The film Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai Directed by Deboley Dey Features Bhanu Udyay, Swara Bhaskar, and Murali Sharma in the lead.
The film story is about a A housewife experiences paranormal activities in her new house. The Mumbai based married couple Ayesha (Swara Bhaskar) and Uday Saxena (Bhanu Uday). Uday, a mechanical engineer by profession, shifts to Jabalpur after he and wife Ayesha meet with a major road accident that leaves an impact on her mind and devolves into depression. The accident happens while they were coming back from a party and incidentally, the other driver dies on Ayeshas’ side of the windshield. It’s an incident that plays on her mind and depresses her. When Uday’s boss offers him the job of managing a Jabalpur factory, he accepts the opportunity to give Ayesha a change of atmosphere.Unfortunately, the shift doesn’t help Ayesha overcome her depression. On the contrary, her condition worsens as she begins to feel the presence of bad spirits in her new house and tries her best to combat them.
Ayesha and Uday relocate to Jabalpur from Mumbai after Uday takes up a job there. They are put up at a spacious guest house in a deserted location. Uday becomes busy with his job and rearranging their life. In no time, Ayesha senses a mysterious presence in the house. She starts to feel the presence of someone in the house that no one else can. Her fears grow and she starts behaving in a bizarre manner. Nightmares, hallucinations, creepy noises, paranormal occurrences and shadows start plaguing her. Their move to their new home in Jabalpur becomes the incidental excuse for involving them in paranormal activity. Everyone around them appears sinister and doubtful. The family is in turmoil and scared out of their wits.
Scared for her family, she pleads her husband to vacate the house but he blames it on her mind games. Ugra (Deepraj Rana) gets called-in to do the exorcism. It’s of course a huge challenge for him. Will he succeed?
Swara Bhaskar is impressive in her first horror film, her performance fails to compensate the director’s disjointed execution. Bhanu Uday is decent too.
Novelty cannot be expected much in horror, given the nature of the genre. But if the cliched scenes manage to scare you, the job is done.
Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai has a formulaic premise too – a woman alone in a haunted house, doors shutting by themselves, mysterious gory deaths,
‘I-believe-in-ghosts’ maid and an exorcism in the climax. While the film has incorporated all the elements possible, it struggles to maintain tension. The focus diverts from ghost presence and possession to the couple hosting dinner parties for their friends.
Inclusion of other insignificant characters adds to the length and take away from the content, thus weakening the plot. Sound effects are strictly average.
If you get spooked easily, you can watch this one. If you like horror, watch Insidious (2010) or Ram Gopal Varma’s Bhoot (2003) again. Those are classics.