REVIEW: Ek Thi Daayan

IN WITCH KONKONA RETURNS

Kannan Iyer’s directorial debut, Ek Thi Daayan, co-written and co-produced by Vishal Bharadwaj, comes with a curious disclaimer––“This film is a work of fiction and doesn’t stereotype women as witches”––which is greeted with guffaws by the sparse audience. It’s a relevant concern that stereotyping women will only worsen their lot (and daayan, like chudail, is a potent word in our cultural context), but such a disclaimer is hardly the remedy.

The opening scene of a performance by Bobo the Magician (Emraan Hashmi) against the backdrop of busy city streets and an antiquated lift that triggers memories of Christopher Nolan’s Inception is promising. Suddenly Bobo starts hearing strange voices which almost sabotage his famous rope trick and seeks the help of an old psychiatrist friend of his father’s who hypnotises him to regress into his childhood where he had his first brush with witches in a delectable-sounding book called Kaal Daayan Aur Shaitan.

His return to his childhood apartment (great production design) revives unpleasant reminiscences involving ghost stories, creepy lizards, a step-mom and a daayan whose evil powers rest in her long, swinging plait (Bobo’s rope trick and the lift fit in nicely with this segment texturing the character’s psychological profile). It’s a riveting hour––suspenseful, sometimes downright scary and thoroughly entertaining. Konkona Sen Sharma as Diana the governess is marvellous and I nearly jumped out of my skin when she gleefully declares to Bobo’s little sister Misha, “I could just eat you up!” It’s the stuff of a child’s over-ripe imagination and assorted fears magnified by the indiscriminate consumption of pulp fiction.

Sadly, the script is only sure-footed as far as the flashback is concerned. Back to the present and the second half incredulously begins with a Punjabi wedding song. With the arrival of Lisa Dutt from Canada (Kalki Koechlin) the screenplay starts spreading itself thin and towards the end, disintegrates altogether. In fact, the way it was going, I half expected the film to fold itself in like Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island.  But that wasn’t to be and ultimately one was left dissatisfied with mumbo-jumbo about lunar eclipses, leap years, child sacrifice and a bizarre gathering in the netherworld.

Beyond the obvious conclusion about Bobo’s childhood insecurities weighing down his entire life and his need to shake off the hold women have on him, the exposition defies logic. It should have either been entirely absurd from start to finish, thereby eliminating the possibility of thematic consistency or then, the repercussions of Bobo’s nightmares on his adult life should have been more credible.

Fortunately, the foreboding atmosphere and moody visual design of the first half elevates Ek Thi Daayan above standard scary fare. The temptation to underscore scenes with background music though refuses to go away, although in this case, at least the pitch isn’t forbidding. While all the actors are serviceable, it’s ultimately Sen Sharma who enriches the film with her delicious turn. And aren’t we glad to have her back!