Bhayaanak Panjaa (1997)

Bhayaanak Panjaa is a Bollywood Horror Movie that released in 1997. By the late nineties,Bollywood had three parts to it. The AAA names that sold like hotcakes, the newcomers who wanted to get into the good books of the AAA names. And the third were people who had nothing to lose or prove and made low budget movies with sensational idea. Everything was subject material and nothing was cliche or passe.  In such scenarios, the production values dropped drastically. The actors were hasbeens, amateur was everywhere, crew as well as cast.  This gave rise to a glut of low budget movies with little to offer, apart from footnotes for sites like these. One of them is Bhayaanak Panjaa Here’s my take on the Bollywood horror movie.

Bhayaanak Panjaa Synopsis:

A Thakur’s disappearance sends shockwaves through the city. As news of his disappearance breaks, TV reporters and a police officer, Inspector Vijay,  reach the village to find out the truth. The police officers and the journalists settle in the same haveli that the Thakur owned.

As the investigation moves on, the police officers find out that the Thakur wanted to sell the haveli and make a hotel in the city. They also find out that the Thakur thought that there was some strange supernatural power that followed him.In the same village lives a kind hearted farmer, Hariya with his sister and younger brother, Samayya. The journalists, during a roadtrip, meet with an accident with Samayya and kill him. They panic and escape. As the journalists wrench with their own moral compass, Hariya decides not to prepare the last rites of Ramayya until he catches the culprits. He then gets the idea to avenge Samayya’s death with the help of a black magician that lives in the village. The black magician is moved by Samayya’s predicament and promises to help him.

The journalists start dying one by one and everyone believes that a supernatural force is out to kill them. What happens next? Do all the journalists die? Does Inspector Vijay solve the case? And where is the Thakur? To know the answers to these questions, watch Bhayaanak Panjaa.

Watch Bollywood Horror Movie Bhayaanak Panja Free:

Review:

Bhayaanak Panjaa is unique in many ways. It steers away from the usual dead-and-revenge formula by keeping the avenger as well as the avengee in equal pain. Its also unique in the treatment of the demons. This is a unique movie with not one, but three get-ups for a demon. Usually, the demon look is a one and done concept for the director and the art director. In Bhayaanak Panjaa, you get three demons for the price of one. The kill scenes are lengthy enough, but do not have the bite in them. Yes, the similarities to I Know What You Did Last Summer can’t be ignored. But even if the concept inspired the scriptwriter, you have to give it to him that he successfully Indianised the entire idea pretty nicely.

What puts you off though, is the off dubbing. Anil Dhawan’s voice is a very well known one, but someone has dubbed for him. We know Anil’s voice from the countless Bollywood horror movies he’s been part of, including House No. 13.  That takes away from the experience for Bollywood horror fans. At least in the YouTube video, there’s several dubbing issues that don’t let us enjoy the movie.

Another aspects that eats at you is the non-actors in the cast. Apart from Anil Dhawan, Gajendra Chauhan and Birbal, audiences will not be able to identify any of the cast members. This adds to the charm of a kitsch horror movie, but makes for some cringe moments.