- Date of Release: 15 September 2024
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: SonyMax
Adbhut
Introduction
During the start of the new Hindi film Adbhut (that premiered on Sony Max directly), I did get a feeling that the film had some similarities with the start of the Hindi film Bloody Ishq, that was such a debacle. But as the story progressed a little further, the paths of the two films were different thankfully! Yet, Adbhut doesn’t fully capitalize on its premise while often being confused about its identity. And this confusion does percolate in its filmmaking style too. It works partially when it intends to dwell on the mystery but woefully fails when it tries to be over-the-top with its horror that is cliched and so early 2000s. At a point in a scene, you see one of the characters running on the streets barefooted only to stand randomly in the middle of the road as a truck approaches behind her. And while you realise that she might be possessed and understandably not moving, all I thought was why wasn’t the trunk driver slowing down. This made me chuckle, something that just wasn’t the motive of the scene. And these random bouts of humour are interspersed in the narrative that made me wonder on what if the filmmaker had let-go the so called cliched aspects of horror and instead focused on the atmospherics to build an aura of fear. So this remained the sole cardinal sin of Adbhut that simply flatters to deceive at so many junctures.
Story & Screenplay
Adbhut follows the story of a couple who hire a detective after being witness to strange occurences in their house. And from that point, the story unfolds as a mystery coupled with a supernatural thriller that doesn’t quite hit the sweet spot. Firstly, credit where due – I liked the initial buildup from a mystery standpoint even in the wake of some rather flashy horror sequences that happened to pique my attention. There was a steady progress to the proceedings particularly with regard to a character who seemed to be the point of focus, and they key to the mishaps that transpire in the drama. Yet, the writing does resort to some rather cliched and standard tropes over its screenplay standing at a shade above 2 hours that completely ruins the movie watching experience.
One of the fascinating aspects of the drama was the characterization of the detective Gajraj Awasthi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who is modelled on Sherlock Holmes. And while his character building was sharp, I did feel that the writing didn’t quite utilize his skills although there is a lot of pretence while showcasing another character (Late Vikram Gokhale) almost as his alter ego. This was a confused state with respect to the characterization that didn’t fully bloom in accordance to the drama. Yet, there are moments of intrigue in the screenplay that does keep the mystery intact, even with a set of frequent flashbacks that make you question on the identity of a particular character in question. But time and again, this building levels of tension are diffused by some inexplicable tropes of the horror genre that ought to be discarded by now. The scene involving a character tied to the bed and mouthing something gibberish was straight from the early 2000s in the Vikram Bhatt style of horror that is so cliched, and anything but scary.
To be honest, one of the biggest letdowns of the writing is the creative decision to opt for a standard jumpscare horror (which by the way wasn’t even remotely scary) as opposed to working on the atmospherics. And this may have arisen from the fact that the narrative also seemed to be confused with what it intended to stand for – a murder mystery or a supernatural thriller? If it was the latter, the character of the detective was out of place, and if it was the former then you didn’t need these many jumpscares and over-the-top horror sequences which just seemed to be randomly integrated, as opposed to the detective systematically getting to the bottom of things.
The final act of the drama is absolutely cliched that just does not have a solid pay-off. Had the mystery worked, the film would still have had some fighting chance to leave a mark but alas, that wasn’t the case. I even found issues with the staging of the final act wherein characters began to pop-up randomly, and completely out of nowhere. The final act needed a layer of complexity as opposed to such a simplistic act that left absolutely no impact on me. It is cliched and absolutely flat, something that is also symbolic of the screenplay here that fails to impress.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are slightly corny but overall decent with the mood of the drama. The BGM is way too loud for a horror film that just doesn’t build an ambience of fear at any juncture in the narrative. Also the use of the score is so amateur wherein the viewers are given a key of anticipation right at the start of the scene in the buildup to the actual event. The cinematography comprises of some rather weird frames that are exactly that – weird, without the capability of evoking a sense of fear even once. The editing is way too choppy in so many individual scenes, wherein I could count up to 5 to 7 cuts within seconds, as opposed to a single expandable sequence that would have had a far bigger impact. Director Sabbir Khan misses the mark here even as you are witness to his confused style of filmmaking that eventually muddles the drama too. Had he stuck to preferably the mystery or an atmospheric horror, things may have been shaped differently. But alas, that wasn’t the case wherein the direction was pretty weak.
Performances
The performances are decent by the bunch of talented actors. Late Vikram Gokhale in probably his final outing has his moments to shine. Diana Penty is decent but the one-note of her mysterious character makes her rather monotonous. Shreya Dhanwantry as Shruti is good despite the writing not allowing her character to fully bloom. Rohan Vinod Mehra as Aadi does a fine job here and it made me think that he was always in control with his stoic expressions. But if the film turns out to be watchable then a huge share of the credit must go to Nawazuddin Siddiqui and his impeccable acting chops. As Awasthi, he is excellent, maintaining an easy going body language with subtle bouts of energy that he releases only sparingly. This is reflected in his dialogue delivery that is smooth and he definitely coaxes you to pay attention to his character for that much longer.
Conclusion
Adbhut shows promise initially but eventually ends up being an insipid supernatural thriller with a cliched treatment and payoff while failing to make its mark. Available on the TV channel SonyMax (check its schedule for its repeat telecast).
