Shaitaan (2024 Film)

''Shaitaan'' () is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language supernatural horror film directed by Vikas Bahl and produced by Devgn Films, Jio Studios and Panorama Studios. It is the remake of the 2023 Gujarati film '' Vash''. The film stars Ajay Devgn, R. Madhavan, Jyothika, Janki Bodiwala and Anngad Raaj. The music was composed by Amit Trivedi, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti and Sandeep Francis.

The film was officially announced in May 2023 with the title confirmed in January 2024. Principal photography began in June 2023 and ended in September 2023, proceeding in India and London.

''Shaitaan'' was theatrically released on 8 March 2024, coinciding with Maha Shivaratri, and received positive reviews from critics with praise for its acting, story and technical aspects.

Plot

Kabir, a chartered accountant, leads a happy life with his wife Jyoti and children Janhvi and Dhruv in Dehradun. They plan a weekend getaway at their farmhouse at a remote hill town to spend quality time together. On the way, they stop at a roadside eatery for lunch and meet a man named Vanraj, who offers to pay for their tea and they ask him to join them at their table. He gives a laddu to Janhvi. After eating it, Janhvi experiences something strange within her and feels the urge to obey everything that Vanraj tells her to do. Before they leave, Vanraj secretly gives Janhvi a packet of biscuits and instructs her to eat them as soon as they reach the farmhouse.

Upon reaching the farmhouse, Janhvi eats the biscuits and joins her family at the swimming pool. Sometime later, Vanraj arrives at the farmhouse and tells that his phone's battery has gone and requests to let him stay there for some time. He adds that he would leave as soon as his phone's battery is charged. Kabir agrees to let him stay, though Jyoti remains skeptical, wondering how he got to know about their farmhouse's location. When Dhruv asks Janhvi to play with him, Vanraj instructs her to scare him. Janhvi gets on the swing with Dhruv and swings rapidly at a high speed, which scares Dhruv. Kabir and Jyoti scolds Janhvi for scaring Dhruv.

During dinner, Vanraj interferes too much in their personal discussion which angers Kabir and tells that he should leave now. When Vanraj refuses to leave, Kabir starts to drag him out. Vanraj instructs Janhvi to stop Kabir and she immediately pushes Kabir and shouts at him, saying that Vanraj will not go anywhere. They all are confused by Janhvi's strange behaviour and asks Vanraj what he has done to her. Vanraj reveals that he has hypnotized Janhvi with the use of black magic and that she is under his control now, obeying his every order. Vanraj adds that he is going to take Janhvi away with him forever.

As per Vanraj's orders, Janhvi laughs, cries, breaks her parents' cellphones, eats raw tea leaves, slaps her father and bangs her brother's head on wood. Sometime later, the police arrive at the farmhouse, telling that someone called them saying they were in danger. Unbeknownst to Vanraj, Jyoti had secretly called the police from another cell phone. Kabir and Jyoti are unable to ask the police for help as Vanraj has ordered Janhvi to stay in the kitchen and blow up the gas cylinder if anyone tries to reveal the truth to the police. They lie to the police that their son had called the police as a prank and that he is asleep in his room, but in reality Vanraj has instructed them to keep him hidden in the bedroom as his forehead is bleeding profusely after being hit. Sensing no suspicious activity, the police leave the farmhouse.

Kabir offers to give Vanraj a lot of money and requests him to leave and spare Janhvi's life. Vanraj accepts the offer and leaves, taking the money with him. However, Kabir and Jyoti realise that Janhvi has not returned to her normal self and is still under Vanraj's control. They rush to call Vanraj back and find him standing by the front door, having burnt all the money that Kabir gave to him. He enters the house again and orders Janhvi to slap herself repeatedly. He then orders her to dance to music continuously, which exhausts her. As Jyoti tries to comfort her, Vanraj orders her to slit Jyoti's throat with a knife, which make Jyoti back off.

Vanraj goes off to sleep and orders Janhvi to stab anyone who comes near him. Kabir and Jyoti manage to take the knife away from Janhvi and attack Vanraj. When they threaten to kill him, Vanraj orders Janhvi to laugh continuously and tells that if they kill him, Janhvi would keep on laughing uncontrollably until she dies. Upon realising this, they spare him. Vanraj then orders Janhvi to kill Dhruv. She goes after Dhruv and throws him off the terrace, gravely injuring him. Vanraj then leaves, taking Janhvi with him. Jyoti drives Dhruv to the hospital while Kabir prepares to go after Vanraj and save Janhvi. It is revealed that during an altercation, Kabir had secretly set a tracker on Vanraj's cellphone, which would help Kabir to trace his location. Vanraj takes Janhvi through a dense jungle into his secret base, where he has kept numerous other girls under his control.

Vanraj prepares to sacrifice them as part of a ritual, making all of them commit self-immolation in a huge pyre. Kabir arrives there and attacks Vanraj, overpowering him. He then cuts off Vanraj's tongue and throws it into the fire. When all the girls attempt to attack Kabir, Kabir plays an audio recording of Vanraj's voice that he had secretly recorded in which Vanraj utters the phrase "I free you", in a different context. Upon hearing it, all the girls, including Janhvi are freed from Vanraj's control and return to their normal selves. The whole family is reunited at the hospital where they recover from their injuries.

The police thank Kabir for his act of bravery, which helped save the lives of many girls. They also tell Kabir that Vanraj is missing and that they are searching for him. Sometime later, Kabir is seen coming to an isolated place, where he has secretly been keeping Vanraj tied up in chains, without providing him with proper food and water, as revenge for what he did to Janhvi. Kabir tells Vanraj that he has no idea as to what length a father can go to protect his family. Kabir leaves the place, while Vanraj's screams at the isolated place.

Cast

* Ajay Devgn as Kabir Rishi
* R. Madhavan as Vanraj Kashyap
* Jyothika as Jyoti Rishi née Anwer, Kabir's wife
* Janki Bodiwala as Janvhi, Kabir and Jyoti's daughter
* Anngad Raaj as Dhruv, Kabir and Jyoti's son

Production

The film is a remake of the Gujarati horror film '' Vash'' (2023) and was announced in May 2023, while the title ''Shaitaan'' was announced in January 2024 through teaser. Ajay Devgn and R. Madhavan were cast for the principal roles along with Jyothika, Anngad Raaj and Janki Bodiwala; the latter reprises her role from the original film.This film marked the first time Madhavan and Jyothika collaborated since their 2003 film ''Priyamaana Thozhi''.

The film was shot in London, Mumbai and Mussoorie with filming taking place from June 2023 to September 2023.

Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by Amit Trivedi and lyrics are written by Kumaar. The first single titled "Khushiyaan Bator Lo" was released on 15 February 2024. The second single titled "Aisa Main Shaitaan" was released on 29 February 2024.

Reception

Critical response

'' Bollywood Hungama'' gave 4/5 stars and wrote "''Shaitaan'' is a nail-biting thriller laced with superlative performances and clapworthy climax that keeps you engaged." Dhaval Roy of ''The Times of India'' gave the film 3.5/5 and wrote "Even though Shaitaan’s narrative stumbles at times, the masterful use of atmosphere and top-notch acting elevate it into an unsettling experience worth having."

Sana Farzeen of ''India Today'' gave the film 2.5/5 and wrote "''Shaitaan'' falls short, probably cursed by a weak script and the pressure of helming a remake." Lachmi Deb Roy of ''Firstpost'' rated 2.5 out of 5 and opined "''Shaitaan'' could have been a good supernatural thriller, which we haven’t seen much in Hindi cinema of late, but it turned out to be a complete mess in the process of depicting the war of good vs evil. It’s a poorly made remake and the story is just not believable. Making the hero win at the end makes the film just too predictable." Saibal Chatterjee of ''NDTV'' gave the film 1.5/5 and wrote "Jyothika is the only one in the cast who is able to rise a bit above the sheer absurdity of the proceedings. The two male characters and the actors playing them don't stand a chance."

Box office

As of 13 March 2024, ''Shaitaan'' has grossed in India, with a further in overseas, for a worldwide total of .

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 27744786

Indian thriller films
Indian psychological thriller films
Indian psychological drama films
Hindi-language horror films
Hindi remakes of Gujarati films
2020s Hindi-language films
Films shot in Mumbai
Films shot in London
Films shot in Mussoorie