Film: Bhoot
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Urmila Matondkar, Nana Patekar, Rekha, Fardeen Khan, Seema Biswas, Tanuja
Playing at: Melody

Baradwaj Rangan

Bhoot

It's unlikely you've ever seen anything as claustrophobic as the first hour of Bhoot, which details in almost documentary-like fashion - no cuteness, no syrupy background music - the lives of a yuppie couple (Ajay Devgan, Urmila Matondkar) that moves into a Mumbai high-rise.

The two seem to have no friends. No family. And they're surrounded by bizarre types - a creepy watchman, a rosary-flipping lady with a shock of white hair and eyes perpetually focussed on an infinite beyond, and a maidservant (the wonderfully loony Seema Biswas) who appears a bit possessed herself.

In this airtight universe, Ram Gopal Varma unsettles you in the most unexpected ways, with enormous help from Vishal Sinha's cinematography, Dwarak Warrier's sound effects and Salim-Sulaiman's background score. From the stylish opening credits that show a spirit rising from a funeral pyre to the play of light on an elevator as it creaks and groans in transit, from the spookily watery view of the high-rise through a rain-soaked windshield to the close-ups of a doll that tease you with your familiarity of the Child's Play films, each shot is deliberately composed to create the illusion of some sort of parallel universe - things 'look' normal but are otherwise disturbingly unfamiliar. And there's so much quietness, the sudden rainfall sounds like gunfire and the buzz of the calling bell makes your heart stop.

So it's no surprise Urmila thinks she's seen a ghost, especially after learning that the previous occupant of her apartment died mysteriously. Ajay doesn't believe her. He's Mr. Practical, who proclaims in mock seriousness, "Doctor ne kaha hai tum paagal ho gayi ho," when she anxiously awaits the results of her psychiatric evaluation.

But she knows - and we know - that this isn't simply her mind playing tricks. Varma orchestrates a couple of superb, surreal set pieces - at a crowded movie theatre and an equally crowded beach - that tell us there's more to this business and, along with Urmila's strong, mannered portrayal that's very much in tune with the deliberateness of the initial parts of the film, it's definitely unsettling, this first hour.

But once this mood is established - no, carefully sculpted - Bhoot falls apart spectacularly, becoming derivative (The Exorcist meets What Lies Beneath) and silly. The more things are explained, the less intriguing it all is. The sustained, stomach-churning dread degenerates to a procession of cheap 'boo' tactics. The flashy technique that earlier signalled a unique aloofness now seems merely attention-getting; the showy dissolves and the millisecond fade-outs to white appear the handiwork of a director in see-what-I-can-do mode.

And the sealed-off atmosphere evaporates as the stars troop in - Nana Patekar as a cop full of audience-pleasing comebacks, Rekha as a medium, Tanuja and Fardeen Khan as keys to the mystery, Victor Banerjee as a troubled psychiatrist. Like Ajay Devgan, they all do rock solid work, but unlike Ajay's role, their minuscule, underdeveloped parts may have been better served by unfamiliar faces. The one scene that gets you going is when Rekha's belief in the occult clashes with Banerjee's rationalism, but this is a brief flash of unpredictability amidst increasingly predictable happenings.

The terrific start deserved a less tiresome finish. However, this analysis comes about only after you exit the theatre. Inside, for the most part, you'll be too busy chewing your fingernails to notice that, somewhere along the line, this film about a spirit has lost its soul.

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