Bolly Horror Movies- 3 reviews

Why did I watch Bollwood horror, which is usually terrible, terrible cinema?

Reasons:
1- Want a movie experience where you TRULY make no effort to think whatsoever?
Nothing like a Bollywood horror movie for campy, brainless, time-pass.
2- The last one in this set of three that I watched was particularly horrible- but the way I see it- if I don't document these movies, no one probably ever will bother- let no movie be left behind!
3- Last, but not the least, watching Bolly horror is a great way to mark time for Halloween :)

The Good

Title: Phoonk

Year: 2008

Cast: Ahsaas Channa, Ashwini Kalsekar, Zakir Hussein.

A uber rich builder lives happily in Mumbai with his wife, mother and 2 little kids- a daughter and son. He finds that his contractor friend and his wife Ashwini have been cheating him in business, and in a super OTT scene, throws them out of his business, life and home for good.

Turns out Ashwini and her husband practice black magic- and begin to make things happen that lead to the builder's daughter, Ahsaas, being possessed by a spirit. The builder is an atheist, but slowly begins to give up on modern medicine and calls in a soothsayer, Zakir, to intervene.

Pros:

1- Ahsaas is a very very good actor- really. She really kept the movie together- you may remember her as SRK's "son" in KANK.

2- Decent effects- you wont get really scared, but at least they get the atmosphere correct.

3- The supporting cast was definitely into it- the guy playing Ahsaas' dad was a bit OTT, but you could chalk it up to a parent's hysteria when they find their child beyond help.

Cons:

1- The songs should have been edited out- extremely ordinary, and did not add to the narrative.

2- A very precipitating climax, and uneven editing. It could have been stretched and maybe more stuff/scenes added to make it more exciting. On the other hand, a lot of other scenes seemed too long.
3- Unoriginal story.

How it could have been better:
1- Edit the first half to make it tighter- we really do not need any of the songs included here.
2- Expand on the action in the climax- make Zakir's confrontation with Ashwini stronger, and expand on how it ends.

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The Bad

Title: Khamosh- Khauff ki raat

Year: 2005
Cast: Shilpa Shetty, Juhi Chawla, Rajiv Singh, Shawar Ali, Kelly Dorji.

Its one of those proverbial dark and stormy nights :)
A family of three, a prostitute (Shilpa), a movie star (Rakhi Sawant), her secretary (Rajiv Singh), a policeman (Shawar) and his prisoner (Kelley) end up stranded in a sad little hotel due to heavy rains.

And one by one, they begin to die... who is the killer?

Pros:
1- The plot is far more intriguing than Phoonk.

Cons:
1- The movie loses out because it overdoes everything: EVERYONE overacts. The plot, instead of being treated in a straightforward fashion, has sub-stories tacked on to it until you just don't care any more.
2- The cast has terrible and boring dialogues, and no one quite knows what to do with them.
3- Pointless songs spring at you when least expected.
4- There is a second story with Juhi that supposedly forms the premise for the main action, but is executed really, really badly.
5- Highly unsatisfactory end- while your questions aren't really answered, you still breathe a sigh of relief- thank goodness it ended!

How it could have been better:
1- Concentrate on the plot- and forget the table dressing.
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The Ugly

Title: Khandala House
Year: 2008
Cast: Anil Dhawan, Rita Bhaduri, Paintal, Nafeali Khan, Meghna Patel.

Yup, this is one from the Ramsay stables. Not listed by IMDB, this is basically a mix of soft porn and campy horror, best seen with your finger at the ready on your remote's fast forward button.

Nafeali is the daughter of a very rich man, and when her father falls ill, calls some local witchdoctor to cure him :S The dad is cured, but the witchdoctor seduces Nafeali, who becomes a witch herself, and decides to kill everyone she beds, to gain everlasting life (groan- yes I know- watching the movie was like having a bad toothache).

Respectable, old time actors like Anil, Rita and Paintal probably worked in this atrocity to make a quick buck, so they must be forgiven for their bad choices. Anil is Nafeali's uncle, who kills her to stop her murderous ways- but she comes back from the dead to kill him off, soon enough.

Rita Bhaduri and Paintal are part of the team of archaeologists who "discover" the coffin Nafeali was buried in, the first time she died. as soon as she comes back to life, they get killed off, and are saved from further humiliation.

And yes, there was a hero and a heroine- the archaeologist and the ancient rune reader from the digging team- they were very ugly, chubby and completely useless, but they survived in the end and lived happily ever after- :S

Pros: None- which may be a pro as well.

Cons: The whole thing.

How it could have been better:
The movie should never have been made :D