Der Geist von Sultanpore

The story is simplistic and lies more in the genre of supernatural thriller than horror. This Netflix series suffers from the same malaise as so many others i.e. stretching a shallow script over too many hours. This would have been a very fine feature film but as a five - episode series with each episode of 50 mts (approx.) it is undeniably stretched. Main reason for this is failure to develop the characters presented. Nevertheless, the story even though simplistic is engaging, the actors are quite competent, direction is appreciable and the production values are good. I like it and endorse it as a recommendation. Nice!

Started nicely but ends like a low budget show. Could have shown more maturity direction in last episode.

You cannot give central role to a kid in show which is rated 16 +.

Makers couldn't decide the audience.

The story is really gripping and would keep you interested till the last episode . I'm seeing people calling it typical Bollywood and a stranger things rip off . Well have you guys watched stranger things 3? Hopper is supposed to die but will come back in season 4 . Didn't that look like a typical Bollywood flick ? The point is people will keep criticising Bollywood and will fail to appreciate genuine attempts to make good shows.

This Indian ghost story opens in 1983; writer Madhav Matthews is working on the book 'The Ghost of Sultanpur' in Bardez Villa, a large house in Goa, when his granddaughter Jenny tells him she can't sleep because of sound of crying in her room... while investigating for her he suffers a fatal 'heart attack'. After this prologue we move to the present and three children Sam, Bunty and Gablu are bunking off school to talk about ghosts. They decide to go and investigate the long abandoned villa; this plan is thwarted as Jenny, her husband and their two children have chosen that very day to move back into the house. One of the removal men goes to take an old typewriter from the attic but Jenny's daughter says she wants it. It turns out that a man named Amit Roy had offered to pay for the typewriter and he is not happy that he didn't get it. Strange things start happening at the villa and around Jenny. The trio of young ghost hunters determine to discover what is happening while Sam's father, a local police inspector, investigates a series of strange deaths.

I really enjoyed this five part series. It opens really well with a good creepy prologue and later deaths were somewhat disturbing, with bleeding from eyes, without being excessive. The young ghost hunters could easily have been irritating but I found them hilarious; especially Sam, who is their de facto leader and rather naughty for a policeman's daughter! While it is clear from the series' title that the typewriter will be key to the story but the exact reason why only becomes apparent later on. The story develops nicely mixing chills, laughs and occasional scares in a fine way. This involves several flashback scenes to key events that took place decades ago. The setting is great; the Bardez Villa is impressive with a good 'haunted house' feel and other locations are nicely scenic. The cast is impressive; most notably young Aarnaa Sharma, as Sam; Palomi Ghosh as Jenny and Purab Kohli, as Sam's father. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of ghost stories who also want an occasional laugh.

These comments are based on watching the series in Hindi with English subtitles.