Horror, to Bollywood, is all about the scary bhoots and frightening bhootnis. We have some that really freak you out, such as Ram Gopal Varma’s Darna series along with his psycho thriller Kaun. Then, Vikram Bhatt took a shot displaying his daunting side with Raaz followed by his recent 1920. But those are just a few spooky ones that made you shriek and shout. Bollywood does manage to make a few not-so-spooky, not-so-scary ones which make you twiddle your thumbs waiting for the fear to kick in. As the festival of Halloween approaches, BollySpice counts down the worse of Bollywood’s freaky flicks.
Hawa
Tabu stars in this mindless film in which she is assaulted by get step-father as a young girl, divorced and forced to leave her old home and move into another home in Manali. Oh yeah, we forgot to mention, the house is haunted. She is then further sexually assaulted by a spirit or “air” – hence the title – that resides in the house. Why is she being hassled sexually by this spirit is unknown to the viewer. The movie ends with Tabu fighting the spirit in a dishoom dishoom scene, a few mantras being read and the “hawa” disappearing into thin air. While the idea may have been imaginative, the execution was definitely a thumbs down. Nothing exciting or scary about this one. The best thing about Hawa is Tabu as her usual fine self.
Fear Factor: No fear here
Hum Kaun Hai
Hum Kaun Who? The scariest part of this movie was how it went without a trace. Inspired, or rather copied, by Hollywood’s The Others, Dimple Kapadia and Amitabh Bachchan star in this supposedly spooky flick. If you’ve seen The Others, you’ve basically seen it all. The movie revolves around a mother who is protecting her children who are sensitive to light and hires a nanny to help her. As the movie goes on, a secret is revealed and we are meant to be jumping off our seats. The only exciting thing about this flick is the beautiful Dimple and the reunion of Dharamendra and Amitabh. Beyond that, this is a skip or miss.
Fear Factor: You’ll head for the nearest door.
Jaani Dushman
With a star cast with the likes of Sunny Deol, Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar as lead actors, you would expect some kind of spook or scare. However, Jaani Dushman offers you none of the listed adjectives. This one adds the use of nags and nagin’s to the usual collection of ghosts and supernatural powers to create a more desi feel to the horror film, but it only makes it worse. We have talking trees, flying demons and the genre of previous life too. That not only complicates the whole movie but makes you wonder when you are actually going to be freaked out. One wonders why the likes of Deol, Shetty and Kumar even agreed to being a part of such a non-spooky flick!
Fear Factor: Erm… much ado about nothing.
Khamosh – Khauff Ki Raat
This one tries its complete best to scare the socks out of you with a serial killer with long curly hair. It tries to add oomph with the svelte sexy Shilpa Shetty. But scary? Not at all. The plot is complicated, and if anything, it makes your head spin. Deepak Tijori’s directorial debut and debacle was anything but scary. The movie starts on a rainy night with a whole clan of different personalities who come to a tacky motel. A murder occurs and it soon becomes a game of who dun-it. If anything, you’ll start yawning and waiting for this one to be over.
Fear Factor: No chills!
