Even before the film begins, it is better you know what you’re getting into. There’s a long thank-you list of people who’ve contributed to the film. And then there’s a thank you to God, followed by a thank you to the Devil.
The Devil – let’s just call it ‘bad things’, shall we — is lurking somewhere in Madhya Pradesh, where Dr. Krish (Siddharth) and Lakshmi (Andrea) move to. It’s a love marriage — something told quickly in the course of a song (the melodious ‘Kaarigai Kanne’) – before they settle down to a routine. When a new family moves next doors, they are, obviously, delighted. There’s a housewarming party and the whole sequence exudes warmth.
But observing the romance is hardly the intention of the director (Milind Rau) who wants to scare us out of our wits. He starts the ghost protocol pretty slowly — there’s a well in which Jenny (the neighbour’s kid, who gets the best role in the film) falls into and it’s up to Krish to save her.
The first half is quite engaging, with the director building up the incidents neatly. He throws in a psychiatrist, a pastor and a tantrik to enquire into the goings-on in the house, thus setting it up nicely.
But he slips in the why — the most essential part of the film — by drawing out a long flashback about a Chinese link (something we get a glimpse of in the first few minutes of the film). In some ways, Aval reminds you of Yaaravum Nalam ( 13 B in Hindi) but in that Madhavan-starrer, the flashback — or the why — was convincing. Here, it falls short.
- Director: Milind Rau
- Cast: Siddharth, Andrea, Atul Kulkarni
- Storyline: A family is haunted by strange occurrences in a house they’ve moved into
But that’s not to say Aval is uninteresting; in fact, it does keep you hooked most of the time. Siddharth and Andrea fit their parts well, while Atul Kulkarni (as Paul) does manage to look afraid most of the time due to what’s happening around him.
The cinematography (by Shreyaas Krishna) and colours in the film help add to the eeriness. When the camera’s outside, it’s showing white and green — feasting on the snow-capped regions — but when it’s inside, it focuses on the red and black.
There a couple of chilling sequences — one involving a ghost in the bathroom and another inside a hospital — that jolts you. The twist in the end is something that very few would have guessed coming. All these contribute largely to the pureness in the horror shown in the film, something that Indian films largely contaminate by adding elements of comedy and song in dance.
