By Shevaal Singh @being_shevaal
Rating: 7/10
‘Aatma’ is the best work of director, screenplay and story writer Suparn Verma, Hindi cinema can now breathe a sigh of relief after years of being pulled up for its orthodox ‘scary’ films belonging to the paranormal genre. After going through the one-and-half-hour-long movie, it turns out that the makers of ‘Aatma’ have kept their promise of presenting a freshly baked horror film with enjoyable surprises thrown in! I can assure you –that in Aatma you won’t find the elements used in the ‘usual’ horror flicks.
The movie has retained its realism with a believable story which starts off with Maya Verma played by the stunning Bipasha Basu who is attempting to start her life anew after the accidental death of her violent husband Abhay played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui with whom she legally separated with after an fruitless marriage of 7 years. Now, as the story moves forward, Maya’s stream of mindfulness divulges that Abhay was a husband from hell but also a fond yet an blatantly possessive father to his little daughter Nia played by the cute Doyel Dhawan. Nia’s affection for her father transports him back from the dead which consequences in hell breaking loose in Maya’s life. This time the father is unwavering trying to take his daughter away with him to the dead. The only thing posing as an obstruction for the demoniac soul of Abhay is the strong mother-daughter bond that Nia and Maya share. This sets the base of ‘Aatma’s story. We can only ask; whether the powerful and undefeatable evil Abhay will have his way or will Maya’s motherly love win over the evil? Don’t wreck your brain over this simply go and watch the film if you love the horror genre!
As the film’s writer Suparn Verma makes sure that he leaves no stone unturned in production the film and he connects the tale in a logical and emotional manner. One may question the logic behind the evil spirit going about killing every person that came its way in the film except Bipasha’s character but the reason behind that plot is revealed as the story developments. But that does not suggest that ‘Aatma’ is an excellent film rather it is more appropriate manner to say that it is an out-of-the-box film. The scary moments before the interval are more like a suspense thriller in which . they titillate the viewer before the main course is served in the second half of the film with creativity flowing in the electrifying scenes. There are a couple of sequences that will give you the goose bumps while there are a few that will make you look into the screen without fluttering an eyelid. However, the best is conserved for the last as the movie has an amazing the climax!
The actors, on their part, have done whatever they could to make the movie appealing. A special word of praise for Nawazuddin Siddique – he plays the part of a demoniac soul like a superstar but he looks similarly malicious and real as a man domestically abusing his wife. Bipasha’s is ultimately the queen of Bollywood horror – her best moment in the film comes during the climax. The baby faced Doyel Dhawan is promising as a child artist. The supporting cast has acted well but it was amusing to watch a mystery woman draped in black appear out of nowhere to shouting about an omen! The songs fit perfectly with this deep dark and vicious movie – ‘Aaja Nindiya’, a lullaby well sung by Sangeet Haldipur stands out for its slow, melodious and on top of that, spooky notes. The music playing in the background has subtle tones and thankfully, there are no songs to break the film’s pace brusquely. The way camera angles have been smartly used to project the supernatural occurrences which can be accurately termed as intelligent horror.
‘Aatma’ takes the genre of horror films a level higher. A must watch for all Bipasha Basu fans and obviously a definite watch for all fans of Bollywood horror… Aatma gets a 7/10 for its amazingly told tale of intelligent horror !
