By Shevaal Singh
Rating : 7.5/10
Rekha Bhardhwaj’s charmingly haunting ‘Lautungi main tere liye’ (I’ll return back for you) beautifully sets the theme of this tale filled with horror, revenge and witchcraft by an actual witch! The movie is Bollywood’s darkest yet and totally exploits an enticing new genre of cinema .The movie flaunts an incredibly talented star cast comprising of Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kalki Koechlin and Huma Qureshi that unquestionably leaves you in awe with their mesmerising acting and performances. ‘Ek Thi Daayan’ is directed by Kannan Iyer who truly deserves recognition for creating a dark , haunting and soul grabbing movie . The movie will surely amaze you with its great performances of the actors. The film however does lacks substance but its illustration of witchcraft and the ancient belief in the presence of ‘Daayans’ really brings this movie to life.
The movie is written by Mukul Sharma and Vishal Bhardwaj. Ek Thi Daayan’ revolves around the life of Bobo (Emraan Hashmi) who is a famous magician whose only support system is his girlfriend Tamara (Huma Qureshi). They make a stunning couple and they decided to adopt an orphan – Zubin. Bobo’s life is almost close to perfect, until he is haunted by a Daayan(Witch) from his childhood that comes back to haunt him and turns his life upside down . He pursues the help of his childhood hypnotist, Dr Palit, whom helps himself untie mysteries of his past and to have a rendezvous with the uncanny side of his life. That is when he is reminded of his sister, father (Pawan Malhotra) and step-mother Diana who is praise-worthily enacted by Konkona Sen Sharma who suddenly appears after Bobo at the age of 11 uses the broken lift to reach the underworld .She is the witch that came from the underworld to find a child to sacrifice so she grows in strength and evokes the demon with the sacrifice. In a state of hypnosis, Bobo remembers his passion for witchcraft and several other incidents that lead to a spooky revelation. The movie was excellent yet I personally expected more in terms of the horror and enticing evilness of the witches. The movie makes you quiver but the climax of the movie needed some spunk and oomph!
It was indeed a revitalizing sight to see Emraan get into a new avatar. As Bobo, he delivers a performance worth applause. Huma Qureshi looks stunning and has proved her acting prowess yet again in a challenging role but shines from the introduction of her character until the end. But the one who will mesmerize you is Konkona. She is an actor par excellence,. Kalki Koechlin as Lisa Dutt, who you would meet in the second half of the film, is subtle but highly impressive. Child actor Visheh Tiwari (young Bobo) is a dynamo of talent!
The Art Direction team has done a praiseworthy job by providing a visually tasteful representation to their spooky side of creativity. The sets emit a sense of paranormal presence and help boosts this tale. Many scenes in this movie send shivers down your spine. The Lunar eclipse, as well as the leap year, the screeching sounds of the daayans were the creepiest parts of this film. The background score and tracks Lautungi Main and Yaaram standout with its brilliant appropriateness in this movie .Kannan Iyer as the head of this project is remarkable. As expected, songs composed by Vishal Bhardwaj touches your soul in a haunting yet beautiful way.
Ek Thi Daayan is a beautiful addition to the many great movies of 2013 thus far. It grows the genre of Bollywood horror and tells a spine chilling tale of witches , witchcraft and the existence of the underworld. Will Ek Thi Daayan bring out your dark side? Watch this movie to find out …
The film is worth watching for its stellar performances and remarkable creativity. The movie gets a 7.5/10 from me and a definite must watch for movie fans who are intrigued by the shady side of Indian Cinema …
