Bhoot

About the film

Bhoot (transl. Ghost) is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language supernatural horror film directed by Ram Gopal Varma and stars an ensemble cast of Ajay Devgn, Urmila Matondkar, Nana Patekar, Rekha, Fardeen Khan (in a cameo) and Tanuja. It is the second horror film made by Ram Gopal Verma after Raat. The film was perceived to be different from a typical Hindi film as it did not feature the songs composed for it. The film was later dubbed in Telugu as 12 Va Anthasthu and remade in Tamil as Shock.

Bhoot was a box-office hit. Urmila won several accolades and awards for her performance as a possessed wife. Over the years, it has been considered one of the best Bollywood horror films of all time. Verma made a sequel called Bhoot Returns which was released on 12 October 2012.

Plot

The story follows Vishal Bhatia (Ajay Devgn), an investment adviser married to Swati Bhatia (Urmila Matondkar). The couple rent a high-rise apartment at an unusually low price. The broker introduces Vishal to the owner, Mr Thakkar (Amar Talwar), and explains that a widow named Manjeet Khosla (Barkha Madan), the previous resident, committed suicide after killing her own son. Vishal conceals this information from Swati, knowing she would object to living in such a place. However, the owner accidentally reveals the secret.

Swati is extremely upset with Vishal for hiding the truth about the previous occupants, although he dismisses notions of ghosts and bad luck. She soon begins seeing things and behaving strangely. Vishal consults Dr Rajan (Victor Banerjee). By this point, it becomes apparent that Swati is possessed, although Vishal believes she is merely sleepwalking. One night, he notices Swati is missing from the apartment. While searching for her, he sees her emerging from the lift. Sensing something is wrong, Vishal goes to the ground floor and discovers the watchman, murdered with his neck snapped backwards, implying that the possessed Swati killed him. Vishal’s scepticism vanishes. Inspector Liyaqat Qureshi (Nana Patekar), who arrives to investigate the death, grows suspicious of the couple and their unusual behaviour, and begins following Vishal and Dr Rajan.

Vishal’s maid witnesses Swati shouting and hurling Vishal aside. She helps restrain her and notes that Swati is shouting in the same manner as Manjeet. She suggests consulting an exorcist rather than a doctor. Vishal eventually seeks help from an exorcist, Sarita (Rekha). Sarita perceives the spirits of Manjeet and her son and advises Vishal to meet Manjeet’s mother (Tanuja), who may be able to placate her daughter’s spirit. Vishal complies and learns that Manjeet was not the kind of person who would commit suicide or kill her own child. He explains Swati’s condition and asks for assistance. Manjeet’s mother accompanies him and attempts to calm her daughter’s spirit. They discover that Mr Thakkar’s son, Sanjay Thakkar (Fardeen Khan), attempted to molest Manjeet; when she resisted, she accidentally fell from the balcony and died. Sarita advises Vishal to summon Sanjay. Vishal lures him by falsely claiming that his father is ill. When Sanjay arrives, Vishal persuades both him and Mr Thakkar to help take Swati to the hospital.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is under the label T-Series. The music of the film was composed by Salim–Sulaiman. It consists of 7 songs, 1 remix and an instrumental. The whole soundtrack is not used in the movie, except the song "Ghor Andhere" for the ending credits. The song "Bhoot Hoon Main" was recreated in film Lupt, which will be showing Nataša Stanković

Production

Bhoot is Director Ram Gopal Varma's second horror film after Raat (1992), starring Revathi. He said about the film, "Though technically it is a horror film, we don't see a murder or any overt horror." Further calling it a "hold-on-to-your-seats horror film", he said he wanted to break the stereotypes of a typical Indian horror of "a woman in a white sari, mists and screeching." He expressed his intentions of bringing horror "to [audiences] homes in the middle of Mumbai." He believed that since horror films were expected to happen mostly in a graveyard or a haunted house on a hill station, their happening in a place where no one really expected a ghost would be scary. Terming the film a remake of Raat in some sense, and citing The Exorcist as a huge influence on Bhoot, Varma also included a message at the beginning of the film where he cautioned pregnant women and people with weak hearts to view it at their own risk. The film creates terror through sound and everyday objects.

Critical reception

Taran Adarsh wrote about Matondkar's performance,

"...the film clearly belongs to Urmila Matondkar all the way. To state that she is excellent would be doing gross injustice to her work. Sequences when she is possessed are simply astounding. If this performance doesn't deserve an award, no other performance should. It beats all competition hollow."

Narendra Kusnur of Mid-Day was similarly positive of Matondkar, writing that her "transformation from a simple woman to a possessed spirit is smooth, and she emotes fear very naturally," and concluded:

Awards

Bollywood Movie Award – Best Director - Ram Gopal Varma

Bollywood Movie Award – Best Actress - Urmila Matondkar

Screen Award for Best Actress - Urmila Matondkar

Key details