Ajay Devgan's Shaitaan’ review: A chilling tale of demonic possession

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‘Shaitaan’ review: A chilling tale of demonic possession

Vikas Bahl has remade Krishnadev Yagnik’s Gujarati hit ‘Vash'

R Madhavan in Shaitaan (2024) | Jio Studios/Devgn Films/Panorama Studios

Shaitaan, the Hindi version of the Gujarati hit Vash, gets a few things right. The first is keeping the source film out of sight.

Although released in cinemas in 2023 to high praise, Krishnadev Yagnik’s psychological thriller isn’t available on a streamer yet as part of the remake deal. This not only makes it difficult to compare the original and the Hindi reboot, but also puts viewers in the difficult position of giving Shaitaan’s director Vikas Bahl credit that may not be due to him.

Bahl’s recent track record – the web series Good Bad Girl and Sunflower, the movies Goodbye and Ganpat – has been spotty. He has a proven discomfort with coherence and judicious pacing. However, Shaitaan is a mostly smooth chronicle of occult practices severely disrupting domestic equilibrium. Krishnadev Yagnik has a story credit, and is an invisible but palpable presence throughout Shaitaan’s many highs and occasional lows.

Kabir (Ajay Devgn), his wife Jyoti (Jyotika), daughter Jhanvi (Janki Bodiwala) and son Dhruv (Anngad Raaj) check into their holiday home in Dehradun for a vacation. An uninvited visitor turns the dictum that guests are like gods on its head.

Vanraj (R Madhavan) makes the teenaged Jhanvi (Janki Bodiwala) the vessel for his evil designs. Her family can merely watch on in horror as Vanraj possesses Jhanvi body and soul.

Janki Bodiwala in Shaitaan (2024). Courtesy Panorama Studios/Jio Studios/Devgn Films.

Except for a sagging middle portion, Shaitaan is nerve-shredding stuff, especially when Vanraj is in full-blown diabolical pied piper mode. Apart from being a perfectly serviceable movie about a black magic practitioner at work, Shaitaan is also a cautionary tale about domineering men seeking to control young, impressionable women. Vanraj isn’t just a malevolent warlock but an extreme version of your average patriarch.

The basic premise is meaty in itself to allow for suspension of disbelief. The loopholes are kept out of view for the most part, but nevertheless reveal themselves. The ending, which has been lifted from a feted Argentinean movie, undermines the movie’s overall impact.

The curious inertness of Jhanvi’s parents is an underexplored, unsatisfactory element. Shaitaan goes some way towards explaining Vanraj’s sickening grand plan. But the parents, despite strong performances by Devgn and Jyotika, are not always credible as witnesses rooted to the spot, unable to prevent a tragedy unfolding right before their eyes.

Anngad Raaj is wonderful as the smart and sensitive Dhruv. Janki Bodiwala, reprising the role she played in Vash, is the most compelling performer. Bodiwala memorably conveys Jhanvi’s anguish at obeying Vanraj’s demented demands while trying to hold on to her true self. As Vanraj, the aptly cast R Madhavan is smug, sadistic and sinister in equal measure.

Buy an KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Shaitaan is a solid supernatural-thriller that Hindi audiences have long been waiting for

Shaitaan now plays at a theatre near you

Name: Shaitaan

Director: Vikas Bahl

Cast: Ajay Devgn,Jyotika,R. Madhavan

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Vikas Bahl's directorial Shaitaan starring Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Jyothika, Janki Bodiwala and Aangad Raj keeps you on the edge of your seats through its course of slightly over two hours. Read on.

Plot:

Kabir (Ajay Devgn) lives happily in his family of 4. On the way to their farmhouse, they stop over at a dhaba, where they get in touch with Vanraj (R Madhavan). Vanraj comes off as a simple and gentle man, and immediately wins them over. While bonding over tea and snacks, Vanraj offers Janvhi (Janki Bodiwala) a poisonous laddoo, that makes her do exactly what he says. Parting ways, he secretly asks her to have a packet of poisoned biscuits in the car heading towards their farmhouse. He follows them and then forces himself into the farmhouse. Very soon, he exercises control over the girl and makes her do crazy things. Will Kabir be able to save his family from the psychopath that Vanraj is? Watch the film to find that out.

What works for Shaitaan:

Shaitaan offers a great mix of thrill and high-octane drama. It doesn't take much time to cut to the chase. The family portions are joyful and have a playful innocence. The supernatural elements are utilised effectively. Both the climax and post climax scenes are outstanding. Makers succeed in creating the much required eerie atmosphere, without which the film would not have been able to create the kind impact that it has been able to. The performances in the film are excellent. The background music is haunting and enhances the movie experience. The Shaitaan theme is solid, although it is very similar to the Mahabarata theme 'Hai Katha Sangram Ki'. 

What doesn't work for Shaitaan:

Despite being shorter than conventional Hindi releases, Shaitaan does get slightly draggy in the middle portions since the plot is paper thin. Fortunately, the film really finds its own in the mind-boggling third act.

For a thriller, more cinematic liberties are taken than they ideally should be taken and that dilutes the impact of the film to some degree.

Barring what's shared, there's nothing else to really complain about this smart supernatural-thriller that succeeds to keep you on the edge of your seats.

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