Produced by-
Etaki Entertainment
Scripted and
Wielded by Milind Rau
Cast-Siddharth,
Andrea Jeremiah, Atul Kilkarni, Suresh, Anisha Victor, Prakash Belawadi,
Avinash Raghudevan and others
Censor
Rating-A
Running
Time-136 minutes
Rating-***1/2
Given the
situation at Kollywood wherein horror flicks hit the screens in quick
succession with loads of uninteresting plots and attempted humor that mostly
falls flat, this horror thriller is a refreshing change that showcases a
stellar cast, good production values lifted up further with excellent support
by the technical crew!
A former
deputy of Maniratnam, Milind proves in his very first attempt as an independent
filmmaker that he is one filmmaker who can certainly go places, of course, with
a bit of a little more of improvisations! As he notifies, the film is said to
be based on a true story which he has tactfully expanded into a full length
feature slicing in the right kind of elements that go to make such genre of
films successful!
Shreyaas
Krishna, the cinematographer, Girishh, the scorer (BGM, especially!), the
editing of Lawrence Kishore and the art direction of Siva Shankar-have all
contributed immensely making viewing a very thrilling and chilling experience!
Preetisheel Singh, the prosthetic designer, deserves mention too.
With the
theme set against the backdrop of a hill station, the film moves at a very
steady pace right through with tension escalating gradually rounding off
finally to nail-biting horror! Performance wise, Siddharth scores brilliantly
and is very natural in the intimate romantic scenes with Andrea (who too, is!),
shot tastefully!
Atul
Kulkarni’s wardrobe deserves special mention but he has nothing much to do in
the proceedings excepting to look concerned about his daughter’s state of
health, rather state of mind!
Prakash
Belawadi as the pastor cuts a neat cameo. So does Avinash Raghudevan as a
parapsychologist offering assistance to the family in distress!
The opening
sequences involving the love and marriage of Sid and Andrea have been handled
brilliantly by the first time filmmaker who opts not to bore the audience as
these portions are very brief but effective! But the need for a couple of
intimate sequences, given the fact that this film belongs to the horror genre,
is something that needs to be deliberated upon! Yet, those segments fit in
well!
Soon after
their wedding, Krish(Sidharth) and Lakshmi (Andrea Jeremiah) move into an
isolated, palatial bungalow atop a hill station (lovely locale, misty and
beautiful!). When he is not serving at a nearby hospital where he is employed,
Krish spends most of his available time with his better half! Shortly, Paul
(Atul Kulkarni) and his family consisting of his wife, Lizzy(Bhawana Aneja)
elder daughter, Jenny(Anisha Victor), younger one, Sarah(Khushi Hajare) and
Paul’s dad, Colonel D’Costa(Yusuf Husian) move into the only neighboring
bungalow.
The families
lose no time in bonding but what they are all unaware is that Paul’s house is
haunted and has been a thriving ground for ‘spirits’!
Jenny starts
behaving strangely and as a doctor, Krish steps in to help despite Lakshmi’s
reservations about that as she is well aware of the fact that Jenny has a crush
for Krish!
Krish seeks
the help of his senior, Dr. Prasad (Suresh) who is a psychiatrist. Convinced
that Jenny is ‘possessed’, Prasad invites Pastor Joshwa (Prakash Belawadi) to
approach the problem from a religious angle. Colonel D’Costa brings in another
person ( Avinash Raghudevan) to approach the problem from yet another angle!
Following a
lot of twists and turns, most of which are unexpected yet enjoyable, the
director directs the attention of the audience to a lengthy flashback in black
and white (so that much of murders and bloodshed become less effective from a
censor angle!) unfolding an incomprehensible back story set in the 30s, a bit
implausible too! But the manner in which the young filmmaker has wrapped up
every single door that he opened warrants mention!
Also, a
small but important twist towards the climax regarding the presence of yet
another ‘possessed’ one amidst them all is a surprise!
As there is
more than one spirit, how does the title, ‘Aval’ get justified! Perhaps, Milind
has the answer!
There was a
1972 film by the same title that was a takeoff on the Bollywood sizzler, Doraha!
Anyway, this
is a new kind of horror thriller that is a worthy addition to worthwhile films
belonging to this genre!
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