Kaali Khuhi Movie Review - Ghost Of Females Past

Kaali Khuhi is a winning entry in the echelons of well-constructed and ambitious horror films.

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD

The rainy clouds from Tumbbad make a presence in Terrie Samundra's Kaali Khuhi. Again, a curse drenches a remote village and its inhabitants. Again, well acts as a medium to connect the monster and the real-world. I suspect people will draw comparisons between the two films. But that would be shallow and cheap. For one, Tumbbad was rooted in Indian mythology, while Kaali Khuhi digs in reality. Second, there the monster was an epitome of lust, attracting greed towards itself. Here, the monster is a resurrection of a sinful past that has come to haunt the present. The greed in Tumbbad stood for wealth. The greed in Kaali Khuhi stands for the desire of a male child. Evil indeed has many faces.

After his mother falls sick, Darshan (Satyadeep Misra) takes his reluctant wife, Priya (Sanjeeda Sheikh), and daughter Shivangi (Riva Arora) to the village. The place is surrounded by smoke as if concealing a secret. The doors are decorated with ropes and leaves and red-colored threads to ward off unfriendly entities. Eerie silence blankets this village. Not many sounds are heard except the croaking of frogs from a distance. The illusion created is of the calm before the storm. Inside the house, the door on the upper floor opens and closes automatically. On the ground floor, below it, lies Darshan's mother. An experience has rendered her unconscious. Satya Maasi (Shabana Azmi) reported the incident, "Pata nahi kyun, andar se mann hua jaa ke dekh aaun." (I don't know why, I felt the need to come and check.)

The dialogues in Kaali Khuhi provide authenticity to the characters. On their way to the village, Priya remarks how it had been a long time since the family went out together. What makes it "real" is the fact that they are riding because of a grim situation, and this line hits like casual playfulness. Satya Maasi's comment on Shivangi's age and short hair too comes without any underlining. It plays out like an observation or just regular conversation. The actors deserve credit, though there were times when this, what shall we say, realness felt awkward. Intentional or not, it does cause unease, and if it is what Terrie aimed for, then congratulations.

Shivangi finds her old friend in Chandni (Rose Rathod). Together, the girls navigate the gullies on the cycle. When it showers, Chandni introduces Shivangi to a scary book tucked away behind a bag on top of the cupboard. The pages talk of a wandering spirit. The story takes us to a flashback where a girl's face is covered with a cloth. When her friend inquires about it, she informs about the people getting sick in the village. Her friend shrugs the problem aside and removes the mask. Given the current conditions, all this felt relatable.

On the other side, Shivangi's grandmother is eliminated by a ghost. This is the spirit of a girl whose kills follow the release of black goo from the mouth. Unlike many ghosts, her appearance is not only reserved for Shivangi. She is scary enough to prevent Chandni from entering the house. According to the Hindu tradition, the dead body is taken to a spot and burned down to ashes. The grandmother's body catches fire midway before reaching the destination. This happens in the middle of a bridge. It's like she is so bad that neither sides want to accept her and so is "disposed of" in the centre. What heinous crime could she have committed? Apparently, female infanticide. The old women performing it are dressed in black. The fire paints a picture of hell.

Kaali Khuhi anchors a societal issue and, fortunately, doesn't delve into the messaging part or unnecessary melodrama. Terrie Samundra, with writer David Walter Lech, uses the strengths of the horror genre to reflect upon a vile tradition without putting too much stress on the point, except for a scene where Satya Maasi goes on about the new generation fixing conventional methods. Kaali Khuhi tips other films along the way - The spirit inside the well calls back to The Ring. An insane Darshan attacking his family reminds of The Shining.

Kaali Khuhi is a well-made film. The shots have an irresistible appeal. In one of the scenes, Terrie frames the two young girls on the right side of the screen. It is a wide shot. Pause and feel the warm sunlight basking on your face. This frame is reminiscent of an old photograph that takes you down nostalgic memory lane. Then again, when Priya suddenly gets unwell, we don't see the process. Terrie asks us to go with it. Kaali Khuhi then seems like a collection of photographs selectively picked out from an album.

What Terrie Samundra states, via this film, is that the whole foundation, the building blocks of traditional malpractices, must be broken to bring change. None of this is hammered on your face. It takes a creative, almost original brain to create a scene that starts with someone collecting milk and leads to an earthquake. It is weirder than it sounds. In a world filled with sequels, remakes, rehashes, and whatever, a film like Kaali Khuhi knocks once in a blue moon.

Note - The film will be available for streaming on Netflix from October 30, 2020.

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