Khamoshiyan Movie Review: Semi-horror

First things first - Khamoshiyan does one thing well, which is to break some cliches. Errr, well, not entirely but at least to some extent in the first half. There is no overdose of creaking doors, ghost in the mirror, girl with a lantern, shrieks of a bhatakti aatma, eerie sound of a laughing child - you know, the works! From that perspective, the buildup is reasonably okay. In fact the first appearance of a ghost is totally unexpected and in that aspect, first time director Karan Darra gets a good tick against the box.

However, the film is slow, and there is too much of 'khamoshi' right through the course of this two hour affair. With just three and a half characters in there (if you are wondering about the half then well, it is that of an achchi aatma who basically fills in for a mumbo-jumbo tantrik that makes for a quintessential appearance in a Vikram Bhatt film). Anyways, the focus is not on this half character but the three principal characters where again, two of them fill in the frames for most part of it.

In that aspect, Ali Fazal and Sapna Pabbi are the only faces who are actually seen in the film and it is due to this very reason that despite the shoot in South Africa (standing in for Kashmir) and quite a few outdoor shots as well, there is a weird kind of claustrophobia that occupies the frames. That when a melodious song appears after every 20-25 minutes. That when a sensual (yes, sensual, not sexual) scene pops up after every 20-25 minutes. That when the actors talk to each other in a tone which alternates from being philosophical to arriving straight from Shagufta Rafique's School of riddle fest dialogues.

Now even Murder 3 had a similar set where the film was focused on just three characters. However, it was a thriller where one kept guessing what would come next and there were some genuine chills in place. Also, the storyline was absolutely novel. In case of Khamoshiyan, the narrative continues to oscillate due to which the interest level varies as well.

For starters, it is tough to understand the motivation behind actors to behave the way they do. Any regular guy would pack his bags and move for the exit on his first encounter with the ghost. However Ali Fazal - and he doesn't even for any 'herogiri' - continues to hang on even after a chilly mid-night encounter. Then later it is pretty apparent that all is not well with the storytelling by Sapna Pabbi, what with mystery all around, and yet he hangs on. Even the girl in question makes some really questionable moves, as she narrates in her back story which just doesn't convince - well at least the starting point when she got trapped.

As for Gurmeet Choudhary, who makes a 'dead appearance' (well, literally) in his very first shot, has a restricted play in the film and while his motives have a direction, they seem relatively underexposed. What really makes him think the way he does? Well, these are some examples that perhaps stayed on in the script but never came on screen. What does he do with the trapped souls? Well, that remains a question too.

Still, and as said earlier, the build up to the interval point is decent and there are some good moments interspersed in the second half. As a matter of fact the pre-climax does play on well once Ali Fazal is all by himself to free the trapped souls. However, if only the climax would have played much more strongly, the impact would have been far better.

Give it a watch if you have quick two hours available and like your weekend dose of semi-horror affairs with some soulful songs.