Ek Thi Daayan

For an audience that has gotten used to spooky flicks that range from scary to sorcery, flying ghosts, witches, sudden shock element, etc., it is incredibly tough to come up with something new. This is especially true of Bollywood that has seen an overdose of Ram Gopal Verma flicks. Amidst all the gloom comes a refreshing 'Ek Thi Daayan' with a gripping story, although the climax goes tad haywire.

Magician Bobo (Emraan Hashmi) is a successful magician who suddenly is being troubled by strange visions. When hypnotized, it is revealed that he holds a dark secret to how his sister and father died and the story being the spooky elevator in the building where he lived as a child. The more he seems to dig into the past to unearth its antecedents, the deeper he gets into the mystic world. Not any more should be revealed about the story because it is a worthy suspense.

The first thing I did after watching 'Ek Thi Daayan' was to Google out the difference between a 'Chudail' and a 'Daayan'. As it turns out from a random web page, a 'Chudail' is an ugly demon that emerges when a woman dies during childbirth and lives in remote areas. A 'Daayan' is a beautiful enchantress that has become one on account of harassment during her lifetime and therefore attacks men and usually lives in urban areas. Whoa, who could ever guess that!!

Some of its songs are impressive. The best of those is 'Yaaram' that's performed at the housewarming hosted by Lisa, followed by the eerie 'Lautungi Main' but Punjabi flavored 'Totey Ud Gaye' sounds lame. A few more impressive numbers could have carried 'Ek Thi Daayan' even further.

The choice of locations is impressive. The opening scenes are filmed at Gurgaon's "Kingdom of Dreams" which stages an extravaganza of sound and light with impressive transitions, a must see for those visiting the region. The locations for the eerie home and the lift are neat too. The hypnotic background in the psychiatrist's office is an interesting piece of decor and serves as a backdrop to some key scenes.

Talking about acting performances, Emraan Hashmi does what is best at. It's amazing that despite such type-cast roles and similar performance in all films, his movies still work well at the Box Office. But, Konkona is the better actor in this film. Kalki and Huma Qureishi also do reasonably well.

The Verdict: Unfortunately, not much of the story can be discussed in a review without revealing a bit of the suspense. So, if you want to know what it is, it is better to catch it while it is still in the cinema halls. This is surely not a movie that you could wait till it comes on TV. Although one shouldn't watch it with exalted hopes, since it fizzles out towards the end, you wouldn't regret watching it at all.

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

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.

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

I was eagerly waiting for Ek Thi Dayaan since last one month and had to struggle to watch it on Friday night in a Multiplex in Mumbai after clearing a hectic schedule of prior commitments. Well, it was a sense of relief as the film didn't disappointed me. So go ahead and read it to decide if you want to watch this movie or not.

Emraan Hashmi, Bobo, the magician is in a live-in relationship with Tamra, a beautiful girl played by Huma Qureshi. He has a wonderful life as he is a successful magician, has a beautiful girlfriend and the couple want to adopt a lovable orphan kid. But wait; there is a haunting past which keeps knocking every now and then in front of Bobo as he remembers his childhood life; when he had an adorable father, a sweet little sister and his step mom Diana whom he hated her.

The story swings between Psychological Thriller, Paranormal and Supernatural situations forcing the audience to keep guessing on what lies behind the spooky events that unfolds every now and then in the film.

The events no doubt are scary and chill the bottom of your seat and even force you to jump out of your seat once or twice. The scenes where he thinks that the lift of his building goes to the hell where all the creepy people of his building who did sins in their life now stay in the hell of the building after their death scares you like hell. The mystery behind spotting a witch through the help of a book on Witches makes you think whether the witches are a reality. After a long time I get to see the right kind of haunting cinema from the Bollywood which is different from the usual Vikram Bhatt movies.

Enters a psychiatrist who had counseled Bobo earlier and then he hypnotizes him to go back to his past and reveal on how his father and his sister died. But the beauty of this revelation lies in the fact that whether this is a real revelation or just a story cooked up the disturbed mind of the magician Bobo. His fiancée Tamra, with whom he gets married forces him to sell his old flat where he stayed as a kid to another character by the name Lisa Dutt played by Kalki Koechlin. There is a mystery around the character Lisa Dutt and Emraan Hashmi goes on to unlock this mystery.

This is where the film loosens a bit and the climax goes on to follow a typical Vikram Bhatt or Ramsey style cinema.

Emraan Hashmi has matured as an actor and has a proved screen presence. Huma Qureshi is bold, sensuous and acts well. She is one actor who will go a long way in Bollywood. Konkana Sen Sharma as the Stepmother does well in her Grey shades. The supporting cast played by Pawan Malhotra who plays the father of Emraan Hashmi also plays his part well. I really liked the role of Psychiatrist played by Rajatava Dutta and of younger Emraan Hashmi played by Vishesh Tiwari.

Kannan Iyer as the débutant director gets a thumbs up as he tries to break away from the typical thriller and horror movies that are being made in Bollywood. He manages to scare his audience and entertain as well. The script and screenplay is good and Vishal Bhardwaj stands up to his name. Not to forget we get to see the magic of Gulzaar Saab lyrics again as we can't stop hearing, humming and appreciating the song "Yaaram" from the movie.

Overall, the movie is a good watch and takes you on a drive to the mystery world of witches, hell, hallucination and horror.