Ek Thi Daayan Movie Review: Kannan Iyer?s Bewitching Fare!

Ek Thi Daayan Movie Review-In Short:
A professional illusionist sets out to uncover the mysteries of his past, only to discover that they are back to haunt him.

Ek Thi Daayan Movie Review-Verdict:
The first half of the movie is too good. However, it is the second half which might disappoint you because of its length and poor treatment.

Ek Thi Daayan Movie Review-Story Plot:
Bobo (Emraan Hashmi) is a professional illusionist, who is haunted by the half-forgotten memories of his childhood and the death of his kid sister. As children, Bobo and Misha had seen their father (Pawan Malhotra) fall for the charms of Diana (Konkona Sen Sharma), who Bobo believed was a daayan (witch).

Now, years later, when Bobo is on the verge of marrying his sweetheart Tamara (Huma Qureshi), the dreams of his past threaten to cause further damage. To take care of the issue once and for all,  Bobo seeks the help of a hypnotherapist to unlock the memories of his past, only to discover that the past is not dead and buried at all. Moreover, when he meets Lisa Dutt (Kalki Koechlin), Bobo starts thinking she is a 'daayan' too because of certain similarities to Diana. However, he has no way to prove it, before the situation turns lethal.

Ek Thi Daayan Movie Review-Performances:
Emraan Hashmi as Bobo does his part well, bringing that intense edginess to his performance that he is known for. Huma too does a decent job, but the lady needs to work on her weight-pronto! Kalki as the mysterious Lisa Dutt does not get much to do really. However, it is Konkona, who will take your breath away. As the woman suspected of being a witch, Konkona sends a shiver up your spine with her eerie smile and her glassy stare. The child artistes who play the younger Bobo and his kid sister are damn good and give a better performance than most child artistes usually do.

Ek Thi Daayan Movie Review-Direction:
When Vishal Bhardwaj and Ekta Kapoor come together for a flick, you can be sure that the movie is worth a watch and first-time director Kannan Iyer does justice to his craft, especially when it comes to the first half of the film. Iyer does a great job of mixing local folklore with urban legends and leads you on a nail-biting journey as the younger Bobo and the mysterious Diana play a cat-and–mouse game within the four walls of their house. The film has been shot well and unlike most other horror films, which use ancient mansions or graveyards to do the job for them, Iyer uses an old residential building with a creaky elevator for his purposes.

However, it is in the second half as you settle back in your seats with pop-corn and a soft drink that the film starts to disappoint you. The story stops being scary, the plot drags on and on and things start becoming quite predictable. If that was not enough, the final clash between the protagonist and the antagonist starts resembling a typical Bhatt camp horror flick (The Raaz 3 climax sequence comes to mind).

Ek Thi Daayan Movie Review-Music:
From the eerie kaali kaali to the spine-chilling lautungi main to the unconventional yaaram, Ek Thi Daayan is one of the few horror movies, which boasts of impressive music too.

Ek Thi Daayan Movie Review-Final Word:
By all means, do watch this movie for it will send a chill up your spine. However, be prepared to run the risk of disappointment in the second half.