Cast: R. Madhavan, Neetu Chandra, Poonam Dhillon
Director: Vikram Kumar
Rating: 3/5
The rhythmic flashes of lightening and the persistent, yet convenient pit-pattering of rainfall accompanied by rolls of thunder are synonymous with the Bollywood Horror patrol. Brash blaring booms, midget building watchmen, long, pointed steel and trench coats lay the ground work for super natural Hindi Cinema. But is that all one looks for during those 148 minutes?
After the past few mysteries that blew over the Bollywood horror scene, 13 B offers cinema a fresher look into the life of your average Joe ‘Mannu’, a hard working, optimistic engineer, who, along with his brother, has moved into a new house. No prizes for guessing that the house is, in fact, haunted! Mannu soon comes to understand that the happenings in his house are reflections of the lives of characters of a TV serial entitled ‘Sab Khairiyat’, that the women in his house are glued to. Like his family enjoys the good fortunes that they are blessed with, Mannu comes to realize that there is more in store for his family than just promotions, salary hikes and unplanned pregnancies.
The film meticulously explores how the lives of the family members are so deeply intertwined with the lives of the characters from the soap, that often enough, Mannu finds himself not only helpless, but also at the mercy of the soap. The soap brings in a very creative use of suspense as the daily tag ‘To be continued...’ leaves one at the edge of their seats. Not until the very end can Mannu even imagine who the man beneath the trench coat is. The storey beautifully unravels as the background characters embody the spirit of the storey to the fullest.
After Mumbai Meri Jaan and Guru, the big screen finally sees R. Madhavan taking the lead to charismatically embody a hopeful youth in the heart of urban India, tangled in a web of super-natural paranoia. Madhavan’s expressions alone, caught in unique character with some distinctive cinematography, are enough to shrivel one’s brow and get one biting their finger nails. A refreshing picture on the horror beat! A definitive must watch in the coming days of festivity!
