13 B: Shock se Khelo!
(This post is co-authored by Siddharth Pillai & Tushar Shukla)
Not to mince any words, Director Vikram K. Kumar’s psychological creep-fest, 13 B is the GREATEST HORROR FILM to come out from the country. Period.
Now that we have set the tone, allow us to go GAGA.
A good movie is a rare occurrence, you can’t plan it; and it is better sometimes more often than not, that you don’t. Who expected a 13 B out of all the films off late to take one with a surprise, and quite a literal one at that. A Madhavan film, a bi-lingual, a psycho-social-horror drama about a family adjusting to their newly inhabited urban apartment flat, two brothers, TV soap shit, may be a little more than an urban dysfunction of a small family- two happily co-existing brothers, a little sister who fails to make the grades, a loving mom (Poonam Dhillon), and wives, of course, I know, a little too much to be true kinds.
Like the greatest of horror films, 13 B is not just a rivetingly told spooky tale but explores its characters and symbols as allegories that etch out a larger picture. The horror of confinement, the pipe dream of a domesticated yet wild-at-heart spirit, the everyday fantasy of a telly-ied imagination, the extent to which you can lose the courage and responsibility that accompanies the choices one has to make for a better future and let it wander out in the open, free from the bounds of time, 13 B is timelines mixed in co-incidence and what a great co-incidence it is.
13 B is the kind of movie that always keeps the viewer off-kilter. At no point of time during its 140 minute runtime, does it play to one’s expectations, never allowing one to settle down. Even a very routinely romantic post-marriage-rediscover-love song(Aasmaan odh kar) takes you in its own sweet parallel world which is charming yet completely unexpected(a parallel you can draw is RGV’S very own HR-infested love songs in Darling). Watching the film has proved to be an unnerving experience, where the everyday turns bizarre, and dangerous. It becomes all the bigger a surprise because it plays in the same territory as a Bhoot or a Darling or may be even a The Ring & The Grudge. 13 B re-contextualizes horror in places where you feel at home.
The landscape of 13 B is extremely unique for a Indian horror film, which had become quite a joke in itself with it either being a stereotypical-superstitioned-take and its tantrik baba’s, peepal trees- infested avatar. The film opens with a series of shots from the pov of mundane inanimate objects staring out from a void at the various characters that inhabit the residents of flat 13 B in a city which is not named, but can be the suburban home of any regular middle-class Indian family. This family, as we soon learn, has just moved in to this house of their dreams, their future is quite literally hinged on this piece of real estate. The first few scenes of the film draw out everyday subtleties mixed seamlessly and quietly with age-old superstitions like milk going spoilt and the mysterious inability to set up a puja room. The template is a common sci-fi-horror one, of machines turning against the creators. The cosmopolitan setting and the tone of the film make it truly universal. There is no reason why a Japanese horror fan cannot appreciate the film as much as us.
Another contemporary aspect of the film is that it acknowledges our ironies, which is what makes us ridicule horror films in the first place. It never asks us to suspend disbelief and take a leap of fate but would rather have you suspect the existence of the supernatural than thrust you in the midst of it. This is the film’s masterstroke that gradually, before you know it crawls under your skin chilling your very spine. The characters of the film take time to reconcile with the horror that faces them. Like ‘The Exorcist’, the film is paced in an extremely subdued manner, gathering symbols and clues to lead to the ultimate horror.
Madhavan’s character, Manohar is the viewer’s hook into the storyline. He’s immediately identifiable and as incidents and circumstances pile up and his world slowly appears to crumble. It was never an easy project, and never did one expect him to leave the star persona that he is in this lesser known horror-fest, but the way he takes off the star-associations and becomes Manohar is the reason Madhavan will hardly ever allow the image to affect his on-screen avatars. When I think of the film, not even one frame or one scene I can recollect without thinking of Madhavan, such is his level of connection with the film and his elemental effect on the overall flow.
Now coming to the other central element of the film, the television. And if you thought it ends at the television being a voyeuristic and ironic post-modern element of irony, you got some rethinking to do. There is a TV soap smartly titled ‘Sab Khairiyat’, which mirrors the life of this happy family at the initial premise. The ‘Sab khairiyat’ tenet slowly establishes itself as THE mindfuck device in the plot, and transforms from a self-respecting family-Facebook-status to a creeping horror to a mental epidemic or a neurotic parasite which slowly eats up Manohar as he plays cool family man to his teli-addicted family. Why I call it beyond what you can imagine? The TV serial is you and me, your family and mine, as we dissect the social stature and involvement of TV soaps in everyday urban life, in all its routine set of shocks and surprises, in its breaking-news paranoia, in its self-proclaimed mini-return gifts, and the overall macro-examination of an Outlook centerspread. After this establishment, there do arise questions in one’s head how is this premise going to evolve. What follows as a intriguing relationship between man and machine in this very domesticated meme, is the ‘rest-assured-brilliance’ that we are so gladly and profusely screaming about here in this wee morning hour, much after the film is done.
P C Shriram. No adjectives. It is a flat-out brilliantly minimalistic(well, allow us some) masterpiece of cinematography. It is as much his film as Madhavan’s or Vikram Kumar’s. You never for once are thinking of the technical expertise at work here. And that is the hallmark of any technically far-away film. I wouldn’t want to spell out all the frames, as it would probably take a film essay, but few flashes of the wizardry are – the shaking of the frames when Manohar’s belief shakes(apparent), the dog’s pov as it manifests a fear of crossing the threshold, the surrealistic stairway-to-heaven library stacks etc.
Few more reasons(we might never end this monosyllabic paean otherwise) – no voice over, no overtly dependable BGM, no tantrik baba(so no role for a Victor Bannerji or a Sayaji Shinde or a some relegated to character actor roles yesteryear glory), an effervescent in-his-elements Murali Sharma, the strange black humor(Madhavan switching out of his newly-shocked mood at places), an ever-dependable Dhritiman Chatterji, and a master casting of Sachin Khedekar(just when you thought he cannot be cast into anything else that does not require him to carry an executive briefcase or a laptop bag) make it a feast of sorts. And just when we thought the film had us by the balls, a strange assault of Doordarshan-retrophilia pitched against the modern satellite monster plays its own nightmarish charms on your already fucked-up senses.
What the fuck, go and watch the film now, like right fucking now!
Arundhati – Hyderabadi Bhoots!
Oh, by the way, we also happened to watch, as an unplanned precursor (not that 13 B was planned as much was proved by an empty suburban single-screen with a drunk sparse audience) to this dream-horror fest- Arundhati, the sleeper-Telugu smash phenomenon(SIXTH WEEK Housefull). It was everything that 13 B was not, but nevertheless had its own old-school charms – loudness garishness theatrical set-piece devices, shitload of character actors, bad makeup, expressions on an overdrive and overdose of low-paid desperation, Sonu Sood in a hysterical role of epic proportions(which had pretty much everything rolling in its favor), cannibalism, necrophilia, self-respecting aghoris(i.e. not that nanga), Telegu marriage songs, a lusty V.O.’ed ghost creeping up your next seat, and an everyman fantasy of a damsel in distress(gone terribly overboard, but in all the right places). If you think that was taking it lightly, Arundhati was the one of the most demanding films this part of the world(Shivaji notwithstanding), with its own share of secular tantriks and CGI’s at its extreme madness. Do not miss it for the devil.
Tags: 13 B, Anushka, Arundhati, Madhavan, Vikram Kumar, Yavarum Nalam
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Wow, ab toh yeh film dekhni hi padegi! Really nice review, guys.
Thanks! you will like it for sure :-)
You guys have got me excited helluva lot!!
2009 first quarter is surely shaping up like a Venkatesh Prasad leg cutter on a wankhede pitch..
am scheduled for today..let’s see
hahahaha
have to agree however cheesy serialwaali movie thi tho bhi it was fun to predict (and get it right) wht was gonna happen every 15 mins eheh
but greatest?? tushi mere bhaaaaai.. eheh
I’ve heard a lot about this movie. But somehow, judging from the promos, I can’t share the reviewers’ exuberance. I’ll reserve comment till I have seen it. And see it I will!
@DPac.. You ehehed out an a classic.. how predictable! Anyways, if you think there is better Indian horror film, I’d like to hear of it.. the ‘eheh’ is in your court.. eheh?
13B is crap. The film is a total bore. Agreed it doesn’t have sadhu babas but it doesn’t have a gripping story. The dubbing by Poonam Dhillion et al is wrong. There is far too much talking in the film. Frankly the story (if at all you would call it one) starts only at the interval.
2 songs just make the film worse.
Sadly, the reviewers were on DOPE when they caught the film.
@susu, how I wish you were right about the last part…
U both forgot to mention Vikram K Kumar’s “Silent Scream” was a ten minute silent motion picture that won the Award for the Best Educational/ Motivational/Instructional Film at the 46th National Awards held in 1999,Sreekar Prasad’s editing and new background composers the talented duo Tubby-Parikh !!!
GK
THAT good? Pity I missed it then… because if there’s any movie I’m gonna watch before next friday it’s Karma & Holi- haven’t watched a ’so bad it’s brilliant’ movie in ages
Thx for the writeup. I saw it over the weekend and thought it was a well made movie.madhavan was really good. nice direction. I actually didnt have any expectations from the movie , nor knew much about the premise. I was actually pleasantly surprised when I watched it. nice twists in the story and definitely no sadhu sants and that kinda shit, the story was quite original and refreshing.
I saw arundhati too. well made movie , as well. nice to see a good telugu movie with decent special effects.
I saw the movie yesterday and I loved it.I actually thought that it might be a copy of “RING” since they had the TV part and madhavan watching the TV. But I was so impressed by the concept of how TV controls his life. Every home can relate to this movie since TV serials are so popular in India. Very simple and intelligent movie. If you are bored of the cliche horror movies, you should watch this for a change. Its not really a horror, its a suspense thriller. Do watch it!!!
ahhh 13 B is crap.Somebody said its a good horror movie.wt horror ?!!!!!!!!i was laughing all the time.the boring opening track “sab khariyat hain” killed me sevaral times in the movie.It wasnt a horror for sure it could be a failed suspense movie as it was so damn predictable. And look at the pathetic plot.A family bought a good jhakkas flat and they are facing a lot of issues(Like dhoodh ka phatana ,Blurred image anna I must i was scared to death after seeing that image wala scene.sacchi kasam se) with it.And then there comes the catchy part the serial ,I mean what was that some sort of real time serial?
somebody compared the movie with the Ring?It was no way close to ring ,ring was good scary it wasnt scary at all,I mean what good a scary movie is if it is not scary.
This is just a cinematical blunder. total waste of 120 Rs ,3 hrs ,1 Ltr petrol.
[Editor Note: Satyendra please dont try to be indulged in personal attack on any one. Keep the focus of discussion on the film and subject.]
@ akhilesh: u managed to consume only one ltr of petrol during the entire duration of three hours? how slow! and you had bought it for rs. 120 a litre? how expensive!
i must say it was a total waste for you….
Agree with the post completely.13 b quite unexpectedly is a SUPERB film.Guys screw the critics just go ahead and have a taste of this spooky fare.Believe me u wont regret.
Not that great too as the review projects
its very bad…badly and poeerly written…after a point it gets repetitive…big bore…
A thriller or horror movie must go with logic when you fail in between then the whole experience is cumbersome!! that what i had with 13B,,,,
Mixed reviews here… Gonna have to see it for myself… oh wait, I live in Vancouver, where these films never get a theatrical release… ~sigh~… will wait for the DVD…
A superb movie..Initially I thought of it as a pale imitation of any RGV flick,but as the film progressed I found it interesting..Madhavan is in fine form..minor disappointment was BGM as well as songs by SEL which were just about ordinary..Horror at its best without usual sound effects tricks..
@Satyendra Jha :
Dude good logic but bad place to use it.I am sure u are a member of deadlypj.com and if u are not then join it i am sure u will rock.
btw the movie is pathetic will remain pathetic u keep trying though.
@Satyendra Jha :
No wonder u liked the movie :P
Go watch it again………..
@Satyendra Jha, Akhilesh, guys lets just talk movies without getting personal, its pfc not redif… as for me i thgt 13b was pretty average compared to what this review says, but lets not indulge in such personal digs
btw, i chked deadlypj.com its hilarious!
Gautam,
Well I did not start it,I was just using freedom of speech but anyways atleast u got to know abt a good site that’s the only positive outcome of this dishum bishum.
and yes the site is really funny…….:)
‘13B’ is definitely worth checking out!
I was glued to the screen.
Shame it didn’t come to the cinema’s in the U.K.
Interesting film.
Ab yeh PLEASE matt poochhna ke maine kaise dekhi
*BLUSH*
Madhvan, as expected, was brilliant!
I still think he should go all out and be a psycho in atleast one film!
He’s always dependable though.
And, had he had those roles, he’d be where SRK is today!
Ditto Jimmy Sheirgill!
I quite enjoyed 13B! I had zero expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Thankfully, no tantriks! It is spooky because we dont see ghosts. If you have nothing to do over the weekend, you might perhaps consider seeing 13B!
Movie was damned well made – I thoroughly enjoyed it. The next few days everytime i turned on the TV I expected ’sab khariyat hai’ to come on!
movie was damn good. quite differnt from what indian film-makers make in the name of horror. i really wonder about the one who said it was predictable( are you the next nostradamus or something?? )
who says u need weird looking ghosts to have a scary element in the movie..
a must watch for madhavan fans and for its “unpredictable” story
the movie seemed like a high budgeted “Aahat” on Sony TV playing on for close to 2 hours as some season end special. Tell me honestly, if one were not to see P C Sreeram’s name in the credits, could it really be guessed? No disrespect but any body could have done this and this didn’t require P C at all. The face morphing/changing (whatever that is called) at the end is god damn so amateurish for a mainstream movie of 2009! As someone pointed out the lesser said about Poonam Dhillon and Co. the better. Though it had a crappy ending RGV’s Bhoot (2003) still had that atmospheric feel to it. It respected silence so much and didn’t RGV deliver a blow there? Sorry I had to compare but these two movies can be, courtesy their genre. I repeat the movie is nothing but a big serial or a part of some series which could be called “television”.
The only saving grace to an extent: Madhavan!