Apr 19, 2013 05:56 PM
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It was pitch dark as I was walking towards my ancestral home from a nearby temple procession when she was explaining me a few things about the transcendental. I was a bit frightened but excited and was too engrossed in listening that I forgot when we reached home. The story continued for quite a while before I fell asleep on her lap. It has been more than 15 years now, she is no more but I got that eerie feeling while watching this movie – it’s an engrossing tale and for a time being it felt as if my grandmother was narrating it.
The plot revolves around the life of Bobo, the magician. He is an expert in his craft and reminds you of Christian Bale’s role in the Prestige. He can pull of the most difficult magic tricks with ease. During such a show something strikes him that leaves him confused. This takes us to the past of where the 10 year old is suddenly hit when his widower father brings a new bride, who young Bobo now believes to be the daayan from his grandmother’s stories.
The death of his father and his sister gives him another jolt and according to him his stepmother( the daayan) was the cause of all this. In the present, Bobo has an almost perfect life along with this ladylove Tamara and his adopted child Zuben. But his past comes back to haunt him which forms the crux of the story.
The story is brilliant in the first half but loses its sheen as it comes to the second but still manages to maintain sense aesthetically which many other bollywood movies of this genre disregard.
Kanan Iyer has managed to draw attention with a genre which would have otherwise felt flat on its face , had it been directed in a our normal bhootiya (umm..boring) way. He instills fear in the minds of the viewers not by showing bhoots and aatma’s but by making us feel connected to our pasts thereby showing us that fear is the work of internal demons. The movie has its moments of spine chilling horror though.
Emraan Hashmi has not only held on to his serial kisser tag but also sharpened his acting skills and can safely be considered one of the best actors today. Moreover this movie suits his acting style and he fits into this role with relative ease. Apart from him all the three female leads Huma Ouereshi, Kalki and Konkona have been perfect in their respective roles.
Konkona in particular has done a top notch job and is sure to mesmerize you. All the supporting actors have done a commendable job that is good enough to take you through the entire length of the movie without getting bugged.
There is something special when it comes to Emraan Hashmi and songs in his movies. Even the most boring ones had great tracks and the same has repeated with this one. You are sure to keep humming some of those tracks for some time. Vishal Bharadwaj has been a master at experimentation and dons both the roles of the producer and the music director in the movie and I should say that his experimentation has been fruitful.
The supernatural has always fascinated me and that fascination was well supported by the movie. And If you have such a fascination then this should be on the list of your must watch’s this weekend.
