Aatma Hindi Movie
Filmmakers surely consider today's mass to be horror junkies! How else can you explain two back to back horror film releases? While last week we saw Neil Nitin Mukesh failing at his attempt to scare the audience with 3G this week we have the Bong babe Bipasha Basu trying her luck at some spine chilling moments with Suparn Varma's Aatma. Whether this film turns your stomach to ice or not let's find out.
If you have seen the promos of the film you would know pretty much the entire story. Maya (Bipasha Basu) is trying to save her daughter Nia (Doyel Dhawan) from the spirit of her ruthless, abusing and menacing husband Abhay (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who for his unconditional, almost-bordering-on-obsession, love for his daughter comes back from the dead to take her with him.
Suparn Verma infuses elements of domestic violence in the horror film with Abhay turning into a possessive, obsessive person with bouts of anger that lead to violent attacks on his wife Maya. However, his efforts of merging human drama with horror falters as neither does the drama intrigue you nor do the chilly elements spook you. Instead, you wait tediously for the film to end.
The filmmaker who has movies like Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena and Acid Factory to his credit also relies on cliched horror elements for an elevated movie viewing experience but having known almost everything about the story in the initial few minutes itself, the building tension only bores you for you know what eventually happens. There's a certain twist that also happens towards the climax but it is so hackneyed that you lose interest even in that.
The film does show some good scenes including that of the domestic violence or the initial dream sequence of Maya but they are very scarcely interspersed. The short length of the film is another big plus point. With a run time of only 95 minutes, the film ends quickly and doesn't stretch like a gum!
On the acting front, Bipasha Basu, the seasoned horror expert takes charge of the film almost instantly and remains the strongest actor throughout the film. Actors like Shernaz Patel, Mohan Kapoor, Darshan Jariwala get wasted. The supremely talented Nawazuddin Siddiqui appears like a complete misfit in the film, as his character that of a rich and intelligent man doesn't suit his style of acting.
To sum it up, Aatma neither scares you not entertains. Lack of spine chilling moments and wafer-thin of the story totally ruin Aatma's chances.
