This is one of my all time favorite movies, which I happened to watch quite late. I really credit the directors who were creative enough to work upon a rather simple but truly sinister plot. The story has its own charms due to serene and breathtaking locations, which though beautiful are evil in every sense. I always begin to feel the glum atmosphere of 'Hotel' going sicker as each second passes by.
The film starts with two very rich but surprisingly over aged unmarried dudes Suraj (Navin Nischol) and Vijay (Rakesh Roshan). It appears that Suraj was once a photographer of zero repute who worked hard to make his ends meet. He had an affair with a rich lass Sushma (Neelam Mehra). However, their relationship is despised by Sushma's father, who compels Sushma to end her affair with Suraj. A helpless Sushma leaves Suraj heartbroken.
Suraj and Vijay are business partners and want to build a beautiful hotel at an iconic location of Balipuram, a scenic southern Indian hill station. For this they hire a real estate agent Chhagan Patel (Ranjeet). Chhagan is a cunning man and is after milking his employers. He goes to Balipuram and discovers a plot of his interest. The plot is a graveyard of old and forgotten pals and is looked after by a pious old priest Father Benevolent. Chhagan tells Father Benevolent that he and his friends want to build an orphanage but are unable to get a piece of land. Chhagan involves several other people of high repute in the deal, who pose as his friends and convince Father Benevolent to sign the transfer papers. Father Benevolent does so not really knowing that Chhagan is a man of lies and has made double agreement.
When Father Benevolent comes to know that Chhagan is building a hotel on that very piece of land, he questions him of his intentions. However, he is helpless and weak. After few words of regret, he dies of cardiac arrest right before the fraudsters. So Chhagan gets the piece of land for free and sells it to Suraj and Vijay for a handsome amount of 50,000 USD. Quite impressed by Chhagan's versatility, Suraj assigns him construction work as well.
Vijay's good for nothing brother Sanjay (Prem Krishan) is a rolling stone. Vijay asks him to go to the construction site and keep track of the ongoing developments. Sanjay comes to the site and soon comes to know of Chhagan's sinister secret. He somehow finds the copy of double agreement in Chhagan's room and hides it somewhere in a shed. Chhagan and his friends find Sanjay in the shed, beat him to death, and bury his corpse in the shed.
A few days later Vijay arrives at Balipuram, but Sanjay is nowhere to be found. Vijay thinks he might be away somewhere as always. Cupid strikes Vijay when he meets Vandana (Bindiya Goswami) during his trip. They soon fall in love and begin woolgathering. Few days later Suraj comes to Balipuram where he is greeted by all.
On the inaugural ceremony, several unanticipated guests arrive. Hell breaks loose when the undead rise from their graves and fall upon those who changed their resting place to a hotel. The spirits won't stop until the last sinner has been punished to death.
The story as you can see is quite simple and rightly goes ahead with the versatile and seasoned performances of Rakesh Roshan and Navin Nischol. Neelam Mehra and Bindiya Goswami have no much part to play as they mostly pose themselves as love lorn young women, fancying about their future love life. The worst things to discuss here are Mehmood and Rajinder Nath, who have annoyed the audience way too badly. While Mehmood keeps a romantic eye on Rajinder Nath under the spell of a magical love potion, Rajinder Nath looks jaded and under performs as one would expect.
Overall, the flick has several creepy moments that make 'Hotel' sick and difficult to avoid. The audience would love to see the sinners dying in the most gruesome ways. 'Hotel' has gained cult status due to the effect it casts upon the viewers while they watch it on a sullen afternoon or in the silence of the night. If you really want to know what is this all about, you must watch it to believe it!
