The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Keeps you hooked

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Saturday, Sep 13, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Keeps you hooked

Film: 1920

Starcast: Rajneesh Duggal, Adah Sharma

Direction: Vikram Bhatt

Did God create man or did man create Him to create the fear of the unknown? Vikram Bhatt’s supernatural thriller hangs on this timeless quandary.

The director who once gave us Raaz has returned to his forte and does not disappoint. It is the story of an architect in love with a Christian girl. Community becomes an obstacle to the union, so he leaves his religion and becomes a n atheist.

Normalcy returns till he gets an offer to renovate a palace into a hotel. The palace is possessed by an evil spirit — related to his wife!

The film has all the staple ingredients of horror. An old mansion, an ice maiden, who you fear will be possessed by the devil, flying objects, creaky doors, a gramophone that plays on its own and above all a lingering musical score.

What’s interesting is, we come to know quite early that the devil is not much affected by the Cross, promising a healthy fight. Then, Vikram has created Palampur in picturesque Yorkshire. You know it’s a fake, but then the castle, the scenery and the horses take you over, creating a concoction of scary and delightful sights.

That the film is set in 1920, the Victorian flavour, renders some semblance of believability, much needed for a story revolving round the supernatural. Adnan Sami’s piano and Pandit Jasraj’s voice add to the haunting effect.

The scene stealer is debutante Adah Sharma as Lisa, the ice maiden. Her eyes reflect vibrancy and inertia as per the twists in the plot. Model Rajneesh Duggal makes an average start as Arjun, the architect.

As with most films of this genre, the devil becomes so big that any end would have seemed contrived.

Vikram’s premise that where God failed, Bhagwan will come to the rescue doesn’t appeal to the mind.

A.K

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