Film: Shaitaan

Cast: Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Jyotika, Janki Bodiwala, Anngad Raaj

Director: Vikas Bahl

Rating: 3.5 Moons

Black magic, superstition, and hypnosis are concepts that have garnered attention. Practicing superstition ain't a wise decision, but it cannot be ignored that several states in India have professional practitioners. Many filmmakers have toyed with the idea of black magic and supernatural elements and some have managed to do wonders. Does the latest addition, Shaitaan, make it to the mark? 

Directed by Vikas Bahl, Shaitaan tells the story of Kabir (Ajay Devgn) and his happy family. He lives a peaceful life with his wife Jyoti (Jyotika), daughter Janvi (Janki Bodiwala) and son Dhruv (Anngad Raaj). They decide to go to their farmhouse to spend some quality time away from the city's hustle. Little do they know that their lives are about to change with the arrival of Vanraj (R Madhavan) who performs vashikaran (hypnosis) on Janvi. He wants Kabir and Jyoti to do their kanya's daan (donate) to him. The plot of Shaitaan is set during one night. 

With Shaitaan, Vikas paints a stunning canvas with shades of joy, family drama and mystery. There's a bit of each. In the longest time, no Bollywood film has seen an interesting title credits sequence. Shaitaan makes that exception and does the job phenomenally. Sucking the viewers into the world of enigma, the credits roll visually arrests you by showcasing the process and creation of voodoo dolls. A remake of the Gujarati supernatural thriller, Vash, Shaitaan is a stylish, technically rich and visually delightful film. Kudos to the production design team and VFX department for staging a pitch-perfect setting for the story to run. 

Despite the visual captivity, the storytelling fails to meet the desired mark. Every scene is designed so perfectly that the rawness of Vash that made it a standout film gets washed away. While it begins on an interesting note, the story arc diminishes at a rapid speed in the second half. The punch that's required to keep the audience hooked to the screen is missing. The entire first half survives on how Vanraj hypnotises Janvi and she has no control over her actions and reactions. The narrative doesn't move forward for an hour and when it does, the result is underwhelming. The predictability factor is another pulldown. Vash worked because Gujarati cinema rarely saw anything that impactful. But did Bollywood need this again? Probably, not such a stylish and sugarcoated version. 

The meticulous detailing given to camera angles, shots, and visual effects is worth lauding but wish that were also the case with the script and adaptation. All Shaitaan focuses on is making Kabir the rakshak and saviour of his daughter. The heroism in the character kills the emotional depth. There's zero bonding between the characters. Kabir and Jyoti don't look like husband-wife. Their formal behaviour and an imaginary distance between the parents and the children cannot be ignored. The darkness of the subject has been underplayed. Intrigue and enigma is retained to an extent due to the impressive background score.

Ajay Devgn saves Shaitaan somewhat with his dependable acting sensibilities and experience. He does it well when the emotional quotient soars high. After a point, Shaitaan feels more like Drishyam with a black magic touch. Jyotika stayed away from Bollywood for over two decades. She comes back with Shaitaan and, like Ajay, also steps in to save the day but it just doesn't fit well. R Madhavan plays an out-and-out black character. He works on being menacing. His diabolic smile is impactful. 

For Janki Bodiwala, it's like coming home. She played the lead in Vash as well. Her performance is sincere and she works well with her expressive face. Anngad Raaj as Dhruv is adorable but beyond falling and injuring himself, there's nothing much for him to offer. Shaitaan could have been better had the creators given more importance and time to the story than the grand scale. With a runtime of over 2 hours, it does get dragged. This one is strictly for fans of horror and supernatural genres and even thrillers.