Shaitaan Review: One of the best super-natural thrillers from Bollywood despite not being original
Shaitaan Movie Rating: 3.5 Stars
Watched Shaitaan movie in Cinema. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this movie.
Cast: Ajay Devgn, R. Madhavan, Jyotika, Janki Bodiwala and Anngad Raaj
Director: Vikas Bahl
Release Date: 8th March 2024 in cinema
Story: Movie revolves around Kabir (Ajay Devgn)’s family consisting of his wife Jyoti (Jyotika), teenage daughter Janvi (Janki Bodiwala) and son Dhruv (Anngad Raaj). They decide to go to their farmhouse to spend some quality time away from the city’s hustle.
On the way to their farmhouse, they stop over at a dhaba, where they get in touch with Vanraj (R Madhavan). Vanraj comes off as a simple and gentle man and immediately wins them over. While bonding over tea and snacks, Vanraj offers Janvhi a poisonous laddoo after which he gets the power to control her. Parting ways, he secretly asks her to have a packet of poisoned biscuits in the car heading towards their farmhouse. He follows them and then forces himself into the farmhouse.
Unease soon turns to dread as Vanraj’s orders become increasingly awful and dangerous to Jahnavi herself and her family members. Vanraj wants to take Janvi for his own ulterior motive but needs the permission of both the parents. How he manipulates them and how the parents overcome this unexpected turmoil forms the crux of the story.
Positives
1. Performances
2. Dialogues
3. Direction
4. Cinematography
5. Screenplay
Negatives
1. Length
2. Story lacks Novelty
3. Music
4. Climax
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this movie on its release date as loved the trailer and big fan of Ajay Devgn movies.
A family’s fun farmhouse getaway turns nightmarish when a mysterious and dangerous stranger invades their home. Things become even more sinister when he performs black magic in the family’s teenage daughter and his real motives are revealed.
Shaitaan is the official remake of the 2023 Gujarati film Vash. The adapted story is excellent and different from the rest of the films based on black magic. Adapted screenplay is very engaging and it’s a feat considering the genre is beaten to death across the world and also because it’s majorly set in one mansion. One of the main highlights lies in its tone-setting and execution, especially in the first half. The entire sequence of Vanraj terrorizing the family is characterized by thunder and a brutally harsh rainy day. The movie travels at an efficient pace and does not fall prey to monotony. The interpersonal relationship between the characters especially the ‘Shaitaan’ and his prey is horrifying and impactful. Ajay Devgn and Jyoti are good but it is Madhavan and Janki Bodiwala who steal the show with their acts. The cinematography by Sudhakar Reddy Yakanti is top-notch and captures the fateful night perfectly. The background score stays true to the terrorizing theme of the same. Vikas Bahl’s direction is first-rate. He keeps the viewers captivated in the proceedings especially once things take a turn for the worse. Kudos to the production design team and VFX department for staging a pitch-perfect setting for the story to run.
On the flipside, the movie struggles mainly in the climax. One cannot help but wonder how Ajay’s character can play the hero supreme with a knife stabbed in his hand or how the police authorities looked so feeble against a cultist. While the setting of the final battle between a vengeful father and the evil force is riveting but some of the methods adopted look illogical and too heroic. While the ending was supposed to bring a tint of twist, it instead becomes extremely predictable. Also, it’s bewildering to know Vanraj pulling off his plan and no one getting a whiff about it. The last scene is interesting but could have been better written.
Overall, movie is an exceptional film that pushes boundaries and challenges conventions. With its superb background music, stellar performances, and spine-chilling moments, it promises to shock and stun audiences like never before. It is one solid supernatural thriller that Hindi film audiences have long been searching. Narrative stumbles at times, the masterful use of atmosphere and top-notch acting elevate it into an unsettling experience worth having. My view on this movie Highly Recommended.
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