Ek Thi Daayan: a supernatural flick witch will give you goose bumps

Ekta-Bharadwaj film builds up intrigue in the first half, but falls flat after interval.

KARACHI: Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bharadwaj’s latest supernatural venture Ek Thi Daayan will take you back to childhood huddles, where your friends narrated stories about their encounter with the long-haired female figure whose feet pointed backwards. It will not just revive those scary moments, but the gripping performances will draw you in at once.

While audiences did not have high expectations from film-maker Kapoor, who has previously churned out average horror flicks like Krishna Cottage and Kucch To Hai, she scored a full house at the 2pm show on Friday at Atrium Cinema.

What goes up must come down

The good thing is that the film has a very strong first half. Before the interval, the performances manage to give you goose bumps. The bad thing, however, is that after the interval, the screenplay slumps and debutant director Kannan Iyer fails to maintain the eeriness, leaving you almost bored.

The story revolves around Bobo (Emraan Hashmi), touted as India’s finest magician, who often feels that he is followed by evil spirits. He hallucinates about witches that follow him. After undergoing a hypnotic treatment, he discovers that he had once been haunted by a woman named Diana (Konkana Sen Sharma). Draped in saris and sporting long, braided hair, Konkana looks so wicked that one cannot help but be scared of her as she plays the roles of a witch, and later Bobo’s step-mother. Things take a different turn as Bobo’s reflection of the past intervenes with the present.

The first half of the film is by far the most impactful 70 minutes filmed recently in Bollywood. The screenplay is clinical; the sound design builds up suspense and makes you clutch your seat and the narrative is so gripping that you won’t realise the time that is passing. But right after the break, the film nosedives and the brilliant build-up suddenly seems irrelevant and insignificant.

The film, which had the potential to make an A-grade horror film, turns into a run-of-the-mill B-grade film with slightly better performances.

The problem with the screenplay, like any other Bollywood horror movie, is that it goes too much into the explanation of a complicated plot, as a result of which the entire suspense-packed build-up falls prey to a needlessly comprehensive resolution. Iyer ventured too much into the concept of dayaans (Hindi for witch), and the story ended up leaving loopholes and an unworthy climax.

Stellar performances

Hashmi is definitely the star of the film. The way he justifies the internal conflict of a magician being confronted by witches says a lot about the kind of potential and talent he has as an actor. Vishesh Tiwari, who plays the younger version of Bobo, is a multi-talented child star and should have loads of work heading his way after this performance. Lisa Dutt (Kalki Koechlin) and Tamara (Huma Qureshi) have nothing extraordinary to offer.

Thumbs up for music

Whatever Vishal Bharadwaj touches turns to gold. Breaking away from earsplitting Bollywood numbers, Ek Thi Dayan’s music is melodious, hummable and easy on your ears. The best thing about the movie’s soundtrack is that the songs are not random but very aptly timed. Bharadwaj’s soft and mellow compositions amalgamated with Gulzar’s contemporary lyrics make Ek Thi Dayaan a musical treat. Our pick from the album is Yaram, a duet by Sunidhi Chauhan and Clinton Cerejo.

Verdict

Ek Thi Daayan had the potential of becoming a blockbuster horror film, but falls prey to a bland second half. Watch it for a gripping build-up, an interesting spin on daayans and some spine-chilling moments.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2013.

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