1920 London Movie Review: Spookfest Turns Into A Snoozefest

Director Tinu Suresh Desai's 1920 London, which is touted to be a supernatural thriller, is anything but scary. In fact, the third instalment of the 1920-franchise, will make you chuckle with its done-to-death dialogues, clichéd storyline and unconvincing performances.

The film (written by Vikram Bhatt) begins in Sikar, Rajasthan, with Shivangi (Meera Chopra), a Rajput princess, who comes in search of an exorcist to help her ailing husband Veer (Vishal Karwal). Both Shivangi and Veer lead a happy life in London till the arrival of a royal 'locket' from Rajasthan, following which Veer gets possessed and falls ill.

After an attempt to exorcise the demon by a tantrik (played by Gajendra Chauhan) fails, there is only one exorcist who can help our damsel in distress, Shivangi. No prize for guessing this! It's Jai Singh Gujjar (Sharman Joshi), who is also Shivangi's ex-lover.

The film turns out to be a clichéd love-triangle under the guise of a horror film with angle of unrequited love and revenge. Merely adding a grunting demon that is hanging around in air will not make it a horror film. Barring a twist just before the interval, the film drags in the second half. Like most Indian horror flicks, Vikram Bhatt has gone ahead with clichés such as amaavas ki raat, gangaajal, mantras, tantrik baba, etc, but he has forgotten to put in real spooky moments for the audiences that would make them jump out of their seats.

Sharman Joshi, who seems to be experimenting with the choice of roles lately, looks unconvincing as an exorcist in the film. Though, he did not overdo his part, Sharman should stick to his strengths. Meera Chopra's portrayal of a devoted and distressed wife is drab and she needs to increase her range of expressions. Vishal Karwal, who had very few scenes, will have to show more than his dimples the next time he gets an opportunity on the big screen.

Overall, sitting through the film is exhausting so don't hesitate to give 1920 London a miss.