Redefines The Horror Genre!

Aatma - In Brief
Recent horror films churned out by Bollywood follow certain prerequisites – sex, love story, lip-sync songs, item numbers, and unfathomable twists among many others. These films end up being accepted by the audiences and collect great box-office returns. Surprisingly and to an extent, thankfully Suparn Verma’s Aatma comprises none of the above, and yet manages to be more effective than any of those films, which do consist of the afore-mentioned prerequisites.

Aatma - Verdict
Aatma relies purely on the content and, to a large extent, succeeds owing to clever storytelling, astute direction and remarkable performances.

Aatma - Short Plot
The plot of the film is quite simple and linear. Maya Verma (Bipasha Basu) keeps her daughter Nia (Doyel Dhawan) in the dark about her husband and the girl’s father, Abhay Verma’s (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) abusive behaviour and untimely death. It is when strange incidents start occurring in Nia’s life (Nia’s classmate and teacher die in mysterious circumstances) that Maya begins to get worried. Soon, she discovers that her daughter has been talking to someone (whom she claims is her father), not visible to anyone else. Her fears come true when she realizes that it is Abhay’s Aatma that is haunting them and that the spirit wants to take Nia back with him.

A Mixed Bag

Bipasha Basu’s name is now fast becoming a synonym with thrillers and fear in Indian movies and she seems to be enjoying and cashing on the same. Hindi thrillers films have come a long way from being B or C grade genre; it has matured to a mainstream genre with famous actors and directors like Bipasha and RGV lending their names. Suparn Verma’s Aatma falls in the same category and tries to woo the audience. Though the movie has been in news for reasons like its unusual pairing of Bipasha and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the promos would make you look forward to other reasons as well. Typically music in such movies is mostly haunting and poignant; however at times there are melodies to build characters and story line. This one seems to follow the same path with Sidharth and Sangeet Haldipur as composers and lyrics by Kumaar. 

This movie is a story about a mother and daughter and their psychological struggle, hence it’s no surprise that the album begins with a twisted lullaby in Sangeet Haldipur’s haunting voice. Aaja Nindiya would transfer the listener to a deep and dark world with a lingering sweetness. Though it’s a lullaby, the composition would keep the listener on toes with its haunting and melancholic sound. Even the lyrics would remind you explicitly that it’s a thriller.

Album takes a complete U turn with the next track titled Jee Le Jyada as the music becomes lively with a happy note with a chirpy group of Alyssa Mendonsa, Shefali Alvares, Apeksha Dandekar and stylish Anushka Manchanda. It’s a cool modish track, which definitely suits Bipasha and her image.

Further in the album, Nikhil Paul George makes a lively entry with another version of Jee Le Jyada. The track obviously represents the happier times in the movie and voices convey the same effortlessly. Both the tracks would gain audience as they have the romanticism to draw the listeners towards them; though it won’t be a surprise if listeners are biased towards Nikhil’s track. His voice is easier to imagine on Ranbir Kapoor and it would be interesting to see it as a voice over for Nawazuddin.