1920 Will Definitely give You a Scare!

By MovieTalkies.com, 12 September 2008 3 / 5

After Ram Gopal Verma's Phoonk, director Vikram Bhatt too tries his hand at a horror flick, only this time the movie has a period setting. Post the super success of Raaz, this time Vikram ventures into territories like rebirth and exorcism set against the backdrop of a love story. To Vikram Bhatt's credit, he manages to build up the horror element quite competently in the first half. In the second half even though the element of suspense is gone as the audience and the protagonist know what they are up against, it is still filled with spine chilling scary moments. The problem with horror films is that it is difficult to keep the fear-tempo going for a length of period; hence difficult to keep the audience gripped with any one kind of emotion but 1920 succeeds in this department for most of the film. The two protagonists, Adah Sharma and Rajneesh Duggal are debutants and do a commendable job in roles that require strong performances. The film has a definite story in place which makes the horror elements more believable In short, the story, which is set in 1920, is about a Hanuman bhakt, Arjun (Duggal), who is in love with a Catholic girl called Liza (Adah). Arjun belongs to a rich Brahmin family. The lovers are caught while eloping. Arjun saves Liza from the wrath of his relatives and renounces his God and family, going off to Calcutta with Liza, to settle down in matrimony. An architect by profession, Arjun is sent to a far-flung village to remodel an old palace. His assignment is to break down the palace and build a hotel on the same site. The palace is haunted, a fact which has been hidden from Arjun. A previous architect had lost his life there in mysterious circumstances. Sure enough, strange things start happening once the couple move into the palace. Liza is the one who is most affected by the happenings as the evil spirit dwelling in the palace starts scaring her, finally taking possession of her. Arjun is helped by a Catholic priest (Raj Zutshi) in exorcising the spirit till the priest falls prey to the spirit. Finally, Arjun takes matters in his own hands and manages to save the day. While tracking down the history of the palace, he finds out that during the mutiny, one of the Indian soldiers betrays his side to the British and takes shelter in the palace under false pretences. The daughter of the palace, Anjori Alagh, plots his downfall and manages to trap him, thus ensuring that he is ultimately caught by the freedom fighters and hanged to death. But not before he swears revenge on her. She is reborn as Liza, while his spirit has been haunting the palace all these years, waiting for her to arrive so that he can execute his revenge. He takes possession of her body with the intention of causing her death. The haunted palace in the film has been very well chosen. The place oozes atmosphere; even the Yorkshire plains, where parts of the film are shot, are quite exquisite. The exterior shots are lovely. Adah Sharma looks quite fearsome as the possessed woman while Rajneesh Duggal is pleasant on screen. Anjori Alag looks her part to the tee. Vallabh Vyas as the doctor is okay. However, it is sad to see someone as talented as Raj Zutshi ham it out as the Catholic priest. Where the horror element is concerned, 1920 works and will definitely give you a scare.

The Songs Grow on You With Repeated Listens

By MovieTalkies.com, 02 September 2008 3 / 5

1920 marks Vikram Bhatt’s second romantic supernatural thriller, the first being the super successful Raaz. The music of Raaz is popular even today and with singers like Pandid Jasraj, Parveen Sultana, Asha Bhosle, Kailash Kher and Shubha Mudgal singing to tunes composed by Adnan Sami, the expectations from the music of 1920 are immense. On the first hearing, you feel the songs are ok but you grow to like them more with each subsequent listen, and it is an album that is filled with original compositions. Although Vaada tumse Hai Vaada doesn’t have a real 1920 feel to it, the song nonetheless starts with a nice melody, and the voice of Pandit Jasraj, who is incidentally lending his voice to a film song for the first time in his career, gives the song a unique feel. The composition is an interesting fusion of classical and modern instruments and sounds but unfortunately music overpowers the vocals at times. However this unique fusion gives the song an overall fresh appeal with lyrics that match the mood of the song. There is a female version of this same number sung by Parveen Sultana which has a certain eeriness to the opening of the track. Again, even though this is not really a hummable tune, in the context of the narrative this song will surely gain more popularity. The classical style of singing with Sami’s slightly modern arrangements and specifically the electric guitar, is something truly unique. There were item numbers in 1920 as well, and so Shubha Mudgal croons to Bichua in a way that makes you realize that no one could have sung this song as well as she has as her voice remarkably suits Rakhi Sawant on screen. This number is a unique mix of folk and qawali and is a catchy number, especially because of the way it has been sung. The visuals will make this song even more popular and in the entire album, it is the track that is most likely to make it to the music charts. This one also has a remix number which seems to be a mandatory for all item numbers. Asha Bhonsle stars Aisa Jalta Hai Jiya with a slight eeriness which makes you wonder if the song will be along the lines of “Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil” but sadly this song is unable to create the same feel that his required by this genre. A closer listen to the composition and lyrics and you realise that this is a song that will surely drive the narrative forward as the composition has many interesting sounds giving it a feel of some intense happenings in the film during the song. Tujhe Main Pyar Karun begins with the piano and orchestra making you believe that this will be the one track that will be simple rather than a busy composition with too many arrangements like the earlier numbers, but as soon as Kailash Kher’s voice begins the arrangements again become a bit more western and busy. Somehow Kailesh Kher’s rendition and the actual composition seem to be in contrast of each other and the song somewhere lacks a soul, although Kailesh’s singing makes it worth a listen. The 1920 Theme is pleasant on the ears, but somehow is not what one expects in a theme tune from this genre. Actually that is the only problem with the album; although all the songs are pleasant and nice they don’t sound as though the fit the time period of the film and the compositions and arrangements are too busy leaving you unable to enjoy the tunes or the singing. Sometimes keeping compositions simple and pure and letting the vocals dominate works in the favour of the songs, especially in a period film, which is why one wonders why Adnan Sami used such extensive arrangements in all the tracks. As a result, all the songs are pleasant but none are such that you are able to take away any melody or tune that stays with you, nor does the eeriness associated with a supernatural thriller really come across. This combination of singers and a genre of romantic supernatural thriller should have been a music composers dream and the tunes should have been haunting and eternal, but is sadly missed.

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