enough police officers – the fact remains that a mock drill by some of these officers can actually help us in the case of a possible crisis. The main firefighters of this movie are those who will stay in our minds due to what they have been working with here.

Positives and negatives :: The movie does not bring the special around here, as it seeks to remain the usual to stay close to reality. One might feel the need to bring a bigger twist around here, but as the reality element comes into the picture, the same is often forgotten. The flames here become symbols that will stay with us for quite a long time, as it feels like a reflection of lives. The movie is also a reminder on the fact that things are not really what they seem, and that the system will make its own villains, as there might never be a thing like perfect or near-perfect system. Well, it shows that the world can never be fair, but does bring that feel-good factor in the end so that some poetic justice can come to the picture. It leaves us with the faith, belief and hope that efforts and goodness will be rewarded, and the other side would not always have its way. It does the same without preaching and makes the same happen. There is a certain amount bliss that we will feel at the end of the movie, and even if seemingly placed, seems suited. Yet, we long for more, I wonder why.

The performers of the soul :: The movie is led forward by a perfect performance from Pratik Gandhi, who never stays behind in coming up with realistic moments of his portrayal of the main character who stays human and not as a superstar who needs to evoke the dumb masses. The silent intensity that he displays with the determination against hopelessness, will keep us going. He becomes the common man’s hero, and not that wretched superhero of unreality, something which the stars of Indian movie industries have struggled to become. Divyenndu is not far behind in doing the same either, as he goes through the work in a classic manner and not as if there is a mass to be treated into nonsense. They do make a good combination, and we would end up wishing for more of them to do with the investigation together. Among the ladies, it is Saiyami Kher who stands apart, and elevates the movie in her own way. Sai Tamhankar and Sakhi Gokhale follows well. Jitendra Joshi and Udit Arora have some memorable characters too.

How it finishes :: Agni becomes a breath of fresh air among those polluted movies with so called superheroes who fly around murdering villains as if they are sleepwalking. It is a shame that such mass entertainers even bring awards to the actors when they performers do nothing of substance in such cinema which means nothing, but appeals to the dumb. This one reminds us of the Malayalam movie Fireman, but is surely better than all those flicks with the content which stays at a classical level with no heroism at all. This is the kind of movies that need, and such movie elevate Bollywood to such a level which not many so-called superheroes can get it. Against such mindless heroes of mass masala, let movies like this one rise, and also leave with a message that we will remember, and in the end, we respect the right heroes, and when we look closely, none of them are celebrities, and no human among them would want to be celebrated that much. There can only be a few Stree, Bob Biswas, Baby, Te3n, Ek Villain, Wazir, Madras Cafe etc that really thrills without going overboard.

Release date: 6th December 2024 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Rahul Dholakia
Starring: Pratik Gandhi, Divyenndu, Saiyami Kher, Sai Tamhankar, Jitendra Joshi, Kabir Shah, Udit Arora, Sakhi Gokhale, Anant Jog, Pramod Pathakm, Paritosh Pathak, Kanchan Pagare, Abhishek Kandekar, Sushant Shetty

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Shaitaan

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Vampire Owl: So, is the movie really about the devil?

Vampire Bat: There are many demons who identify as the devil.

Vampire Owl: Is there anyone whom you know?

Vampire Bat: We do not make acquaintances with the shadow world.

Vampire Owl: We are also nocturnal creatures of the shadows.

Vampire Bat: We are the shadow warriors, but we are not shadows.

Vampire Owl: Shadows are still our allies, and they even provide warnings.

Vampire Bat: Allies do not make us. We are better than that.

Vampire Owl: The shadows will keep us safe.

Vampire Bat: Not just the shadows, we shall stay in the dark forever.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of mint tea].

What is the movie about? :: Kabir Rishi (Ajay Devgn), a chartered accountant, his wife Jyoti Rishi (Jyothika), daughter Jahnvi Rishi (Janki Bodiwala) and son Dhruv Rishi (Anngad Raaj) decides to take a break from their busy routine, and spend some time at their farmhouse in the outskirts of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Jahnvi is hoping to end this trip as soon as possible, and go on her on tour with friends, especially her boyfriend. On the way, at a dhaba, they come across a man named Vanraj Kashyap (R Madhavan), who offers them tea when they do not have change. He seems to be a nice person who shows the photo of his daughter and gives friendly advice. He also gives Jahnvi who does not want to have roti and tea, a laddu which she accepts happily. He also leaves her with a few biscuits, much to the dismay of Jyoti. As they reach the farmhouse, they are surprised to find Vanraj following them there. They also find out that Jahnvi had invited him inside the house, and he sits there on the couch as a guest.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: He only asks for a cup of tea and charger for the phone, but soon, Janhvi ends up threatening her brother under his influence, which makes Kabir and Jyoti ask him to leave immediately, to which he disagrees. Before Kabir can push him out, Janhvi under Vanraj’s command stops him. Vanraj says that he has hypnotized Janhvi using black magic, and that she will obey every instruction he gives. To prove his control, he orders her to repeatedly stand and sit, and she does the same robotically. To make them believe in the extremes of his power, he makes her take a tea packet and eat raw tea leaves. He also makes Janhvi slap her father and make her laugh and cry. As she is asked to jump into the swimming pool and stay underwater until he tells her, the parents understand the grave situation. As the frightened family gives him the mobile phones as told, he makes Janhvi destroy all the phones in the house, cutting off their communication with the outside world. Now the question remains about what does he plan to do, and what does he want from the family.

The defence of Shaitaan :: The movie rests on the shoulders of Janki Bodiwala who brings a performance that nobody would ever forget, as she alternates between her character’s own personality and that of a hypnotized mind, as we see her helplessness and determination to commit a task according to an order at the same time, and moving between the two. Madhavan’s alternation between the gentleman and pure evil entity is not that far behind either, as his evolution as an actor is seen again, but we know that he could have also done the father-figure to perfection if given that role. The movie keeps us closer to the situation, because we know that it is indeed a usual family in trouble, even though a little bit too bourgeoisie for many, with the main character driving a Benz Car and owning a huge farmhouse in a hill station besides his original home in the city. The feelings that we have for the family is much more as we can relate to them, at least most of us. The danger is always there, with the younger child closest to death than any other, even though I would consider all lives as equal whether that of children or the elders – I am not a robot to calculate how much more they will live and be useful to society or turn into murderous psychopaths.

Positives and negatives :: The movie might not be appreciated as doing as good as the original, but we know that it is true for all Bollywood adaptations, a case which is best depicted in the works od Priyadarshan, as the original Malayalam movies were all classics which can have no match, certainly none with nepotism factor taking around, like in the case of that remake of Helen. The idea of the original version would always stay strong, and with this one made on a bigger budget and made to suit the spoon-fed and feel-good-seeking audience, some of the soul of a dark movie would be left out – we know what the Bollywood have been involved in making big blockbusters, and so the taste difference would be looked at by the makers who remake works. But the movie has its tension perfectly built and the danger felt from within, with no exaggeration. Each and every moment in the house seems to be perfectly created, and the cast nicely adapts to the same. The satanic touch brings the terror as the movie shifts its world by the end really well.

The performers of the soul :: Janki Bodiwala is the one person who steals the show, long above the veteran stars who surrounds her, and it is no surprise as her character stays at the centre and decides too many outcomes. She had also played the same character in the original movie, and that experience seems to count. This work will establish her as one of the best among the future stars of Bollywood, and maybe could have a hand in another regional cinema too. She has the biggest moments of the film to perform, like the one where sits on the gas cylinder, dancing without end and those smiles and laughs for no reason which are truly spooky. Madhavan might have played the best villain in a horror movie, and let us hope that the ending of Hindi version does not spoil his chance to bring a sequel with him in it. The way in which he gives instructions and talks about his own greatness provides us with the chills. Ajay Devgn and Jyothika plays the helpless parents who still struggle to make things happen and save their family quite well. As the former nicely manages to bring the heroic father to the scene, let’s see what the next sequel of Drishyam brings, as Bollywood is ready take the script from the Malayalam version, and Tamil, Telugu and other versions would be waiting.

How it finishes :: Shaitaan, as a remake of the 2023 Gujarati film Vash, makes a fine impact, even though most of us have not watched the original. But from what has been heard, the original is more of the classic, but as we only have this one around here, and it is very well-made, despite the ending seemingly not that special compared to the original. There is a haunting and satisfying feeling about it, with that strength which is rarely seen in pure horror movies of Bollywood, even though movies like Stree and its sequel had made horror comedy working better. The best horror of pure seriousness was done well by Bollywood quite long ago, and most of the time there were only movies like 3G and Murder which only partially did the job. But this one will surely achieve a legendary status, despite being an adaptation of an older film. Remakes will work very well if done in the right manner, and this one proves it. This is also a proof for the fact that you do not need to keep looking at Hollywood for horror every time, and basic elements for the same working out is right here, with us.

Release date: 8th March 2024
Running time: 132 minutes
Directed by: Vikas Bahl
Starring: Janki Bodiwala, Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Jyothika, Anngad Raaj

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Stree 2

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Vampire Owl: What do you know about this particular demon?

Vampire Bat: I can say nothing because I did not see the first part.

Vampire Owl: There are no demons that you do not know.

Vampire Bat: There are witches that I do not know.

Vampire Owl: This one has a witch at the centre, that too a good-looking one?

Vampire Bat: There is a lot of magic in here, and for that, we can use witches.

Vampire Owl: Magic and monsters are not always related.

Vampire Bat: You are talking about the monsters of science.

Vampire Owl: We have left that one with Alien Romulus. Even with the possibility of advanced necromancy.

Vampire Bat: Science has the bigger monsters, especially of this age. The demons from outer space could make an entry

Vampire Owl: The vampires of science are also there.

Vampire Bat: Vampires will never be related to science. They are exact opposites, like the white and black witches from the other side.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has made sure about that with his research which has no parallel in this world or the other including the shadow world.

Vampire Bat: Well, we do not need to go back to that pseudo doctor.

Vampire Owl: You earlier called Mr. Frankenstein a pseudo scientist.

Vampire Bat: I cannot wait to see that man being thrown out of laboratory.

Vampire Owl: You continue to be disrespectful to him, despite the great inventions which he has made for our people instead of those evil humans.

Vampire Bat: I do not have a reason not to be so.

Vampire Owl: Well, you will soon find his greatest invention above your head.

Vampire Bat: What would that be? A cap? A hat? A cloud of blood?

Vampire Owl: You will know soon enough after watching this movie.

Vampire Bat: This is our first movie in any Forum Mall.

Vampire Owl: And the newest Forum Mall which seems to be the best-looking shopping mall in the whole area.

Vampire Bat: Well, we have finally found the time. We were too busy to live in the last few months, but this time, we are all prepared to watch an interesting movie in one of the best multiplexes in the city right now. The fate has played well to bring us help.

[Gets a box with cheese popcorn and three chocolates and moves into theatre].

Vampire Owl: The strength of folktale is displayed so well.

Vampire Bat: The horror elements have blended nicely with the comedy.

Vampire Owl: Unlike Romancham, this is really a horror comedy.

Vampire Bat: Some elements seem forced, but seem to work even then.

Vampire Owl: Folktale has no limits, I would say, as we have seen where it has gained followers.

Vampire Bat: The original tale providing inspiration seems to be from Karnataka.

Vampire Owl: Yet, there are changes, and those seem to work well too.

Vampire Bat: Rajkummar Rao is indeed the actor to look out for yet again.

Vampire Owl: And Shraddha Kapoor blends in really well.

Vampire Bat: Among the next generation of actresses, she is indeed the best.

Vampire Owl: Pankaj Tripathi adds to the funny side really well, and some of the best moments seem to come from his side.

Vampire Bat: The supporting cast of Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana works well too, especially with the humour.

Vampire Owl: This universe seems to be interesting like the one which has reached Leo.

Vampire Bat: Yet, we understand everything without having watched the first movie.

Vampire Owl: The tale of the headless ghost sounds like something we know.

Vampire Bat: We remember Sleepy Hollow, but that one had the headless horseman.

Vampire Owl: Well, we can always be headless in our journeys like being fangless.

Vampire Bat: Vampires die without their heads, and a stake is not always a necessity.

Vampire Owl: Oh! I almost ended up donating mine to a noble cause.

Vampire Bat: You are one strange vampire, aren’t you?

Vampire Owl: Not as strange as the unexpected werewolf in this movie.

Vampire Bat: They are our immortal enemies, but is on the good side in this movie.

Vampire Owl: That was one extra cameo which seemed to be added just for the universe.

Vampire Bat: The terror feels real, and the addition of humour only makes things better. The ending seems to have the scope to offer more with a possible sequel.

Vampire Owl: So much of supernatural makes me feel better.

Vampire Bat: There were still times when this one could have had those grand moments.

Vampire Owl: The ending also feels too usual for our taste.

Vampire Bat: The final moments have us so close to inferno which seems to be the final terrifying destination to remember.

Vampire Owl: There is no hell that matches the basement of the castle. The area which burns like no other in a world of chaos.

Vampire Bat: We use that area for frying our chicken, and molten lava has been added in the last few years to bring more heat.

Vampire Owl: You mean there are Vampire Chicken? They have been present here all the time?

Vampire Bat: No, there is no immortal chicken yet. There have been applications, but none has been accepted yet by Uncle Dracula.

Vampire Owl: It is a good thing. Otherwise, Chicken Biryani would suffer in all territories, and there would be no great food towards infinity.

Vampire Bat: Shraddha Kapoor makes the favourite demon, that much I can assure you for now.

[Disappears into the darkness of the day with bats bringing the cover, as a feeling of night seems to come in].

This is the YouTube video with the fifth film review there. The video reviews have had the focus by attracting more viewers, and tries to make interesting comments about the selected movies. The writing will also go on through its path, but the visual side also has its say more than ever, as the YouTube channel “Scholar Nomads” intends to explore more areas of interest. For both blog and vlog, there will be film reviews and even more to be seen with new styles.

Release date: 15th August 2024
Running time: 149 minutes
Directed by: Amar Kaushik
Starring: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Atul Srivastava, Mushtaq Khan, Sunita Rajwar, Anya Singh, Arvind Bilgaiyan, Bhoomi Rajgor, Sunil Kumar, Aakash Dabhade, Simran Sharma, Ajay Pal, Mustaqueem Khan, Badriprasad Chavan, Vipasha Arvind, Tamannaah Bhatia (cameo), Akshay Kumar (cameo), Varun Dhawan (cameo), Amar Kaushik (cameo)

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Jalsa

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Vampire Owl: I am glad that they are still releasing movies on OTT platforms.

Vampire Bat: Yes, otherwise, we would go to some air-conditioned theatre and catch the corona virus pandemic.

Vampire Owl: And we have Amazon Prime Video getting one more.

Vampire Bat: It is indeed the best platform as more people have Prime.

Vampire Owl: Well, the theatres can have the mass masala movies.

Vampire Bat: Yes, we can have the dumb fans limited to the theatres that way.

Vampire Owl: Well, we all know the taste of the brainless.

Vampire Bat: Well, the human brain is more ridiculous than ever these days.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that you have ever trusted a human brain to be good.

Vampire Bat: If you are talking about good as in good v/s evil, the answer is a clear no.

[Gets a vegetable puffs and three cups of black tea].

What is the movie about? :: Maya Menon (Vidya Balan) is a very successful journalist based out of Mumbai. After many years of success, she continues to be among the biggest names in the field, as her name is on many hoardings and she also brings trouble to the big names which she interviews. Ruksana Mohammed (Shefali Shah) works as domestic help at her home, and focuses the most on cooking. Shefali’s daughter, Alia Mohammed (Kashish Rizwan) happens to be that kind of an eighteen year old daughter who pretends that she is always studying very hard at night, but spends most of her time with her boyfriend, as her father also works at night like her mother. On that eventful night when she hopes to enjoy her life on a lie, she is hit by a car after running away from her boyfriend all of a sudden and landing in the middle of the road. The boyfriend gets on the motorbike and gets away as soon as possible, and so does the person who was in the car.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Rohini George (Vidhatri Bandi) is a trainee who works at the same online news portal where Maya is leading the team. She joined the team just recently, and is hoping to crack some case which will make her really popular, and lead to an increase in her salary. Hailing from Cochin, Rohini wishes to bring her mother to Mumbai after she has settled down there. She lacks in confidence, but is determined to make a difference. She follows the same case, and gets to know about the boyfriend. Maya is angry about the same and asks her to stop investigating the case. But it won’t move out of Rohini’s head at all. At the same time, there is the remorseful boyfriend who wanders around, and Maya’s boss who is adamant on letting this episode go behind. The police officers ask them to take some money and leave the case. Everyone here seems to be worries about something, but Maya and Ruksana are more worried that anyone else – where will this problem end?

The defence of Jalsa :: There is a certain amount of serenity about this movie even though the tension is there at all times. It deals with the moral conflict in a very smooth manner, as none of the characters here seems to be evil, with everyone trying to come up with a solution which is good for everyone. Everyone is facing that moral problem due to different reasons, and we can feel the strength of the anxiety related to the same. The emotions are running strong in the background for sure, even though it never comes to the front that often. It is also that kind of a movie which starts strong, and then focuses on the proceedings slowly, and bring everything back to where it started by the end. The performances are what makes things better, as there is always someone around here to raise the level of the movie. The movie also keeps away from the usual Bollywood things, and without adding those extra unnecessary elements, it becomes something realistic, and a movie which is for the intellectual emotions.

The claws of flaw :: The movie has a little bit of complicated collection of events which seems to be stuck together. It gets quite slow at times, and often has moments which we could have done without. It also comes to a much expected end too slowly, and one often feels that there is a little bit of too much time taken to reach this particular end. A stronger and more emotional ending was the need of this film. The movie is also not something that can run for more than two hours – this is the kind of thing which should be over in one and half, and the rest is just a stretch. With this length, it keeps adding something or the other without strengthening the stronger points. Even though this is a fine deviation in Bollywood, it should have more courage to get it deeper, and with the same, a few dull and unnecessary moments of not much worth could have been removed. It could have also explored the story of the young and inexperienced reporter even more. Some better visuals of the world other than the very expensive flat could have also helped.

The performers of the soul :: Vidya Balan is once again doing the job so well with sincerity and quality. He plays the confident journalist who leads with a trauma with morality tormenting her more than anything – it is something which she seems to do with ease, and if the pace of the movie was better, she could have come up with something even sharper. Shefali Shah plays the mother figure to many children really well too – duped by her children, but always seeing the best in all kids. But these performances were quite expected, and the one which stands apart is that of Vidhatri Bandi who plays a young girl from Cochin who has come to Mumbai to become a famed journalist – the girl does remind one of so many similar people in Kerala itself, those who needs a boost of confidence while going through the tough times. I do feel that I would exactly be like here when caught in such a situation. The movie begins with Kashish Rizwan’s work, and despite playing a character in bed for most of the film, she remains notable from the beginning. The actors who play the police officers also come up with some believable work.

How it finishes :: Jalsa makes a solid point with its proceedings. There are moments that make one think and wonder about different elements. Kaanekkaane is a movie which dealt with similar themes, as its world also revolved around one accident. It was a much more emotional tale with even bigger performances, as we look back at it. If you have watched the movie C/O Saira Banu, it also deals with a similar accident from another point of view – these are the movies which you should watch, and you will feel that this particular movie has surely had some inspirations from there. Just like those two movies, this movie is also an emotional thriller, and has the emotional moments helped by a few twists which serve as interesting subplots. Well, the tale that we have at the centre will surely remain something of relevance, and can bring more movies in Bollywood – we can hope that there is no superstar leading the way in them though, as in that case, it would get to be really absurd, leading to a wrong turn.

Release date: 18th March 2022 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 126 minutes
Directed by: Suresh Triveni
Starring: Vidya Balan, Shefali Shah, Rohini Hattangadi, Vidhatri Bandi, Manav Kaul, Iqbal Khan, Surya Kasibhatia, Shrikant Yadav, Ghanshyam Lalsa, Gurpal Singh, Shafeen Patel, Kashish Rizwan, Vijay Nikam, Junaid Khan, Trunshant Ingle, Monu Gurjar, Uday Vir Singh

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Amazon release film review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Amazon release Indian film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Bob Biswas

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Vampire Owl: I am interested in this from the trailer itself.

Vampire Bat: There is a lot to be interested about, in there.

Vampire Owl: Yes, I feel that this could be my favourite film of this lead actor.

Vampire Bat: Abhishek Bachchan has been in need of such roles for long.

Vampire Owl: It seems that everyone around knows this particular character though.

Vampire Bat: Yes, the titular character is from a film which we didn’t watch.

Vampire Owl: Well, as this is a spin-off, I guess that it is fine enough.

Vampire Bat: You can always have more though.

Vampire Owl: I wonder if that would be possible with more theatre releases.

Vampire Bat: We have shifted to OTT from theatres. The rest will be history.

[Gets some French fries and three cups of black tea].

What is the movie about? :: Bob Biswas (Abhishek Bachchan) is a former insurance agent who has been in a comma for years, and has now come back to his senses, only to find out that he doesn’t really remember anything, despite the best efforts of everyone around him. He is told that he has a wife, Mary Biswas (Chitrangada Singh) along with their daughter Mini (Samara Tijori) and son Benny (Ronith Arora). It turns out that he has earned almost nothing from his work as an insurance agent, and he also understands that they are still living in a small rented home. Mary and Benny tries their best to make him remember his past through different incidents which serve as catalysts. Mini spends all her time studying so that she could become a doctor at some point of time. She is so much focused on the same that she even looks out for drugs which help her to concentrate better on her studies. As she finds a new kind of drug which can help her in examinations, there is also the addiction that comes with it. She wanders through risky territories searching for the same.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: One day, two strangers, Jishu Narag (Bhanu Uday) and Kharaj Sahu (Vishwanath Chatterjee) approach him, and ask him to get back to what he has been doing the best, which is assassination of chosen targets. He doesn’t really believe them though, and keep on going with his life, as well as meet some possible clients as an insurance agent. Soon, he finds himself murdering a man in the neighborhood, as that person was disturbing his daughter with his loud singing, and this comes as a surprise for him. He continues the murders, as a dealer of the drugs, Bubai (Purab Kohli) and his henchmen also become his victims, with him regaining his lost talents. Later, there are other targets added to his list. Indira Verma (Tina Desai) is in charge of the investigation about a few murders which have happened around. She suspects that Bob and Mini have something to do with them. Meanwhile, there is a war going on between different gangs, and some police officers are also part of it. Still, it is yet to be seen if something can be done about it.

The defence of Bob Biswas :: There is something not Bollywood-like about this movie, and that is indeed the strength here. Shot in the city of Joy, Kolkata does give this film some real life with the visuals and the lifestyle. There is always something different about a movie which is shot in Kolkata, and it is not just about Hindi films – we feel a lovely divergence, and a joy which comes with the nickname of the city itself. This kind of setting also suits the film’s genre-blurring, as it is partly a thriller and at times it is drama, with a good dose of action coming at times and getting stronger by the end of the film, as the mystery is finally unveiled almost completely. The emotions run high around here, as much as the mystery which has the need to get solved early enough. There is also a good amount of humour in store here, especially with some black comedy, often related to murders and death. The same is more or less about Abhishek Bachchan, who has done a job which one would love to remember him for – not like the highly forgettable sequels of Dhoom, which have gained all the money at the box-office.

Positives and negatives :: Bob Biswas can be felt as a little bit slow, and kind of lengthy, considering the fact that in the early moments, it doesn’t pick up the pace. Even when it gets into that crime memory quick enough, the overall pace is still the same – yet, there is beauty in this slow pace. There are also reminders of Hollywood movies here, like The Accountant, John Wick, Gemini Man and Hitman, but nothing much is that clear about the origins and rise of this particular assassin, and instead of making this one an origin story, everyone is more concerned about making sure that this one keeps going towards a possible sequel. The subplot doesn’t really work that much, and the movie could have done well without the same. The Kolkata settings could have also been used in the form of some trams at night, the crowded railway stations and the charming old buses, all good enough to contribute to a tale like this. Also, too many characters are dead very easily, and we also have the absence of a single strong villain here, despite menace being always there. Those who seems to be good enough for the same are also dead early, much to our dismay.

The performers of the soul :: This is Abhishek Bachchan’s best movie in a long time, and one can only be glad to see him in this particular avatar. He has blended in nicely into this character with some special problems. Chitrangada Singh plays the lady lead really well too, and we don’t see her that often these days. Samara Tijori who plays the daughter, also has some interesting work to do, even though the character doesn’t get the dimensions as it deserves. She could surely be a talent for the future. Tina Desai’s work comes as the big surprise, as we have been remembering her for the much underrated, but very much memorable thriller, Table No. 21 which also had a song to remember with her around. One has to wonder why she didn’t get that many big roles, as she makes a solid police officer here too, reminding one of Tapsee Pannu in Naam Shabana and Baby – maybe her character could also have a full-length action movie spin-off at some point of time. We note the other characters too, but not that much individually in comparison to these.

How it finishes :: Bob Biswas is known to have come from the movie Kahaani, but I haven’t watched that particular film, and have manage to watch only its sequel. My only relation there is with Kahaani 2, which proved to be a pretty good movie. This movie is also strong with its themes, as guilt and remorse keeps on running through here, with a church and a cemetery at the centre. The message about one’s terrible crimes coming back to haunt the person is evident, and we see the man going John Wick in style, making the final moments of the film very much enjoyable. Unless you are looking for the traces of a Vidya Balan film from a long time ago while making comparisons, this one is surely a fully enjoyable journey despite the slower pace at parts. There is always something about this film, and you have to keep the Bollywood-style requirements away, as this one completely moves away from that mindless comedy. With the theatres opening again, these OTT films have to be very good to keep one watching things online, and Bob Biswas succeeds in doing the same.

Release date: 3rd December 2021 (ZEE5)
Running time: 131 minutes
Directed by: Diya Annapurna Ghosh
Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Chitrangada Singh, Paran Bandopadhyay, Purab Kohli, Barun Chanda, Bhanu Uday, Amar Upadhyay, Kanchan Mullick, Samara Tijori, Ronith Arora, Ditipriya Roy, Karanuday Jenjani, Vishwanath Chatterjee, Kunal Verma, Pabitra Rabha, Yusuf Hussain, Tina Desai, Rajatabha Dutta

<— Click here to go to the previous film review.

<— Click here to go to the previous Hindi film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Chhorii

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Vampire Owl: More of interesting horror to be unleashed?

Vampire Bat: Yes, Dybbuk was a remake from our world, and this one is remade from another language and industry.

Vampire Owl: Some good original horror is always in need.

Vampire Bat: Horror can be original only in a limited way, as it is universal.

Vampire Owl: Unless we become the one true horror.

Vampire Bat: We are never truly into horror.

Vampire Owl: So, we are not into our true nature.

Vampire Bat: The normal terrifying vampire has already been abolished.

Vampire Owl: You mean that there is no normal anymore.

Vampire Bat: Normal is not real as of now, not in our realm.

[Gets some French fries and three cups of white tea].

What is the movie about? :: A pregnant woman is chased in a sugarcane field by unknown forces, and with nowhere to go, they force her to cut their womb. Later, in a city, Sakshi (Nushrratt Bharuccha) is pregnant, and works in an NGO, and lives with her husband Hemant (Saurabh Goyal), who is in trouble for not returning a loan in time, with his business failing. His partner had also disappeared with the money. He feels that he is being stalked by people who needs the money back. She is happy with her work and regarding life in the city, but things don’t get any better with the cash which was borrowed. As people start threatening them, with Hemant even getting beaten at times, this makes the city no longer a safe choice for living. They are given twenty four hours to return the money, and make the decision to leave for their driver’s village which is located in a very remote area, and has a good number of sugarcane fields. Three hundred kilometres away, and a lot distant from civilizations, there are only five houses in the village.

So, what happens with the events to follow? :: It seems that almost nobody comes there, even by mistake. They have to walk a long way through the sugarcane fields, and after almost losing the way multiple times, reach the area which has no network coverage and almost no shop. There, they meet Bhanno Devi (Mita Vashisht), the driver’s wife, a very orthodox woman who seems to be a person completely belonging to that particular village in more than one way. Hemant leaves the place soon enough, to find a solution to their financial problems, and the two women share a bond with each other. What Sakshi doesn’t understand is that there is more than what meets the eye with the people there, as much as the supernatural. Therefore, the fight will be against the dead, the undead and the living to save her world. But is it possible for her to face such terror in a weakened state? Do they have further secrets which needs to be unveiled for her life to be saved from what seems to be doom in waiting?

The defence of Chhorii :: Chhorii adds to the list of horror movies which are part of a human infested, virus infected world, which is not less terrifying than any film which one will get to see. The atmosphere here is really good, and it is really shot here to create the perfect situation for horror. It looks scary enough during the day time, and in darkness, it is something more. Being at the middle of nowhere, with no place to go, is terrifying enough, and there is more here to add to the same. It is certainly a scarier world than the lifeless modernity or a haunted house, with or without the presence of the supernatural. The presence of the children here adds to that eerie feeling more, for we are never hopeless about the terror of some demon kids. The background story which serves as the flashback gets things to be really interesting. The film also has a social message which runs through the background and comes strong in the final moments of the film.

The claw of flaw :: The movie can feel somewhat stretched for one’s liking, as it does feel long with much of time being consumed without a lot happening. With a shorter length, this could have been much more effective, adding a certain amount of crispiness here and there. The language spoken by the villagers can also be difficult to understand, leaving us to look out for the subtitles at regular intervals. The tale could have also been more straight-forward, without leaving the mysterious elements behind. The message also arrives late, and if it had released much earlier, the effect could have been more. The stereotyping and the predictable elements are also allowed to run strong around here. The scary elements could have been more, using the atmosphere to more of an advantage – there were so many moments which could have used better scares, and combined them with the atmosphere. The present world asks for a lot more horror than the pre-Corona world, as people have changed a little too much for everyone’s liking.

The performers of the soul :: The movie is very much centered and focused on Nushrratt Bharuccha. She is very much comfortable in playing the pregnant city woman who ends up in a village, all alone. She deals with the horror genre really well, and it would be nice to see her in a similar role with city horror at some later point. As this film is a remake of a Marathi horror film which released a few years, there would be comparisons, also related to the performances – only those who watched the original can comment further on the same. We know that Mita Vasisht from different movies in the past, and this one is no exception for her, as she runs through the whole thing without holding back. Pallavi Ajay, even though silent throughout the film, makes a strong presence. Yaaneea Bharadwaj plays the one ghost whom we would like for most of the time, and there seems to be a lot of work being put in there. Rajesh Jais plays the man with a mystery to him very well. Saurabh Goyal also does more than what his character seemed to be up to, in the beginning.

How it finishes :: At a time when life is full of horror, especially with humans mostly choosing the evil paths, the requirement for horror films never ends. The one movie that we remember while watching this is the English film, In the Tall Grass, with the environment, and also about an Indonesian film, Impetigore. This movie is also a reminder of humanity’s evil side, and it tells us that humans are always more evil than ghosts, going after their selfish needs all the time. There is so much of evil being repeated in our world, and the movie, even though focuses on the crimes on women, one has to say that the Corona virus infected world has seen too much of the same being done on different unsuspecting people. The film enters the world which has lost its humanity, and repeats its own favourite mistakes – the basic idea that human beings cannot be trusted, will only find a repetition here, as ghosts do have more quality than those who walk on Earth claiming as the superior living species.

Release date: 26th November 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 129 minutes
Directed by: Vishal Furia
Starring: Nushrratt Bharuccha, Mita Vashisht, Pallavi Ajay, Yaaneea Bharadwaj, Rajesh Jais, Saurabh Goyal

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Dybbuk

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Vampire Owl: I am surprised that they have come up with a remake of Ezra after four years.

Vampire Bat: Yes, four years is a long time for a movie like Ezra.

Vampire Owl: Do you remember the last time when we had loved a Bollywood horror movie so much?

Vampire Bat: I am also not sure about that. We have been into Hollywood and other foreign language horror only.

Vampire Owl: I would like to know where this one stands in comparison with the original.

Vampire Bat: We had watched the original too long ago. Therefore, I am not sure if we can compare these well enough.

Vampire Owl: I only hope that our memories are as sharp as the vampire manual says.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that this one will have some difference, surely more than what the remakes like Drishyam have.

Vampire Owl: Ghosts need to be shown as somewhat different, because they are all not the same when at different places and affecting different people.

Vampire Bat: Well, maybe the demon of Ezra really needed another outing, and this one can serve it well, like vampires always needed.

[Gets some spicy tapioca chips and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is this remake of Ezra all about? :: The death of a Jew in Mauritius marks the end of a century old history of Jews in Mauritius – he was the last Jew around there, part of a group of Jews who had taken refuge in the island to escape persecutions and possible genocides. A mysterious box from the house goes missing, and soon, a local man is found dead without leaving any clues about the murder. It is indeed a strange case, and police hopes that something will lead them in the right direction. A newly married couple, Sam Issac (Emraan Hashmi) and Mahi Sood (Nikita Dutta) seems to be having a problem-free life until they move to Mauritius and the latter brings an antique box back to their new residence in the island. It is an isolated place, more or less like a holiday home, with no human to disturb them. But that would change soon enough, as what she brought back home as part of decorating the place turns out to be a Dybbuk box, which is supposed to be claimed by a Jewish demonic spirit called Dybbuk.

So, what happens next in this tale of horror out of a myth? :: Meanwhile, Sam is still working, as he is part of a company named Zayke, which deals with the disposal of nuclear waste from Europe. He feels that there is a certain amount of hallucination going on with her, as she had a miscarriage just some time ago. The spirit maintains all the qualities of the usual spirits, but is supposed to be among the most dangerous among them all. There is not much known about the same though, as there are not many Jews they know, with most of them migrating to Israel early enough. There would be strange things happening in the house very soon, and soon, a nightmare would begin for them. They think about getting rid of the box, but the spirit already has its place. To read the Hebrew inscription on the box, they contact a professor who gives them the translation. The same person also gives them the contact details of a rabbi who seems to be the only one who can help them. But are they moving in the right path against this particular evil spirit?

The defence of Dybbuk :: There is variety here, which this move inherits from its original, and there is quality in the looks too, with improvements there. The visuals are used well to create the horror advantage, and the darkness as well as the creepy elements are adjusted well with the use of sound effects, and these work really well in the first half to make us interested in a second half which promises further. The visuals of Mauritius nicely adds to the beauty in totality. There is also a lot in the story here, unlike the usual horror movies, and the creature that does the haunting around here is not among the usual ones, as the myth is comparatively new, especially for those who haven’t watched the original. There is the feeling of antiquity as well as a beauty not of this world being portrayed here. There is also that one twist that happens by the end, but that is not too innovative. But we do see that this one has a very slight edge over the original, and yet both remains the same in many elements as well as repeated scenes.

The claws of flaw :: It has to be noted that the evil spirit doesn’t have the terrifying presence that it had in the first half, being repeated in the second – the final exorcism, brings nothing huge, even though were always going for the big finish to lift the film in the end. There were so many possibilities with this movie with the new demon, and the unlimited number of chances are not used at all – it is kind of strange that the movie doesn’t take its opportunities as much as it could, just like the original didn’t. Dybbuk could have been scarier, and there is no doubt about that, with the original idea already being displayed on the big screen with the support of big sound systems – this one being released on Amazon Prime Video, there was the requirement of more power to keep the audience in fear and at the edge of their seats, but we see that such strength is not there, even though we can approve and appreciate the improvements which were made here. Yet, the background story of the spirit was better in the original.

Performers of the soul :: In a movie that has Emraan Hashmi as the protagonist, it is him who leads the way – in comparison with Prithviraj Sukumaran, one has to say that there has been some difference added to the role, but he has managed well, as he did the same in Chehre, the thriller which also released on Amazon Prime Video a few days ago. His affiliation with horror is here to stay, as it seems – there are a few other Malayalam films with certain thriller elements which could have him in the remake, one would feel. Nikita Dutta has come up with a very good performance as the lady in distress, being forced to be part of a demonic activity in which she is completely immersed. There is not much difference in her performance in comparison to the work in the original, but she does seems to have more emotions coming her way – there was the requirement to have a song like “Lailakame” for her too, with that much quality. The rest of the cast fills in well, and we have to look out for the Rabbis this time, and not the priests of the usual background – they have chosen the appropriate ones to play these roles too.

How it finishes :: There has a little shortage of horror movies in Malayalam movie industry, but Bollywood has chosen to remake this one, which is why, one can be sure that the Indian cinema as a whole, has the requirement is for more good horror. We do not have the need for more drama and more romance – there is so much of the same already, as well as those silly masala movies, and we need to move out of them whether with remakes or originals. Therefore, Ezra‘s remake is something which has to be appreciated, and the fact that there is no missing out here is a fine thing. Remaking a Malayalam movie can only mean good things for Bollywood, even though the exact opposite might not mean the same. As far as this film is concerned, the remake is done really well, and even with the limitations of the original maintained the same, there are a few moments which make this movie work as an improvement, with added visuals and special effects. So, Amazon Prime Video can be happy to have this one at a time when people are slowly just starting to think about choosing the theatres over OTT.

Release date: 29th October 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 152 minutes
Directed by: Jay K
Starring: Emraan Hashmi, Nikita Dutta, Darshana Banik, Pranay Ranjan, Denzil Smith, Ivan Sylvester Rodrigues, Vivana Singh, Sudev Nair, Manav Kaul, Yuri Suri, Vipin Sharma

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Chehre

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Vampire Owl: How many faces do we see here?

Vampire Bat: The faces of humans do not matter at all.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that it would matter to us more at some point.

Vampire Bat: The human identity is no longer significant in a world of chaos.

Vampire Owl: Well, at least we can know the lying faces early.

Vampire Bat: Well, it is the only thing that humans do throughout their lives.

Vampire Owl: I did trust too many humans, and that has made a mess. They are the true villains of all realms.

Vampire Bat: Humans are all about lying, cheating and stealing. Being the villains of the universe comes naturally to them.

Vampire Owl: Well, I would say that demons are better.

Vampire Bat: Let the zombies for eat their brains then.

[Gets an orange cake and three cups of cardamom tea].

What is the movie about? :: Sameer Mehra (Emraan Hashmi) is forced to travel through some strong winter in the mountains. He wishes to go to Delhi, but is forced to stop in the middle of nowhere, as the climate only gets worse, and his car is stuck, with trees right in the front. He searches for a hotel or a guest house to wait until the tree is removed by the authorities. He then comes across Paramjeet Singh Bhullar (Annu Kapoor) who asks him to join come to a friend’s place until things get any better, even though there are not signs of something like that happening. He is taken to the house of Jagdish Acharya (Dhritiman Chatterjee), and he also meets Hariya Jatav (Raghubir Yadav) there. Anna (Rhea Chakraborty) is already present there, helping everyone in the building, who are pretty much old. The mobile phones have no network connection out there, and the landlines also do not work, much to the dismay of Sameer who wishes to connect to his wife.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The group of old men is also joined by Lateef Zaidi (Amitabh Bachchan), who reaches there despite the snowfall getting much worse. Sameer is surprised to see everything that happens around this house in the middle of nowhere, which is nothing less than a grand mansion of some older time period. They tell Sameer that they meet there and play a strange game in which these retired professionals of law conduct mock trials. They take some very old well known case and go on with the same. In the beginning, they talk about the case of Phoolan Devi, but later chooses Sameer as the accused. Sameer says that he hasn’t committed any crime, and is ready to face anything that is put in front of him. He is confident that he will win the game, and none of these people are good enough to pose any challenge to him. But there is more than what meets the eye to these people in the mansion.

The defence of Chehre :: What works really well for Chehre is its setting in the middle of nowhere, with snow all around, and the building is also a thing of visual splendour which we cannot avoid. Everything is perfectly suited for what is to happen next in the film. It also seems to come up with a message, even though it seems to be confused about where that is leading. But it never leaves the messages behind, that is for sure. The film does stand for the right judgment and the need for justice to be served, even though it seems almost impossible to be done when law has its loopholes. The cast is also nicely selected here, and we see the signs of the same at different moments. It does need some courage and skill to create something like this which go highly unconventional, and one cannot deny the fact that there is some good research done in the background – the risk does have its own effectiveness to go with it.

The claws of flaw :: The initial introductory dialogue by Amitabh Bachchan during the beginning itself is one of the least interesting starts to a film, and it keeps us wishing to fast forward throughout those dialogues. There are many other dialogues which were not necessary, and often goes out of the equation, seemingly just for the sake of bringing them. Too much speech here adds to the struggle, which also lengthens the film too much. When you keep talking too much without coming up with any action, people can only be confused. Preaching doesn’t always get you were you want. It also struggles to use most of its elements in the best possible manner, even though there were indeed the available opportunities. This could have been something like Pink, or something stranger than we could ever imagine, but the same is not done here. There was even scope for bringing something supernatural into the scene.

Performers of the soul :: Amitabh Bachchan controls things around here, and he makes things clear from the beginning itself. We have seen him doing this a lot, in different movies belonging to various decades. The rest of the support including Annu Kapoor, Dhritiman Chatterjee and Raghubir Yadav are very much suitable for how the game moves on. They are all different when we look at them, and have some interesting perspectives. Emraan Hashmi is also pretty much suitable for this kind of role. Siddhanth Kapoor plays a mute role, a notable one indeed. Rhea Chakraborty shows some promise, but the role is not carried on that much, even though the world could have had more for her. Krystle D’Souza makes a bigger impact, as she blends in very well to the character. There is a certain amount of mystery about her character, and even with some predictability, leaves one with more than what originally meets the eye.

How it finishes :: Chehre is a mystery thriller which can surely boast about its moments, and even though known as an uncredited adaptation of a German novel named A Dangerous Game by Friedrich Durrenmatt, makes its point well within its adapted environment. During the days of COVID-19, containment, quarantine and lockdown, we all love to watch movies set in remote worlds. It is a fine decision to release this movie on Amazon Prime Video, some days after its release in the theatres, as we are yet to see the theatres being opened here. We do know that the movie could have been much better, but for now, we adjust with what we have, and enjoy it in moments. After all, the world as we know it also has had its own limitations in the last one and half years. Nothing is the same any more, and we enjoy what we have here, with less than three months to go to end another year of virus and all kinds of terror to behold.

Release date: 30th September 2021 (Amazon), 21st August 2021 (Theatre)
Running time: 139 minutes
Directed by: Rumi Jaffery
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Emraan Hashmi, Krystle D’Souza, Rhea Chakraborty, Annu Kapoor, Raghubir Yadav, Alexx O’Nell, Sameer Soni, Dhritiman Chatterjee

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.