Ram Gopal Varma’s eerie Bhoot, which clocks 22 years on May 30, stars, hold you breath, Rekha, Tanuja, Urmila Matondkar, Victor Banerjee, Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Fardeen Khan….Varma is nothing, if not a pathbreaker. His Bhoot would be considered his finest directorial undertaking to date if Satya and Company hadn’t come along earlier on. Bhoot lacks the the spatial dimensions and dramatic impact of Company. While the “action,” if it can be called that, in Bhoot is largely situated in and around a highrise apartment in Mumbai , there are constant undercurrents of smothered expressions threatening to implode on Varma’s stunningly mounted frames. But like bits of bright molten lava, the tensions always recede just in time to remind us that in life, as in art, drama isn’t about what we see, but what we feel.
Throught this 2-hour song-less excursion into the realm of the supernatural, Varma never loses his grip on the essential ordinariness of his milieu. Every film of his derives great creative sustenance from re-defining everyday rhythms and bending structural and narrative rules of storytelling. The special feature of Bhoot(besides its utterly original take on supernaturalism) is the sound design.
Together, sound designer Dwarak Warrior, background scorers Salim-Sulaiman, and the debut-making cinematographer Vishal Sinha imbue a sense of raptured normalcy with a highly disturbing narration . The cinematography is extremely stylised (check out Rekha’s introductory scene with the frames melting in sensuous undulations) and yet in control of everyday sounds and visuals. The sound design (sometimes a little overdone) puts a clamp around your heart. A routine noise like the lift moving in its chute here acquires an ominous relevance. Such rituals of the routine occupy a large part of the first half, deliberately numbing us into a sense of submission before bludgeoning us with a platter of para-normal episodes.
In the first-half when our average upwardly-mobile couple Vishal(Devgan) and Swati(Matondkar) move into their new abode, we “sense” trouble ahead. In creating that essence of foreboding Varma displays a stirring energy in his storytelling. Tension is created through attention to everyday details.
Curiously the first-half is devoted almost entirely to building a mood. No other major character except the couple and their spaced-out maid (Seema Biswas) is introduced. In the second half, they all show up in gloriously defined cameos. Rekha and Victor Bannerjee, representing supernaturalism and science, are curiously complementary. While her presences oozes an aura, Bannerjee’s subtle interpretation of the psychiatrist’s dilemma is extraordinary.
But this is Urmila Matondkar’s moment of glory; make no mistake about that. As the woman possessed, she transcends all normal definitions of mainstream performing. The last time we saw an actress playing a haunted woman with such haunting heftiness was when Linda Blair did the demonized act in The Exorcist. Urmila makes Blair seem like a blur. In the scenes with the doctor and with the mother of the girl whose soul enters her, Urmila goes the whole hog. And then some more. This performance , so bereft of reference points it’s almost like walking on thin air, should fetch her awards galore. After Pyar Tune Kya Kiya , she once again proves herself to be the most adventurous actress of her generation.
Ajay Devgan is strongly supportive. His metamorphosis from a cynical, rational being to a fear-stricken husband carries us along the untrodden path of appalling anguish and nagging terror. But Fardeen Khan in a climactic appearance is wasted.
There are several significant subtexts to the wispy plot about possession and absolution. But the most disturbing thread in the plot is the one on the pitfalls of a nuclear family. A woman and her child come to a gruesome end in an apartment . As Varma takes off into a world of irreparable insinuations , we perceive a subconscious comment on the isolation of the modern individual. The Sooraj Barjatya-Karan Johar type of utopian joint family(so alien to Varma’s cinematic vision) and its utter disintegration in modern times have eventuated in a world of stunning isolation where a work like Bhoot is born.
While enjoying the process of piecing together a subtle and layered supernatural thriller Varma stops to comment on the brutal selfabsorption and utter collapse of moral values of city life. This elegiac undercurrents make Bhoot his most emotional film to date. Too bad Varma and his editor, Shimit Amin, are in a hurry to move on.
There are pockets of unbearable pain in Bhoot . Feel free to revel in them. Or otherwise, just enjoy Bhoot as the cleverest, most original horror film since man invented terror to keep his mischievous instincts in control.
An absolutely international film, Ram Gopal Varma’s Bhoot can easily rub shoulders with those twin terror-towers Alejandro Amenabar’s The Others and Manoj Shyamalan ‘s The Sixth Sense (and Bhoot by the way, is far superior to Shyamalan’s Signs) .
Not that pain and redemption need a tongue.
Speaking to Subhash K Jha on the multistarrer shiver giver, Ram Gopal Varma said, “Though technically it is a horror film, we don’t see a murder or any overt horror. It is the facial expressions that have made audiences curious. In the shot where Ajay Devgan peeps from behind a door, people actually feel his fear. Ultimately, cinema is an actor’s medium. I don’t think a star cast can help. If Bhoot was called Man Ke Rishte<, no one would be interested. The title is a very essential part of a film. It subconsciously prepares the audience as to what they can expect. I don't think a title like Mother India would work today. The emotions might still work, but the packaging has to be different. Most of my films have one-word titles. I started the promotional campaign for Bhoot on the wrong note. The film has no songs. The idea of cutting an album inspired by the film was wrong. It works as an independent soundtrack, but not in association with the film. So, the music videos based on the songs did not click. The minute the dialogue promos started, things fell in place. I don't know whether the delay will work in the film's favour. But I must add that the promos of Kaante were on air for eight months. It only added to the audiences’ curiosity. I think the audience loses interest in a particular film only if another, more appealing promotional campaign comes along.
“I have graduated in my storytelling technique. Here, I have tried to maintain a very fine balance between emotionally involving the audiences and constantly scaring them. Many people would enjoy it for a good scare. Others would choose to get involved with the characters’ trauma.
On a story level, I can narrate it in five minutes. But the dynamics of storytelling are crucial in Bhoot. We have used a different kind of visual and sound quality. The film’s impact depends on the technique. I expect audiences in the interiors to connect more with Bhoot than Company. It’s a very massy subject narrated in a very sophisticated tone. The average viewer may not understand the way it’s shot. Everything in Bhoot is in opposition to what one expects in a supernatural film. There are long silences that will make audiences uneasy. In Company and my earlier directorial films, I was like a transporter carrying fragile glass. Bhoot is about placing the fragile material. It’s about playing with the audiences’ minds. As a director, Bhoot is a bigger challenge. I’m not talking about the content, but in the way I have used the performances and technique to create a specific aura. As far as supernatural films are concerned, Bhoot will set a trend. Everyday sounds — the lift moving or water falling — take on a new life in Bhoot. We have flirted with psychological effects. See, in a typical horror film, the camera would follow a character from behind. In Bhoot, we have used wide-angle shots. The audience is privy to all that’s happening. The fear is multiplied because the viewer does not know what to expect. The terror is unrelenting. I do not understand the need for relief.
“There is an explanation at the end for all that is going on. The other day, I was asked what to expect from Bhoot. I said, fear. All my drama is restricted to press interviews!”
