BOTTOM LINE
A Horror Show with Grand Aims, Middling Execution
PLATFORM
PRIME VIDEO
RUNTIME
6 Hours (8 Episodes)
What Is the Show About?
Leaving her hometown, Gwalior, Madhu seeks a fresh start in Delhi, unaware that her hostel room harbours a sinister presence, alarming the other residents. They urge her to leave before it’s too late. While the warden brings in a shaman (doctor), Madhu pursues her assailant. She confronts him while the hostel women ally with the doctor. Madhu’s rage escalates as she unleashes vengeance.
Performances
Monika Panwar effectively steps into the shoes of a small-town woman in a vulnerable phase in her life, struggling to find her way in a misogynistic world. Rajat Kapoor, in an unusually creepy role, generates adequate fear and tension through his portrayal of Hakim.
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As a mother with an obsessive love for her son and a cop with a tough exterior, Geethanjali Kulkarni does justice to both dimensions of Ilu Mishra. Shilpa Shukla brings her trademark composure and restraint to the fore, with Abhishek Chauhan delivering a neat performance as a confused, possessive boyfriend.
Aasheema Vardaan, in particular, exhibits a terrific screen presence alongside Shalini Vatsa as the perennially cold warden. Gagan Arora, Priyanka Setia, Riya Shukla, Chum Darang, among others, rise to the occasion in the need of the hour, complementing their actor counterparts.
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Analysis
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Khauf is a show that has a relevant story to tell and takes courageous strides with its form. It strives to push boundaries, give a new dimension to fear and reimagines the horror genre through a feminist lens. While uncovering the mystery around a woman’s death, a man’s missing case and another girl’s supernatural encounters, it enters unexpected arenas and keeps surprising you.
Though the horror and the suspense elements are the hooks to sustain a viewer’s interest, Khauf wants to be a social commentary on issues faced by women of different walks of life and age groups – from encountering stalkers in public spaces to tolerating conservative households at home to being judged for their dress/lifestyle choices, having to compromise at every step in their lives.
Madhuri a.k.a Madhu leaves Gwalior to find a livelihood in Delhi, working as a receptionist for a psychiatrist, Shohini. She has an insecure boyfriend in Arun, who isn’t very happy with her idea of joining a hostel. Yet to heal from a sexual assault back in her home town, Madhu has strange visions and is sure that one of her newfound Delhi acquaintances is a predator.
Meanwhile, an elderly cop, Ilu Mishra, is on the hunt for a missing son, Jeeva and believes that the doctor/shaman Hakim knows something about it. Back in the untidy women’s hostel, governed by a conservative warden, a series of eerie events takes place after the mysterious death of Anu. Despite multiple warnings, her friends Lana, Komal, Rima, and Nikki refuse to leave the place.
With the character establishment, the creators are clear that they don’t want to spoon-feed audiences with easy answers, allowing the story to come to life at its own pace, unwrapping one layer after the other. There’s ample variety in each of the character arcs – from the heartbroken Anu to a traumatised Rima and a confused Madhu, showcasing womanhood in all its hues, without judging them.
It’s also obvious that the men in the show just don’t comprehend a woman’s mind – Arun, Nakul, Anu’s ex, Rima and Ilu’s (dead) husbands are proof to suggest the same. Khauf, in a way, charts the destinies of women who don’t want to subscribe to the conventional norms in society and live life on their terms.
However, as the various pieces in the puzzle come together, the creators get carried away by the experimental filmmaking style, which becomes an obstacle to drive the story forward. The mystery is stretched too long, delaying the inevitable and the storytelling gets more exhausting than intriguing. The series of tragedies in the final set of episodes appears like desperate attempts to shock the viewer.
Khauf, as a horror/suspense drama, has grand ambitions and subverts many norms in the genre, but in the end, the style prevails over substance.
Music and Other Departments?
Aloknanda Dasgupta, already well-versed with the paradigms of the web space, does everything necessary to add flavour and bring a new texture to the show. Despite Khauf’s grim theme, Pankaj Kumar provides a vibrant visual exterior, aided by the neat VFX/CGI. The long-winded storytelling doesn’t always work in the show’s favour and dilutes its impact considerably. The dialogues, alternating between the known and the unknown, are sharp.
Highlights?
New approach to the horror genre
Good performances
Varied characters
Drawbacks?
Prioritises form/style over substance
Loses its grip after an arresting start
Gets too abstract/vague towards the ending
Did I Enjoy It?
In parts
Will You Recommend It?
If you don’t mind watching an experimental, slow-paced horror
Khauf Web Series Review by M9
