After Raaz and his latest offering, Vikram Bhatt seemed to have taken over the scary mantle from the yesteryear Ramsays. Oh yes, talking of scary movies, how could I forget poor old RGV and his bhoots and phoonks! With fresh faces in the lead and a Yorkshire castle as the protagonist, 1920 attempts to take you a century back through time to an English locale complete with an ancient castle, church and similar buildings.
The devout Arjun who begins every morning with Hanuman Chalisa falls for a Christian Lisa against the wishes of his family who threaten to finish her off. Avoiding the melee, they move to Mumbai where he works as an Architect. An assignment to demolish an old Mansion and build a hotel moves the couple to the spooky castle in Palanpur, where unbeknownst to them two architects before him have already met gruesome deaths.
We are made to believe that the place is somewhere in Northern India where redoing the castle would help attract business from the Britons passing through the region. For one, you must appreciate the audacity of the movie makers to take our logic for granted. For a dated film there is your usual unnecessarily anglicized female lead. And as it comes free with every horror flick, there is a local church priest who doubles up as an exorcist.
Audiences these days have evolved enough to expect the most old castles have some ghouls that usually possses the unsuspecting and curious damsel in the movie. We are used to scenes of a scared lady exploring the castle all alone inviting the spirits that follow her or call out her name menacingly. There is a distraction here though, an item number by raunchy Rakhi Sawant! Now, what is Vikram Bhatt trying to prove here?
Its past, as is revealed later, is the case of an old 1857 traitor warrior who seeks refuge in the mansion. While on his job, Gayatri in patriotic interests scuttles it by seducing him. When killed, the soldier plans to avenge it by taking her soul away. Gayatri is now reborn as Lisa. Predictably, you have scenes of a possessed Lisa levitating and shrieking with creaking doors, flying objects, noises and a shady watchman completing the picture.
While male lead Rajneesh Duggal has put in reasonable effort, Adah Sharma with wild eyes and overdone lipstick looks spooky without any need for a demon to possess her. Instead, the lady in the painting, Anjori Alagh as Gayatri is prettier. Adnan Sami’s Music is average. Art is reasonable though, while some special effects and make up are tacky. Despite all its attempts to spook you, 1920 is unworthy for your time and money.
Rating: 3/10 - Unreal locales and Clichés. Avoid this wannabe spook attempt!
The devout Arjun who begins every morning with Hanuman Chalisa falls for a Christian Lisa against the wishes of his family who threaten to finish her off. Avoiding the melee, they move to Mumbai where he works as an Architect. An assignment to demolish an old Mansion and build a hotel moves the couple to the spooky castle in Palanpur, where unbeknownst to them two architects before him have already met gruesome deaths.
We are made to believe that the place is somewhere in Northern India where redoing the castle would help attract business from the Britons passing through the region. For one, you must appreciate the audacity of the movie makers to take our logic for granted. For a dated film there is your usual unnecessarily anglicized female lead. And as it comes free with every horror flick, there is a local church priest who doubles up as an exorcist.
Audiences these days have evolved enough to expect the most old castles have some ghouls that usually possses the unsuspecting and curious damsel in the movie. We are used to scenes of a scared lady exploring the castle all alone inviting the spirits that follow her or call out her name menacingly. There is a distraction here though, an item number by raunchy Rakhi Sawant! Now, what is Vikram Bhatt trying to prove here?
Its past, as is revealed later, is the case of an old 1857 traitor warrior who seeks refuge in the mansion. While on his job, Gayatri in patriotic interests scuttles it by seducing him. When killed, the soldier plans to avenge it by taking her soul away. Gayatri is now reborn as Lisa. Predictably, you have scenes of a possessed Lisa levitating and shrieking with creaking doors, flying objects, noises and a shady watchman completing the picture.
While male lead Rajneesh Duggal has put in reasonable effort, Adah Sharma with wild eyes and overdone lipstick looks spooky without any need for a demon to possess her. Instead, the lady in the painting, Anjori Alagh as Gayatri is prettier. Adnan Sami’s Music is average. Art is reasonable though, while some special effects and make up are tacky. Despite all its attempts to spook you, 1920 is unworthy for your time and money.
Rating: 3/10 - Unreal locales and Clichés. Avoid this wannabe spook attempt!
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