Bhoot — An urban horror

#Bhoot is the story of Vishal & Swati who move into a new flat whose previous owner committed suicide. Vishal, educated & modern, does not believe in such omens & chides his wife when she shows some reluctance. But changes in Swati’s behaviour challenge Vishal’s beliefs or rather ‘disbeliefs’.

The story, as it unfolds, may seem a little cliched, at least it did to me, but one has to remember that this movie is nearly two decades old so what seems cliched today may not have been so then. Without giving away the story, I want to make a few observations about this movie.

First, I really like how this movie relies on brilliant & edgy cinematography along with a sinister background score (Salim-Sulaiman) & sound effects to add to the genre. The camerawork (Vishal Sinha) is edgy from the get go, in fact right from the title sequence you know you are in for a ride! Swati’s scenes in the beginning are quite colourful & upbeat as you would expect of a young woman living a life of marital bliss and its only later that the film gets ‘dark’ but even then there are no obvious (& very overdone) tints. The film is more or less limited to a specific space & within that works all its magic. This space is your regular urban setting thereby adding that slice of life character as well.

Secondly, Urmila Matondkar’s acting…wah! Her performance is nuanced — there is a clear distinction between when she is Swati & when she is possessed, often in the same scene! For me, it is one of the best performances in this particular genre. She is the backbone of this film with otherwise average performances (except for #NanaPatekar as the Police Inspector). How I wish that she collabs with RGV again because damn, this jodi! RGV has always managed to bring out the best in her — Rangeela, Satya, Kaun…

Third, Ram Gopal Varma himself. I have seen only a handful of his films but what a range! Rangeela, Daud, Satya, Kaun, Bhoot, Sarkar…is there anything the man cannot do?

Watch Bhoot for the edgy cinematography, the brilliant #UrmilaMatondkar and the fantastic #RGV without the many oft used tropes!

Direction — Ram Gopal Varma
Cast — Urmila Matondkar, Ajay Devgn, Nana Patekar, Victor Bannerjee, Rekha, Fardeen Khan, Tanuja

👩🏾‍💻 — MUBI India