Hum cheez hain badey kaam ki.. Yaaram!

The movie starts with a funny disclaimer in Hindi saying ‘this movie does not promote witch craft nor does it promote the comparison / portrayal of women as Daayan (Witch)’.  The packed theater bursts off into laughter. Then the same disclaimer comes again in English. Crowd bursts into laughter again. That’s the laughter before this intensely thrilling and scary movie begins. This laughter slowly fades off for the next 120 minutes. Ek Thi Daayan does best what Horror movies are supposed to do. It scares the shit out of you!

Humey kam pe rakh lo Kabhi.. Yaaram!

The plot revolves around Bobo the baffler (Emraan Hashmi) and his childhood in the first half of the movie. It narrates how Bobo, who is a magician by profession, goes through hallucinations that his step-mom Diana (Konkana sen) is a witch. He keeps referring to his book on magic and witch-craft to prove his points but no one really understands, including his Father or his Psychiatrist. 20 years later it starts coming back all again during his magic shows. His girlfriend Tamara (Huma Qureshi) also comes to know about this. Will Bobo be able to prove his point to his loved ones or will he succumb to his hallucinations is what the second half is all about

Suraj se pehle jagayenge .. Aur akhbaar ke saari surkhiyaan hum gungunayenge..!

The writers Vishal Bhardwaj and Mukul Sharma have done their homework well. You see in movies like these, script is the first star. Rest all stars are secondary. The logic is intact and it never goes out of control. The director Kannan Iyer makes sure the ship sails through thin ice successfully. Although the ending could have been more energetic and powerful, no one is complaining. Having seen a new horror-genre in ages, the bollywood audience is more than happy to acknowledge the efforts.

pesh karenge garam chai pe… koi khabar aayi  na pasand toh end badal denge.. !

Konkana Sen Sharma sizzles as the dark witch, potentially capturing the audiences under her spell of natural portrayal for such a difficult character. Special effects do come to her rescue at times. Huma Qureshi is the hefty glamor doll and pulls off a neat performance. She is quite over weight on screen. Kalki Koechlin does what she does best. Fitting into a role as if tailor made for her.

This is the first time I was eagerly waiting for a movie where Emraan Hashmi is the lead character. Trust me, anybody could have portrayed this role but the fact that Emraan bagged it means that its going to do him good. Or maybe like he says in the movie he is good because “he does not make noise while sleeping, he does not fart and he is a tiger in bed”. Nothing much to complain about his performance. He has done a clean role.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s music has always been catchy. However his song Yaaram combined with Gulzar’s simple yet magical lyrics, I must say, is definitely addictive. The song is also shot spectacularly in the movie.

Go watch a new genre in the theaters and then go home and sleep. Don’t try this at home!

— Varun Mannava Gowtham