After watching Shaitaan there will be three kind of people, one who would thoroughly enjoy it, two who would hate it and the third who will keep discussing how it could have been better. I belong to the last category, but I also enjoyed the movie. This was in many ways a typical common family man ( Ajay Devgn) saving his family at any cost movie. However, it is R. Madhavan who keeps you engaged with his almost perfect performance.
It is after a long time that I enjoyed any horror- para-normal- supernatural movie after a few in which Ram Gopal Verma as a director excelled. It is okay if it is an adaptation from a Gujarati movie- Vash – which is currently tough to track on the net.
THE PLOT
Shaitaan (Vash) is all about a strange, an occultist Vanraj ( R Madhavan ) meeting and getting into a friendly family of Kabir (Ajay Devgn) and Jyoti (Jyothika). There he processes their daughter Janvi ( Janaki Bodiwala)- so that she does whatever he commands. He is there with a motive and yes, it is not positive. The father and mother must then protect their doctor from the occultist sinister plans. However, they are helpless and that is the crux of the movie. The whole real life feel and an unexpected twist of R Madhvan as the man on a mission makes for polarised emotions thus pulling you in to the story.
PERFORMANCE.
Ajay Devgn’s performance as a helpless father has a dated feel. You have seen him inn that act, that scowl and doing those dialogue deliveries many times. He has not much of a newness. However, R Madhavan is superb. He outscores and outperforms everyone. He is very relatable as the everyday common man- a stranger- an occultist- and a tough vicious character. A definite character for awards this year. Jyothika as a mother has a decent screen presence and time. Janaki apparently is the same girl who has played the role in the original Vash and she does okay in her role. There is also a son Dhruv (Anngad Raaj) who does have few scenes worth watching and he as a young artist does very well.
NETNET
Shaitaan is a griping tale well told till some time post interval. And as Indian producers and directors have to make the hero-the hero- by saving the family member- the film does not end where it could have left the audience wondering. Maybe even hate the parents. So they then take you back to occult ceremony- the divine power game- explain the reason and solve the whole thing. They had another opportunity to close it with a question still hanging in the air- where is Shaitaan- but no-they could not leave at that- because the hero needed to make those boring culturally correct statements.
It is where the last 20 odd minutes of the movie is wasted in bringing down the whole effect- and as the audience remembers the end walking out of the hall- the movie falters a bit. However, I would expect the movie to do quite well and score a hit more in tier-II and III towns It may turn out to be a sleeper hit in towns- though the initially reports of occupancy and booking is not that encouraging.
UNSOLICITED INPUT.
Maybe instead of the fire as a ritual if some other dark ritual was followed, it could have retained the darkness of the thought band the film. As towards re end the occultist drama of fire as a ritual element lights up the screen and the hall in a way reducing the gloom and the doomed feeling. Maybe the films could have a better hold over the audience- the way it has before the rituals begin.
Movie- Shaitaan. Director- Vikash Bahl. Star Cast- Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Jyothika, Janaki Bodiwala. Run time- 132 minutes.
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