Shaitaan Movie Review: R Madhavan's Sinister Act Holds Ajay Devgn-Jyotika's Spooky Thriller Together Before It's Undone By a Weak Finale (LatestLY Exclusive)

Shaitaan Movie Review: Whether you end up liking Shaitaan or not, there's a refreshing feeling in witnessing a half-decent film emerge from Bollywood that isn't merely propaganda for a political party's vested interests. Despite fitting into Bollywood's penchant for remakes, Shaitaan, directed by Vikas Bahl, is, in most parts, a decent adaptation of the Gujarati supernatural thriller, Vash, driven by its committed cast and a riveting first half, before throwing all up in the air in its weak final act. Shaitaan Review: Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan and Jyotika's Spooky Thriller Receives Mixed Response From Critics.

Kabir (Ajay Devgn), a well-to-do CA, has a happy family consisting of his wife Jyoti (Jyothika), teenage elder daughter Janhvi (Janki Bodiwala) and a nerdy younger son Dhruv (Anngad Raaj). The family's carefree and close-knit dynamic takes an unfortunate turn when they encounter Vanraj (R Madhavan), a mysterious stranger with ominous intentions, en route to their farmhouse.

Vanraj manages to 'hypnotise' Janhvi and turn her into an obedient lapdog. There is also a scene in which he gives her biscuits. His complete control over Janhvi comes with a bargain - her parents must send her off with him with their blessings. To drive his bargaining point, Vanraj uses Jahnvi to not only torture and demean herself, much to Kabir and Jyoti's horrors, but also to get her to harm her own family members.

Watch the Trailer of Shaitaan:

A Thrilling First Half

Shaitaan has a riveting first half, with the film doing a decent groundwork in establishing the cohesiveness of Vanraj's family in the opening scenes, enough to care for them when the help breaks lose. As expected, the momentum starts rising with the introduction of Vanraj at a roadside dhaba and how he slyly integrates himself into their unit and traps Janhvi.

When the action shifts to the family's farmhouse, the momentum heats up once Vanraj reveals his evil gameplan and R Madhavan firing all barrels there with a menacing act. As the 'Killgrave' (Marvel fans, raise your hands!) of this desi romp, Madhavan is just too good. It is quite an entertaining and sinister performance by the actor, who clearly enjoys chewing the scenery and spitting it out like a boss.

It also helps that the director is at least in control of the composition of the scenes in the first half. Shaitaan successfully balances the spook factor and thrills, particularly in portions where Vanraj puppeteers Janhvi and during a well-edited sequence with the arrival of the police. Special mention must also be given to Janki Bodiwala—who played the same character in the original—for bringing a horrifying intensity to a victim trapped against her will and making us empathise plenty with her character's plight, matched by an appropriate physical commitment.

If you are a horror aficionado, you might be able to catch a couple of Easter eggs. For example, when Janhvi chops down a door trying to attack a family member, it feels like an homage to Jack Nicholson's iconic 'Here's Johnny' scene from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. The plot, while a remake, also reminded me of Michael Haneke's grisly Funny Games, as in how, in both the movies, the antagonist(s) seeks macabre pleasure in using psychological means to torture the captive family members.

A Shaapit Second Half

So, where does it go down for Shaitaan? While the film works best in its thrilling middle act, Shaitaan starts to become repetitive after a point and, despite retaining a bleak tone, loses some of the sinister effect. At some point, you ask why the parents are acting too low-key and why no one thinks of stuffing something in the villain's mouth to prevent him from uttering his next vile order. The movie begins to feel like an illusion trick show that has begun to stale, and you wait for the next act to begin asap. There are a couple of places where I felt Shaitaan could have taken a bold risk - like when it puts a family member at mortal peril - but instead, the movie plays safe with those moments.

I was worried when the film tried to go all tantrik in the final act; it could be its undoing, and that's exactly what happened. The finale is easily Shaitaan's weakest part, where the writing either takes some convenient routes - cellphone signals working in the middle of the forests (I want to know which network is this), expeditious positioning of the hero right at what I can call the preparation of a mass 'jauhar' moment and a contrived tactic used to tie up loose ends. Or, it becomes problematic, like using transgenders as the villain's goons.

The movie's overzealous nature also significantly dampens what could have been a killer epilogue when, for reasons best known to the makers, Shaitaan gives a character a needless monologue that simply kills what could have been a punch ending otherwise. Shaitaan: Ajay Devgn Poses With Son Yug at Screening of His Film (Watch Video).

Only the performances began to hold the film together in these portions, with even Jyothika getting her moments to shine, particularly in the post-interval portions, and bringing the right reactions to the horrors unfolding for her kids. Ajay Devgn's Kabir lands between Bhoot's Vishal and Drishyam's Vijay - he is milder in nature like Vishal, though he gets to come on his own in the climax. Yet, he is not completely in control of the situation like Salgaonkar does for his family. When compared to the rest of the main cast, Devgn gets overshadowed in many instances thanks to his (sometimes a bit too) restrained performance, but that can also be seen as a mark of an assured actor.

The film, however, may think it is playing the progressive card by making Jyoti the more aggressive parent when she is shown attacking Vanraj viciously in one scene, while Kabir is comparatively restrained. However, that card feels conflicted when her aggression is alluded to her living upto maa ki shakti, while Kabir gets to play the knight in shining armour in the climax.

PS: When you think of it, you can also see Shaitaan as an allegory of men wanting to take away the agency of women to feel powerful. But if that's what the movie wants to convey, it's ironic that it chooses to do so with a filmmaker who has been accused in a #MeToo scandal. If you prod further in, it is also a tale of a man trying to make others bend to his will by threatening and blackmailing them into gaining the upper hand, and I wonder if a couple of main stars of Shaitaan could draw some real-life parallels with that.

Final Thoughts on Shaitaan

Shaitaan has a gripping storyline, tense and spooky scenes in the first half, and a committed cast performance, particularly from Madhavan and Janki Bodiwala. So, it feels frustrating to see some of the good work lost in its final acts, which not only feel cumbersomely stretched but also lose the sharp sting with some erratic and convenient writing.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 08, 2024 03:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).