Khaali pili socio-horror movie: My quick take on Netflix’s “Kaali kuhi”
“Kuch Bhi” will be the spontaneous remark you will utter (like me), after wasting nearly 90 mins of your time on the Netflix. Ramsay Bandhus will be laughing at the plight of Netflix who is yet to come up with a “koi dhang ka” Hindi horror product just see their line up starting with Ghoul, Betaal, Bulbul, and now Kaali kuhi (Black/dark well). It's high time Netflix should rope in makers of Thumbaad or makers of Stree to make amends to their horror choices.
There is nothing worth mentioning about the horror movie (surprisingly released on Halloween day) where the “horror Quotient” is missing, the plot is overstretched to accommodate a social message of female infanticide (no doubt it’s a good ploy).
Even an accomplished actress like Shabana (Azmi) in her puffed up persona and with Kajol like eyebrow (yes, not eyebrows!!, just a single connected eyebrow) could not lift the spirit of this spiritless spooky plot. The pointless plot of having an Allaudin type genie who escapes from a sealed “well” instead of the magic lamp and goes on a rampage to take “badla” on all those in the family involved in infanticide. Music which is such an integral part of any horror flick goes unnoticed. The poltergeist-like climax wherein the haunted place gets destroyed seems totally out of place, and lo the director tries to become creative by showing an embryonic sack with a placenta with an unborn inside maybe he wanted to mock at audience using the metaphor of a “premature” baby and making a statement that I have delivered a premature product.
On the positives, I loved the setting of plot in a rustic village in Punjab and the low light cinematography which is simply exemplary. Few silhouette shots can move you to the edge of yr seat. A few of the frame’s composition is simply awesome, there is one frame where the bier carrying the dead body catches fire on its right in the middle of a bridge. The camera pans to a wide-angle showing the entire span of the bridge and you get to see the burning corpse and right below the bridge, you have a swamp of sparrows chirping and flying around adding the eeriness to the composition.
If you opt to watch this so-called horror flick it will definitely ‘haunt’ you for sometimes as you will keep on cursing yourself saying “Kyu time barbaad Kia” and the “dark well” will keep on resonating that “allz not well”
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