Bhool Bhulaiyaa....

So I caught this via Netflix last night. Official site here. I love a good ghost story love the rich cinematographic quality of many Indian films, and Vidya Balan is kind of an 'it girl' with me....she has the majestic on screen presence that makes whatever she does entertaining...all this should have added up to a shoe in thumbs up for this film but alas.....sigh....another disappointment from Bollywood...2007 was a bad year.

Well to start off I don't like that Askay Kumar dude, or whatever the heck his name is. He's often India's 'funny man' but I have never found him so, and the humor in this film was would not have amused the sixth grade version of the Knickerblogger, needless to say, the vintage model was not entertained.

The story itself was just enough 'off' to neither be creepy, or suspenseful; creating that feeling requires a sophisticated script - this one appears to be ad libbed.

Lastly, painful as it is to say, Vidya Balan was not suited for this role. Her acting as the possessed woman just wasn't believable, oops spoiler, but don't worry it's not worth watching through, just flip around for eye candy, though her voice as the psychotic spirit was a bit chilling.

The best ghost stories are pretty straightforward and rely much timing and atmosphere... and a place like an old Indian palace is a perfect setting and a nice variation, for us at least, from the old Gothic castle. It really all in the execution rather than trying to create a sophisticated intricate plot, which is what they tried to do here.

The costumes, some of the music, and some of the imagery were wonderful, - the rich pallet of india really comes alive in this film - and for that alone it's worth watching...

I didn't care for most of the songs -too much western rap/pop/crap influence, but Meere Dholna was good - and actually woven into the film nicely - it was this song that the Avni (played by Vidya), possessed the demon spirit of a dead court dancer, danced in the halls, imagining she was with her lover who was executed by the king.