Pari(2018) Movie Review | A scattered story lets down a well crafted film.

When was the last time you saw an Indian horror movie that did justice to the genre? If that is the question that you keep asking yourself then Pari can be the answer. Also if you’re a horror fan , then Pari can quench your thirst to a level of watching a watchable horror flick.
The thing with horror movies is that it has to be either perfect or it’s going to become laughable in today’s age. Starting from sound effects to the story of the film, every aspect has to have a creative input and additional effort to make it different and not cliché and Predictable. Pari unquestionably does that .

It’s a story of Rukhsana who is otherworldly and has a grey tint to her persona. The bright side of her is in continuous conflict with the disseminating darkness that resides within her. So finally what is the conclusion of the conflict and what makes this story which is not a fairytale a fairytale is all Pari is about.
It’s also a story of Arnab who is confused of his romantic orientation and is compassionate enough to help an abandoned by life Rukhsana, but by doing this gets caught up into the shackle of the dark complexities of the sinister world.

Anushka gives a remarkable performance and effortlessly brings out the constant conflict going within her. The suggestive scenes of her multiple transitions throughout the film and the scenes that depict the dichotomy of her character , although is a bit cinematically immature but are still effective. Anushka’s dedication is visible and seems like she truly believes in the script which she has also produced.
Parambrata Chatterjee has acted well and did justice to his pivotal but easy role, since he is evidently a good actor as we have witnessed in Kahaani. A special pat on the back to Anushka sharma to unrobe herself of all the glamour and to own the character of rukhsana which is not just courageous but risky for an A listed actress of the industry. She steps into the skin of her character, which proves her versatility once again after NH10 and Phillauri.

The shady, cruel character of a professor played by Rajat Kapoor is one of the strongest assets of the film. He totally owns the role of a professor who has his own dark intentions and his character is not just well acted but well directed as well.
References to foeticide in Bangladesh due to superstitious beliefs is used as an important arc and it induces a grim and uncomfortable feeling in the audience which a horror film is allowed to do.

A special mention to the use of disgustful and repellent scenes which make it an adult film but kudos to the producers who went with it to save those scenes. This idea to disgust the audience a bit, plays a huge role in the cumulative effect that it lays On The Mind of the viewers.
There is an attempt of conceiling parts of the story and then bringing that out in the end as a pivotal twist is a very nice attempt but what the twist might have looked like in the script doesn’t comes out in the movie.

Kolkata with deserted and dark locations in woody arboreous places, takes us away from the stereotypically portrayed face of the city of joy and brings us to the metaphorical womb of the city where this dreadful story grows. A big appreciation for the cinematographer for that.

The colour pallet of the film is shivering cold blue which creates an ambience of chilling suspense and concealing darkness acting as an amplifier of the horror quotient that the story is trying to establish.
Although due to the treatment of a horror film and due to the inadequacy of horror films in India it feels like really fresh flick but it has its own loopholes. A lot of supernatural elements are studded in the story which sometimes feel like a tad too much.

So to add up, for a country which has not produced a good horror movie in awhile Pari makes it up for that inadequacy for the Indian cinema but it fails to be a complete film in itself.
Prosit Roy’s commendable direction and all the effort that went into making the film dark and eerily dim and suspenseful have done its work wonderfully but the weak story of the film, an abrupt climax let down all the efforts.
Still if you are a fan of horror movies and can cease to be very critical, Pari can be a one time watch for you.

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