A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
By Murtaza Ali Khan
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By Murtaza Ali Khan
Pari is a supernatural horror
film directed by Prosit Roy. It stars Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chatterjee,
and Rajat Kapoor in the pivotal roles. Produced under the banner of Sharma’s Clean
Slate Films, Pari marks the directorial debut of Roy who earlier served as an
assistant director on Sharma’s previous production venture Phillauri. The film
is co-written by Abhishek Bannerjee and Roy himself.
As far as Hindi cinema is
concerned, it is a given that horror films need to be big, loud and flashy.
There is little scope for anything that's not over-the-top. The characters are
supposed to be overly dramatic and performances theatrical. That's what Vikram
Bhatt has achieved over the years with his horror films. He has pretty much
attuned the viewers with what they should expect from their horror films every
time around.
Bhatt's horror films are in many
ways a continuation of the tradition started by the Ramsey Brothers in the ‘70s
and ‘80s. However, one Indian filmmaker who did a lot of experimentation in the
genre is Ram Gopal Varma, whether it is the psychological or the supernatural.
But, in the recent years, it's been all Bhatt and his trademark stylistic, over-the-top
horror films.
However, Prosit Roy's Pari marks
a major departure in the style as far as the horror genre is concerned. Despite
being a supernatural horror film, it is closer to Varma's psychological horror
films. But it is even closer to the kind of horror we see in Nordik films. There
is a flow and rhythm to Pari that's in absolute contrast to anything we have
seen in the Indian horror films in the recent times.
 |
| Anushka Sharma as Rukhsana in Pari |
Typically, the line between good
and evil is quite well defined in a horror film but Pari doesn't abide by the
same rules. The film can best be described as India's answer to Tomas Alfredson‘s
brilliant film Let the Right One In (2008).
Now, Pari has nothing to do with vampires but its depiction of its central
character forces us to question the notion of what's good and what’s evil. It
also reminds us of a particularly important question: what it means to be
human?
Pari is a unique love story that’s
creepy and tender at the same time. Producing an unconventional supernatural horror
film like Pari is a nothing short of gamble for Anushka but probably she takes
an even bigger gamble by choosing to play the central character of Rukhsana in it. But, to
her credit, she doesn’t come across as someone who is scared to take risks. Her
first two ventures, NH10 and Phillauri, were both unconventional films but
despite the odds they fared reasonably well at the box-office. With Pari, she perhaps
faces an even tougher challenge but regardless of the box-office returns she
needs to be commended for daring to do different things, both as a producer as
well as an actor.
 |
| Parambrata Chatterjee in Prosit Roy's Pari |
Pari has its share of flaws. It
runs for at least 15-20 minutes longer than it ideally should have. The setup takes a major chunk of the film’s
first half and it is only in the second half that the movie begins to pick some
pace. Pari has very good production values and features brilliant performances
from Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, and Rajat Kapoor. There is no
denying that Pari is a different kind of a horror film but it is certainly
worth a watch for those looking for something refreshing.
Rating: 7/10
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
Pari - Official Trailer (YouTube)
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
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ReplyDeleteI liked it a lot. Anushka has proved that she can do the unconventional stuff too. Kudos to the director and producer.
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