''Dybbuk'' is a 2021 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

-language

supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...

written and directed by Jay K, produced by T-Series and

Panorama Studios Panorama Studios is an Indian film production and distribution company established by ''Ajay Devgn'' 's exclusive manager Kumar Mangat Pathak. Along with its subsidiaries and associates, is a diversified film studio with various business segme ...

. The film, starring

Emraan Hashmi Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hashmi debuted in 2003 with the crime thriller film ''Footpath'' and subsequently appeared in films include ''Murder'' (2004), '' Kalyug'' ...

and

Nikita Dutta Nikita Dutta (born 13 November 1993) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films and Hindi television. As a finalist of Femina Miss India 2012, she made her acting and film debut with ''Lekar Hum Deewana Dil'' where she played a supporting ...

in the lead role, is a remake of Jay's 2017

Malayalam film Malayalam cinema is an Indian cinema, Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ...

Ezra Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρας ...

''. The story of the film revolves around an antique box purchased by the female protagonist, after which the couple face paranormal activities. The

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began on 18 July 2019 in

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

. The film premiered on 29 October 2021 on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

Synopsis

Mahi (

), a newly married woman, brings an antique Jewish box into her home. When Mahi and her husband Sam (

) begin to have paranormal experiences, they soon learn that the box contained a

dybbuk In Jewish mythology, a (; yi, דיבוק, from the Hebrew verb meaning 'adhere' or 'cling') is a malicious possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. It supposedly leaves the host body once it has accomplished ...

, an evil spirit. The couple then seeks the help of a rabbi to unravel its mystery and in order to survive the ordeal before their child is born.

Cast

as Samuel "Sam" Isaac, an Indian Christian from Mumbai working as an executive at a nuclear waste disposal company in Mauritius. *

as Mahi Isaac (Nee'Sood), Sam's wife who is

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

with her second child after a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

. She comes in possession of an antique box (a

dybbuk box The Dybbuk box, or Dibbuk box (), is a wine-cabinet claimed to be haunted by a ''dybbuk'', a concept from Jewish mythology. The box gained notoriety when it was auctioned off on eBay by owner Kevin Mannis, who created a story featuring Jewish Holo ...

) previously owned by the last Jew in Mauritius. *Anil George as

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Benyamin, rabbi at the Mumbai Chabad House, working in

Réunion Island Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island o ...

. *

Manav Kaul Manav Kaul (born 19 December 1976) is an Indian theatre director, playwright, author, actor and filmmaker. He was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the films ''Tumhari Sulu'' (2017) and '' Saina'' (2021) ...

Markus, Benyamin's son, wanting to exorcise the dybbuk during

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

with the help of a

hamsa The ''hamsa'' ( ar, خمسة, khamsa) is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout North Africa and in the Middle East and commonly used in jewellery and wall hangings.Bernasek et al., 2008p. 12Sonbol, 2005pp. 355–359 Depicting the open right h ...

locket. *

Yuri Suri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

as Yakub Ezra, a French Jew who came to

Rodrigues Island Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...

during World War II, an expert in

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

. *

Imaad Shah Imaaduddin Shah (also credited as Imaad Shah; born 20 September 1986) is an Indian actor and musician. He is the son of actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah. Early life Imaad was born to actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak on 20 ...

as Abraham Ezra, Yakub's son who falls in love with Norah, a Christian, and makes her

out of wedlock. Her

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

due to the

stigmatisation Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Stigm ...

leads a Christian mob to attack him and his father. The attack leaves him invalid causing Yakub to turn Abraham into a dybbuk bent on destroying the island of

. *

Darshana Banik Darshana Banik is an Indian model and actress. Banik works for the Bengali and Telugu film industry. She started her career as a model and brand ambassador for different brands like Colors, Vodafone, and Boroline. Early life Darshana Banik ...

as Norah * Gaurav Sharma as Inspector Riyaz Ahmed *

Denzil Smith Denzil Leonard Smith (born 6 November 1960) is an Indian film and stage actor and producer. Born to Anglo-Indian parents in Mumbai, he is known for his stage and screen roles as a character actor. Smith has acted in over 50 plays and 60 films. ...

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

Gabriel * Resh Lamba as Masood * Bijay Anand as Sanjay *

Ivan Sylvester Rodrigues Ivan Rodrigues, whose native place is Karnataka, India, is a polyglot film and theatre actor based in Mumbai, India. Early life and education Ivan was born on 23 November 1968 in Mumbai to Robert and Nancy Rodrigues. His parents though were ...

as Milind Sanghvi

Production

In April 2019, it was officially confirmed that the

remake of Malayalam film

is to be produced by T-Series and

, featuring Emraan Hashmi in the lead role. Jay Krishnan, the director of original film to direct the remake and it will be shot in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and

. The film titled as ''Dybbuk'', was sold to Amazon prime video for 360 million. The filming began in July 2019 in

Reception

Critical response

Renuka Vyavahare of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' gave the film 2 (out of 5) stars and said,"Special effects are decent. Only if there was some surprise element to this mundane horror drama." Shubham Dwivedi of

Pinkvilla Pinkvilla is an Indian entertainment and lifestyle platform. As of June 2022, Pinkvilla has over 5,00,00,000 visitors on its website and app. Overview Pinkvilla covers entertainment and lifestyle stories. Its coverage extends to Bollywood, H ...

gave the film 2 stars out of 5 and wrote," ''Dybbuk'' is an unenthusiastic horror tale that mends in its own mediocrity without even making an effort to rise above it. The film does not evoke any emotion out of a viewer."

Shubhra Gupta Shubhra Gupta is an Indian film critic, writer and columnist for ''The Indian Express'' from New Delhi, India. She received the Ramnath Goenka Award for Best Writing on Cinema in 2012. She was a member of the Central Board of Film Certificati ...

of ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5 and said,"Based on the Malayalam film ''Ezra'', this Emraan Hashmi-Nikita Dutt-starrer plays strictly by the numbers." Tatsam Mukherjee, Author at Firstpost gave a rating of 1/5 and wrote, " ''Dybbuk'', a Hindi remake of the Malayalam film ''Ezra'', is riddled with amateurish 'twists' and hasty resolutions." Roktim Rajpal of ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...

'' gave a rating of 2.5/5 and stated,"Like all remakes, ''Dybbuk'' caters to those who haven't seen the original version."

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides ...

gave 2 stars and wrote," ''Dybbuk'' attempts to be an unconventional horror film but the not-so-scary second half and lengthy runtime spoil the show." Anuj Kumar from ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' website wrote,"The sincerity of filmmaker Jay K in addressing the science vs. logic bit is palpable, but the predictable storyline and cliched backstory make it a long wait till the climactic twist."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt15715122 Indian pregnancy films Indian horror thriller films Films shot in Mauritius Films shot in Mumbai Films about exorcism Indian supernatural horror films Hindi remakes of Malayalam films Dybbuks in film Films about spirit possession T-Series (company) films Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films not released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 horror thriller films 2021 films Films set in Mauritius Films set in Mumbai Films about Jews and Judaism Films about Christianity Films about nuclear technology Jews and Judaism in Mumbai Jews and Judaism in India Amazon Prime Video original films