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In B-Town flicks genuine scares are hard to come by.
MALLIKA
A; Horror
Dir: Wilson Louis
Cast: Sheena Nayyar, Sammir Dattani, Himanshu, Mamik, Suresh Menon
Rating: *
WHAT'S IT ABOUT: In B-Town flicks genuine scares are hard to come by. Even more so, given our exposure to the likes of Hollywood's gigantic creepy-crawlies, hideous monsters in the closets and under the beds, we don't scare easily.
Sanjana (Nayyar) is a clairvoyant haunted by nightmares. She can see the past and the future in her subconscious state wherever she lives. Fed up, she decides to go visit a secluded fort converted into a hotel in the hope that the bad dreams will go away. She meets Sahil (Dattani) and hitches a ride after her engine conks off on her. In a freak attack by wild bats, their 'driver' is killed and they barely escape with mere bruises.
On reaching the fort, you're in for more screams as her visions of one particular murder get more and more vivid. One by one, everyone guilty of infidelity gets struck off the to-murder/maim list.
Not all is lost though. The hotel has a tantrik at hand, the manager of the place. He philosophises the existence of aatmas to anyone who will listen. Together, the survivors try to fight off the vengeful spirit.
WHAT'S HOT: Wilson Louis ensures that there are halfway decent visual effects in the second half of the film. It kinda makes up for the negatives he keeps slipping in every chance he gets throughout the film. However, it's too little to be of any significance.u00a0
Mamik has the most powerful screen presence despite having a bit role in the film.
WHAT'S NOT: The film doesn't work for true horror fans, for fans of crude humour or smut seekers. It has a little bit of everything but nothing really stands outu00a0-- in part or whole.
If an acting career in film doesn't work out for Sheena Nayyar, the woman can sure as hell try her luck on TVu00a0-- reality or otherwise. She screams like a banshee in heat. And quite often, at that!
Sammir Dattani should thank his lucky stars he was blacked out of the promotions. If I were him, I wouldn't want to be remotely involved with this production even if I had equal number of scenes with the film's heroine.
Suresh Menon, who is otherwise a superb comic, disappoints. But can one really blame him? The dialogue is banal, especially in the jokes department.
WHAT TO DO: Safely give Mallika a miss. It has nothing you haven't already seen.
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