Review of Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship

Gulf News

Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship opens with a grieving marine officer Prithvi (Kaushal) struggling to gain closure as a terrible personal tragedy mars his existence. He was perfectly happy with his vivacious wife (Bhumi Pednekar) and child, but loses his bearings when they die in a freaky drowning accident. He’s deeply troubled and emotionally volatile since their death. It’s safe to say that Prithvi is marooned mentally and emotionally to that fatal accident that claimed his happiness. He even refuses to take drugs to stop the hallucinations because he fears he will lose out on seeing his dead daughter and wife. Speaking to his dead child after an eventful day at work through a make-ship toy telephone is all in a day’s work for him. But his dreary life gets a boost when a ship washes ashore the Juhu beach in Mumbai, is stuck in the sands and he’s convinced that paranormal beings still live in that giant deserted vessel.   Full Article here: https://gn24.ae/9701e366b859000 See more at https://gulfnews.com/videos #Bollywood #Review #VickyKaushal

Transcript

00:00You know what's the truly scary part of Booth Part 1, The Haunted Ship?

00:04The makers seem to suggest there's going to be a part 2.

00:13Here's my review of Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal's Booth Part 1, The Haunted Ship.

00:18As the title suggests, the movie is set mostly in this gigantic, rusty vessel that's marooned in Juhu, a beach in Mumbai.

00:26It's based on a true life incident and is directed by Bhanu Pratap Singh.

00:31He's a first time director and you have an actor, a seasoned, a national award winning actor like Vicky Kaushal who plays the lead.

00:39He plays a marine surveyor called Prithvi and he is battling personal grief when his wife and child dies in a freaky drowning accident.

00:49When they're river rafting as a family, there's an accident and he loses both his wife and daughter.

00:56He's still struggling to gain closure.

00:58This movie will remind you of Talash starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji.

01:04They were so good as actors in that that you felt for the grieving parents.

01:09But somehow here with Vicky Kaushal, you don't connect with his grief as much.

01:14You see his tears but you don't feel for it.

01:16You look at it as a bystander who'd rub her neck when seeing an accident on the road.

01:22You don't empathize with him which is a shame because usually Vicky Kaushal is in top form.

01:27But somehow here, he's not able to muster the same kind of grief that you would feel for a parent struggling with survivor guilt.

01:35He's the only one who has survived that tragedy and he has ghosts from the past that continue to haunt him.

01:43For him, in a day's work, it's about talking to his dead daughter and seeing his dead wife who want to come back to his life.

01:50So his life is riddled with nightmares.

01:54It takes a long time for the movie to gain steam.

01:57By then, the scares are not many.

01:59So till the interval, this mood is being set.

02:02And I think that is sad because they took too long to get the actual thrills and scares going.

02:07By then, it feels a bit too old.

02:09Most of the action and the scary sequences are set inside the rusty ship.

02:14Despite being scared silly by some paranormal beings inside the ship,

02:18he continues to return to the ship.

02:21This is like the cinematic equivalent of reading a Nancy Drew novel perhaps.

02:26She was this immature young American detective who always saves the day.

02:31Similarly, Prithvi also seems to be this young man who's on this perennial quest

02:35to save these living souls trapped inside the vessel.

02:39The story is what happened to them and the backstory is pretty ridiculous and it is over the top.

02:45In fact, the acting by those in the flashback is actually quite laughable.

02:51There's also seasoned actor Ashutosh Rana,

02:53who's reduced to the tired trope of being a ghost whisperer

02:57who chants so that he can scare the ghosts away.

03:00You have seen that in other horror films.

03:02But I thought Bollywood had progressed but clearly not.

03:05We are still stuck in that era.

03:07However, this movie is very high on the technical finesse and the cinematography.

03:12The grey palette that dominates every screen and that choppy waters

03:16kind of reflects the mood that the hero is in.

03:19He is also equally troubled like the choppy seas.

03:22All of that is used very effectively.

03:24And I have to say that full marks has to go to director Bhanu Pratap Singh

03:28and the cinematographer for staying away from those tired tropes like shutting doors etc.

03:35There are some genuine scares in this one

03:37but there's not enough to keep you invested throughout the movie.

03:40There are times when you fidget in your seat more out of boredom

03:43than because you're feeling squeamish.

03:45If you're expecting to be startled and jolted out of your seat,

03:49then this is not the movie for you.

03:51This movie is good for a one-time watch if you are a strict fan of Vicky Kaushal

03:55because there's something very pleasing about this actor.

03:58He has that kind of goodwill and that pleasing personality

04:01and the kind of screen presence that you would watch him constantly.

04:05But somehow the movie doesn't do him full justice.

04:08The fact that the movie ended with a potential sequel is a bit scary

04:13and that's what truly scared me.

04:15I'm going with 2 out of 5.

04:17For my full review go to gulfnews.com

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