Shaitaan Review - An Interesting Theatrical Watch!

Ashwin Ram 

Premise: Ajay Devgn and family are in Dehradun for a vacation. They casually meet Madhavan at an eatery. After which Ajay Devgn’s daughter behaves strangely and starts following Madhavan's orders. His backdrop and what he wants from the family forms the remaining story.

Writing/ Direction:  It rightfully sets the mood of a horror film, it's a thriller with many nail-biting scary moments. The setting is meticulously done, Ajay Devgn, his wife Jyotika and the kids are established in a likable manner that we connect with the characters right from the beginning. We get to relish the family bonding through simple and sweet montages. Madhavan is introduced in such a mysterious way that we are made to sit on the edge of our seats until his true nature is revealed. With minimal characters and the whole film taking place in a single night predominately inside a house, Vikas Bahl and team have passed in first class by delivering a tight screenplay. The first half especially is arresting followed by a decent latter. There are many memorable situations handled cleverly, the creepy swing sequence and the police intruding the house scene are standouts. The film is engaging enough after the interval too, but could have been better as the first hour set the bar so high. The lengthy dance party portion didn’t add much of a value to the flow. Thankfully just by the time the girl following Madhavan’s orders element feels repetitive, the pace is back to being brisk. The pre-climax and the climax are driven by smart payoff ideas, but the timing in which the hero achieves them are logically questionable, those two spots lack believability. Also, the opening shot and the closure to it at the very end with respect to the rats felt like a separate track. All said and done, the fulfillment is missing because of the blunt reasoning given to the whole serious happening.

Performances: Ajay Devgn has done his job well, fortunately he didn’t overdo and spoil anything in the name of heroism. Solid performance by Madhavan, such a menacing presence and the man has added enough soul to his character which goes into the black-magic space. Jyotika is a perfect fit, she emotes well and does a good job in a realistic action sequence. The little boy brings in the innocence, definitely not an annoying kid. Saving the best for the last, the girl who acted as Ajay Devgn and Jyotika’s daughter is the show-stealer for sure, she is the central character, her physical and mental efforts are so evident on-screen.

Technicalities:  The team has been truthful to the genre by not adding any unwanted songs for commercial purposes. Powerful background score makes the screenplay more intense. Neat camera work from start to end, the color tone and the lighting for the night sequences is very inspiring. Crisp 130 minutes runtime helps in the engagement, there was potential to scissor more, yet this was a fair deal.

Bottomline

Wafer-thin plot presented in a riveting manner. Gripping till midway, holds to an extent after that. Had the potential, but missed to provide wholesome satisfaction, still thrilling enough to captivate the audience.

Rating - 3/5