Ek Thi Daayan

'POSTER' POWER: It was something beyond just an oil painting...Standing in front of the 'Witches at their Incantations', amidst the dimness, in National Gallery, London, I was trying to conceptualize that art work by renaissance Painter Salvator Rosa...Set in a nocturnal landscape, the painting aesthetically depicted the revulsion associated with witches…It was the summer of 2010, when I first saw this composition there...A few days before, when I chanced upon the enigmatic 'First Look Poster' of 'Ek Thi Dayaan', my mind automatically flew back to that masterpiece of blackness, that amazed me roughly 3 years back...The flying cilia-like hairs of three leading ladies in the movie poster, almost camouflaging the branches of a ghostly tree, while encircling a male face, accompanied by different expressions in their respective faces, thereby highlighting the sharp contrast of light & shadow unanimously increased the 'mystery quotient' of this film, which is surely a prerequisite for the success of such genre of movies...Now when, the seed (expectation) is carefully sown in the Poster/Trailer of 'Ek Thi Daayan', the rest certainly depends on the farmer (Director) how methodically (Screenplay/Acting/Editing) he harvests the crop (Movie) in his allocated land (Mind of viewers, including critics)…Let me shed a little light on this !!

PLOT: The film is about the constant hallucinations which painfully attack the successful life of magician Bobo (Emraan Hashmi)...Death of his father & sister by a dreadful power (perceived as a 'Daayan') in his childhood, keeps him haunted till his adulthood, as the sorcerer (Konkona SenSharma) promised to return to him someday...Bobo seeks psychiatric help from Doctor Palit (Rajatava Dutta) who brushes off his fear as sheer fantasy…Tamara (Huma Qureshi) marries Bobo & they lead a joyful married life until the arrival of a fascinating lady named Lisa Dutt (Kalki Koechilin)...Bobo starts to believe that Lisa is that 'Daayan' who came back to break him down, followed an unexpected twist at the end…

THUMBS UP: 1) Plenty of spine chilling moments are there, along with clap worthy performance by Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sensharma, Vishesh Tiwari (in the role of young Bobo) & Kalki Koechlin !! 2) Writing by Mukul Sharma & Vishal Bharadwaj added a distinctive coating to the film's spooky atmosphere…Appreciating cinematography by Saurabh Goswami optimized the eidolic flavour of the drama !! 3) Skillful editing by Sreekar Prasad & superb special effects upgraded the paranormal aspect of this fiction !! 4) Music by Vishal Bharadwaj brims with sincerity, with a special mention to 'Totey Ud Gaye' & 'Kaali Kaali'...'Yaaram' sounds better in terms of lyrics (credit goes to Gulzar)...As a debutant Director, Kannan Iyer showed sufficient intensity in his story-telling ability !!

THUMBS DOWN: 1) With a few insubstantial moments, the movie becomes inconclusive in the second half, followed by a strange climax.. 2)The storyline appeared half-baked after the intermission...Also, the unnecessary length of the movie imposed a barrier to it's natural flow, hence reducing the overall entertainment value !!

DOWN THE MEMORY LANE: In my childhood, I was highly reluctant to devour the required amount of meal, which I was supposed to eat...One night, at one such moment, my grand mother pointed her index finger towards the darkness outside our home & said, "Don't make tantrums..Finish your meal soon..Or else, Daayan will take you away.." Me (ignorant about the existence of Daayan): "Who is this 'Daayan' ?" Granny (making her eyes rounder, with a pinch of horror): "Daayan is an evil woman with magical power...She takes away naughty kids & has a very long hair...She keeps her hair tied up by a single 'Choti' (twisting three different portions of hair around each other) & can transform her physical appearance into any entity" !! Being terrified, I no longer made any trouble while eating…After nearly two decades, when I went to a rural village with one of my classmate (a girl) to do a project during my Post- Graduation, we were advised by the locals of that village, not to keep our hair open while roaming at night (to keep ourselves safe from the Daayans) !! They also narrated stories regarding witches & when I interrupted at a particular story, they reminded me my language & replaced the word 'story' with 'True Incidents'…Today, while watching 'Ek Thi Dayaan', a few eerie moments & some dialogues by Bobo, describing the nature of an witch rekindled that memory for me…Once again I realized, the grey matter of human brain, which gives birth to such an weird imagination is really an amusing subject to study !!

FINAL WORDS: Starting from the cave paintings of estimated 30,000 years old (showing a pregnant woman standing in a circle with eleven other people) to the famous Shakespearean play of 1606 (the character of Lady Macbeth), the traditional beliefs encompassing witchcraft have dominated the folktales of nearly all nations across the world till date…I always wonder, why superstition in the name of mythical assumption/religious custom mainly embraces the shoulder of women ? Is not it ridiculous when girls (after puberty) are abruptly told to stay away from worship as they become 'suddenly impure', for a couple of days, every month (due to a physiological process) & after those few days, they become 'pure all at once' ? Is the definition of decency so easy ? Though based on necromancy, 'Ek Thi Dayaan' underlines such spurious beliefs on womenfolks, in it's own way…Despite being a supernatural thriller, this flick won't disappoint you as it ambiguously eulogizes that thought of Ayn Rand: "There are two sides to every issue..One side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil..."

Review By: Dipashri Bardhan,

New Delhi, India

Ek thi Daayan gives a very fresh perspective to horror films .It is is an enriching combination of good story telling and ethnic grandmother's witch tales.

Awesome acting by Konkona Sen Sharma and Emraan Hashmi. Other actors have also played their character up-to the mark.

Whats's Good: Acting and storytelling, unfamiliar track for a horror thriller, good background score.

What's Bad: A little disappointment towards the conclusion part of the story.

Overall one time worth watch, but don't hope for a classic

Amidst all the Himmatwalas and the Chashme Baddoors there comes Ek Thi Daayan.It's not a movie, it's a breath of fresh air which proves that we don't need any remake to make a good cinema,we just need a storyteller who has the guts to keep the audience at the edge of their seats even if the story is totally based on fantasies of churails and daayans and we see none other than Vishal Bhardwaj doing that.This man can deliver more when he has provided the story and also has proved so in Ishqiya and now in ETD.Don't know what is with him and the churails,first Makdee and now ETD.

Having said those things I would clearly say Ek Thi Daayan is not a classic but it has its elements.If I had the power I would say,yes first half is a classic but the same cannot be said about the second half in which the climax is also somewhat not pleasing.This 'second half curse' is biting every movie nowadays.

Emaraan Haashmi(BOBO) is good,Huma Qureshi is just OK,she is lost of expression when mostly needed.Kalki is decent enough in her extended cameo.But the one who delivers a stellar is Konkona Sen Sharma and also the younger version of BOBO.Konkona is damn good when she is present on the screen.Watch out for her eyes when she first appears in the movie where she is standing in a lift.I just wonder where she was in the past years.That child artist is also pretty impressive in the movie.

The direction,cinematography,screenplay,background score,you name it,everything stands tall at the end of it.You wouldn't be able to say that there were some portions which needed some more work to be done on,apart from the screenplay of the second half.It,s just that after the pre climax the movie loses it's pace.

But nonetheless when you would leave the theatre you would say 'I watched something totally different,something out of the box.It also has the best spine chilling moments for which I'd recommend you that if you are going to watch this one GO AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I'm going with 3.5 stars for Ek Thi Daayan.A sequel would be highly appreciated.Do not miss this one,I repeat do not miss this one if HORROR and something new is your cup of tea.

Konkona Sen Sharma steals the limelight in this movie and every time she appears on-screen, I was taken aback. Emraan Hashmi is genuine as a troubled illusionist while Kalki is fine as a mystery girl. Huma Qureshi makes a perfect surprise while the two kids (of flashback in a wonderful non- linear play) do a marvelous work.

Ek Thi Daayan or ETD is a very innovative horror and a magnetic experiment in Bollywood which guarantees spine-chilling thrills with a story so sharp. But the vagueness imbibed into the plot, brandished by the screenplay plays spoilsport with it. The first half is amazing. But, the second half just makes it a bad movie to watch.

Too much of confusion towards the end leaves us to think who the actual daayan (witch) is which eventually leads to an utter disappointment as you leave the theater. The chills I was experiencing in the first half with the most frightening scene being related to ponytails, all couldn't compensate for the bizarre climax as I sat there bamboozled with my partner. Had the ending been more interesting with some extra elements and dope, I would have rated it a 10 on 10.

BOTTOM LINE: Kannan Iyer's debut is more of an upsetting piece than it is horrid. But, the chills, goosebumps are guaranteed and that is what I would recommend. This is a theater material but... only the first half. So I will suggest (as a critic) that you better wait for the DVD or DTH. Music is great and songs are relishing. 50-50 --> YOU MAY GO FOR IT OR NOT! (Look for that Vodafone/Loop offer in Fame/Cinemax Theaters resp.)

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Language: Mild | Sex, Nudity or Mouth-Kiss: Mediocre | Violence: Strong | Gore: Mild | Smoking, Alcohol or Drugs: Very Mild

When two diverse personalities such as Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj (along with Gulzar) join hands together to produce a horror film based on 'Witchcraft', then its got to be something out of the ordinary and special. Thankfully EK THI DAAYAN largely passes this expectations test as far as the novelty factor is concerned. Yet it falls short of being a thoroughly enjoyable entertainer due to an uninspiring finale, ruining the fine build up & suspense element continuing in its second half.

Beginning on a shaky note, the film soon starts delivering some well directed, stunning sequences once the flashback is there with two innocent kids portraying their characters superbly. The child actors particularly the boy, Vishesh Tiwari, keep you hooked on to the screen till the intermission and one feels like witnessing a fairly engaging tale with something new to offer, talking about witches & magic instead of ugly ghosts and cruel betrayals. Post interval the grown-ups take up from the innocent performers like a relay race and continue coming up with some fresh interesting insertions like Kalki. But sadly as it all starts heading towards the end, ETD fails to raise the bar further and finishes on the same familiar notes without making any kind of shocking impact on the viewer as seen in its first half.

In straight words, ETD is one of those films which both starts and ends on a sour note but surely has got the content which is much ahead then all those clichéd Vikram Bhatt horror films, repeatedly made for a certain section of viewers, quite regularly. In fact this is not a horror film in the typical sense but a fine script based on a 'Supernatural Theme' related with witches coming back after decades in a leap year to strengthen their individual powers. Therefore as its first merit, you have a new subject here in an Indian mainstream film which can easily be rated as one of the most original ones tried rarely in Hindi cinema till date. Incidentally one might recall MAKDEE, which was again a Vishal Bhardwaj (Children) film released in 2002 revolving around the myth spread among the villagers about a scary mansion. But since Vishal is the producer here in ETD too, so it clearly suggests that the talented soul does have a personal liking towards this unusual subject of witches for sure.

The second highlight of the film remains its performances wherein the 3 ladies score the most after the child actors. Konkona Sen Sharma excels in the first half and Huma Qureshi does the same in the second. Kalki Koechlin plays her short role well post interval and Emraan Hashmi is just fine playing the common male related to all the three. Though he doesn't get much scope to show his skills here, but his choice of scripts strongly indicates that he has now rightly understood the importance of new subjects very well. Supporting him, Rajatava Dutta as the doctor impresses andPavan Malhotra once again showcases his underrated talent playing the unaware father.

Music in a Vishal-Gulzar film has to live up to its reputation and that's exactly what can be said about the songs of ETD too. Though as usual the tracks are all forcibly inserted into the narration, still one enjoys watching "Kaali Kaali" (for the romance) and "Totey Ud Gaye" (for the dance) providing the casual relief moments. However "Yaaram", despite being good, hinders the pace of the movie, which could have been avoided. The DOP tries to maintain the mood of the film throughout, mixing the dark frames with the lighted ones. But in the process makes it mostly dark which becomes annoying at times. Background score deserves a special mention here for its innovative tones but the same words cannot be used for its special effects department, sadly.

In all ETD mainly impresses due to its inventive & original subject, adapted by the debutant director Kannan Iyer, who confidently proves that he has got the talent to deliver a perfect entertainer soon. The film steps on to the next level with its enjoyable performances & screenplay but could have been a real killer with a different culmination providing the missing shock. Its final moments did remind me of a scary masterpiece ROSEMAY'S BABY directed by Roman Polanski in the late sixties. And with a more imaginative climax it surely could have become an attempt to be the ROSEMARY's BABY of Indian Cinema, arguably.