Rating: C
Dir: Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi
Star: Sohum Shah, Mohammad Samad, Deepak Damle, Harsh K
If you believe the IMDb, this is one of the best horror films of all time. It has a higher rating than The Exorcist and Jaws, and the same score as The Thing. To which I have to say: really? I can only imagine call-centres in India, stuffing the IMDb ballot-box on their tea-breaks, when they are not scamming grannies with fake viruses. Because this is certainly not all that. Very nicely photographed, to be sure, often verging on the beautiful. However, neither the performances nor the story are of the same calibre. I will admit certain cultural aspects may be lost on me. However, it feels like this is more the film’s problem than mine.
The hero… no, let’s go with “protagonist”, since there is precious little heroic about him, is Vinayak Rao (Shah), whose family has a dark secret. They worshipped a deity called Hastar (K) – not to be confused with Hastur, from the Cthulhu mythos – a decision which cursed their town to eternal rainfall (above). For reasons explained in an opening voice-over, he is imprisoned deep inside the bowels of the family mansion, and literally shits gold pieces. This has been the basis of the family fortune, though Vinayak is careful, and takes only a few coins at a time. For making a withdrawal from the vaults is fraught with danger. Raghav (Damle), the money lender to whom Vinayak sells the proceeds, learns this after trying to cut out the middleman. It does not go well for him.
Vinayak eventually looks to bring his son, Pandurang (Samad), in to this family business. But the kid isn’t happy with the small-scale profits, and suggests a plan to bring them much greater wealth. Three guesses how well this works out. Because the moral here is fairly bludgeoning, from the opening quote by Gandhi: “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed”. The subsequent hour and fifty minutes are basically variations on this theme. As standard in Indian movies, if anyone lights up, there’s a caption on-screen reminding us that smoking is injurious to health. No caption is provided regarding the risks of stealing money from a god held captive in an underground vault.
I just never really engaged with this. It unfolds over almost three decades, from 1918 through to Indian independence (which plays a part in how events occur) in 1947. But it feels over-stretched, and only in the final section do things really get going. I respect some genuinely impressive practical effects and make-up, while as mentioned, the visual side of things is firmly on point. But when the main character is as unlikable as Vinayak, and isn’t bad in an interesting manner either, I found it hard to give a damn about the outcome. It certainly does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the genuine classics mentioned at the start. Now, if you will excuse me, Microsoft are calling about my computer.