In this article, I am going to discuss how Bollywood has made an attempt to create its own short collection of ghost stories which is ambitious yet it cannot be said to be quite there.
So, Ghost stories is another anthology of horror short films that were directed by four creative directors who where part of hit movies like Bombay Talkies and Lust stories and you can definitely find their uniqueness in each of the stories, be it the location or the writing or the screenplay.
Like every ghost story, people expect this one to be scary too, and which can make them jump from their chairs.
Further, in my no-spoiler review, I will try to cover the basic elements of the movie.
The first story is by Zoya Akhtar titled "Nurse" starring Jhanvi Kapoor and Surekha Sikri which talks about a spooky story about a home nurse and an old lady where both are waiting for their loved ones with the twist in the tale.
The actors have done their part relatively well but the climax isn't something which excites you and overall there is no horror available in this flick. And you will feel like something was missing.
The second tale is told by Anurag Kashyap named as "Bird". The story is about a pregnant woman and her nephew where the latter seems to be obsessed with her. Anurag tries to add many layers to the story but fails miserably as it just becomes nagging and even the depth intended for the story just makes you yawn.
There are a lot of open-ended questions that hardly you care about by the end of it. Sobhita Dhulipala aces her role and spookiness with bird-like character. The use of black and white models of cinematography isn't justified. Overall, it is the worst among the lot.
Dibakar Banerjee brings the story "Monster" as the third story in the movie and the satirical approach along with eerie feeling throughout the narrative makes it the best story in the lot. The story is about a new teacher who gets stuck in a village with people turned into zombies or monsters.
The best part is the political satire brilliantly amalgamated in the narrative without leaving the concept of horror. The actors Sukant Goel and the kids shine throughout the narrative. To sum it up, it is the best story among them all.
The final product on the line is from Karan Johar and he takes a simplistic formula which he has adopted many times before also. A story about a newlywed where the groom talks to his dead grandmother leaving the bride being scared. There is a major goof-up in the narrative and that makes it fall to the average category.
Otherwise, it is a simple story and is fine to watch but when we talk about horror there is none. Mrunal Thakur and Avinash Tiwary do a fine job with whatever is given to them.
A ghost story is supposed to be scary, it's supposed to be something that gives you goosebumps, something that makes you close your eyes and still watch with a corner of your eye open.
Even though we have stepped into the year 2020, we can easily conclude that even a movie made in the early 1980s named "The Exorcist" will give definitely give you more chills than this.
Many Netflix original movies are now being made which has a great start, an interesting concept but they can’t seem to give a conclusion to their start. So, the makers leave it open since thinking of a logical way to get everything together and wrapping up to an interesting plot is difficult.
In conclusion, this movie will not be considered as 'worth the time watch'. One can watch it if they love and are interested in following these directors' works.
Written by - Akash Agrawal
Edited by - Daity Talukdar
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