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In the demonetisation-themed crime drama Choked (2020), Amruta Subhash’s character has a fit when she hears about the note ban. Subhash is brilliant in this scene, covering a gamut of emotions in mere minutes.
The highly mobile face that can switch expression without warning, the ability to summon complex emotions, the power to create empathy – Subhash’s protean talent gets the platform it deserves in Jarann. Much of the impact of Rushikesh Gupte’s Marathi movie is down to the choice of Subhash for the lead role.
Gupte’s Jarann (black magic, or bewitchment) attempts to reorient the horror genre. Subhash plays Radha, who has been living under a dark cloud since her childhood. Ganguti (Anita Date), who is deemed a witch, dooms Radha to life-long misery. Given whatever befalls Radha in her adulthood, Ganguti’s curse appears to be working.
A recent mishap in Radha’s life has compelled her to consult the psychiatrist Dhananjay (Kishor Kadam). Ganguti’s malevolent influence reasserts itself when Radha visits her ancestral house along with her daughter Saie (Avanee Joshi). Ganguti follows Radha and Saie back to their own home, pushing an already high-strung Radha further to the edge.
Cinematographer Milind Jog and editor Abhijeet Deshpande are in perfect sync, conveying Radha’s perilous situation though creeping camerawork and judicious transitions. AV Prafulla Chandra’s ominous soundtrack nudges viewers into shutting their eyes at the right moment – some scenes in Jarann are truly scary.
But Jarann wants to be more than a horror film. Hrishikesh Gupte’s screenplay is perched in the grey zone between occult belief and psychological fragility, old-fashioned witchery and an enlightened view of paranormal occurrences.
The 120-minute film is stacked – overloaded even – with spine-tingling elements, from mouldy attics to seances, scary-looking dolls to altered voices. Running parallel to the frequently doled out jump scares is a conversation about the source of Radha’s plight.
However, there are convenient holes in the film’s premise, especially in the handling of Radha’s parents (Rajan Bhise and Seema Deshmukh) and extended family. Given what we eventually learn about Radha, the behaviour of her family members is improbable, inexcusable even.
Parenting is a big theme in Jarann, most vividly expressed in Radha’s anxiety that Ganguti has infected her daughter too. But for the sake of maintaining suspense, the film sidesteps the role played by Radha’s family in their reactions to the Ganguti problem. The twist-heavy climax undermines the film’s approach towards its subject matter.
Although Jarann lacks the courage of its convictions, there is no hesitation whatsoever in Subhash’s performance. Whatever the drawbacks of his film, Rushikesh Gupte deserves kudos for picking the right vehicle for his ambitions.
Amruta Subhash is terrified, terrifying and terrific. In scene after scene, Subhash conveys the utter loneliness and anguish of a woman labouring under an unimaginable burden. There are sharp supporting turns too from Kishor Kadam and Anita Date as the mumbo-jumbo spouting Ganguti.
This article first appeared on Scroll.in
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