DIVYESH PARMAR

After watching the teaser and trailer, my expectations were at its peak as earlier this genre was not explored enough in Gujarati cinema and that too with such finesse at all technical parts which was clearly evident from the trailer. First and foremost, applauds for Krishnadev Yagnik to bring such a unique concept of vashikaran and represent it in soul shivering, gut wrenching, spine chilling and mind blowing way. The plot in itself had so much curiosity and excitement to think of how the tale is gonna unfold in front of our eyes. Such thrillers don't rely much upon the aesthetic part of the treatment as a story comprising enough twists with regular thrilling moments and suitable background score can pull it off throughout. KDY has perfectly executed these aspects and that too with all the technicalities have been taken care of. Direction is top notch with pitch perfect screenplay supported by crisp editing and apt background score by Kedar & Bhargav . Little bit disappointed as makers didn't think of producing a theme song like kaala jaadu in freddy, which could remain in audience's mind after the movie, as Indian cinegoers including gujarati people like me are obsessed with it. When every technicality at its place, you need to ensemble a suitable cast to enact it effectively on screen and here also to my surprise, Hiten Kumaar and Janki Bodiwala both have done it effortlessly and delivered impeccable performances. Both played their part with so much ease that not for a second you feel that they are just portraying a character. Especially Hiten Kumar just nailed it with perfection. Aarya's parents too did their part perfectly. Now after such a balanced blend of all the elements, why does the movie fail to create enough impact and not stay with you for longer? The problem lies in its writing. No doubt KDY chose a different theme but lack of enough exploration pulls it down. I feel in the process of cutting down the runtime, both the plot and characters have not been explored to make their motives digestible. Why pratap is such a cruel demon and why is he doing all the evil stuff is not explained. Why is he financially stable and how is he able to do the vashikaran so effectively? What is his plan or motive to do vashikaran on girls and keep them with him without maintaining their personal hygiene? How on earth did he be able to escape from police authorities, local people and parents of other girls, even after abandoning so much of girls with vashikaran. After defeating the antagonist what happened to other girls and how atharv could keep pratap with him at his farm house without police intervention. The not so hygienic condition where pratap was kept and that too for 10 years without any medical help provided for his tongue and head injuries at first was not at all digestible. We all know vashikaran can be done but up to such an extent, i don't think so. Also why aarya went bald and still seemed like under vashikaran at the end was not answered. To kill both ansh and his mother was not at all justified as it was not supporting the narrative in any way. All in all a very good attempt by KDY to experiment with such genre, but little bit more research would have elevated its overall effect. Still my gut feeling says KDY surely gonna deliver milestone films in Gujarati cinema in his future endeavours as it feels like he has that vision and his way of treatment complements him well. 3 out of 5 for me.