This is not the kind of scenario where the terrified parents have to call a priest. The terrified parents have to fight back, on their own. The mother leaps on the Devil and gives us an action scene. The father has to think up his own tricks. He has to find a way to live up to what he told his daughter earlier, in a casual scene, early in the movie: “Tu duniya ke kisi bhi kone mein hogi na, tab bhi tujhe dhoondh nikaloonga.” He said this when the daughter wanted to go to Ladakh with her friends and joked that she may never come back. But now, he has to “bring her back” from the apparently non-earthly realm she has been transported to. Shaitaan works as a generic watch, and the biggest disappointment is that there are no real scares. (And I say this as someone who scares easily at the movies.) The screenplay takes its time to establish this family – this very rich family – and their cutesy closeness. The young son calls his dad by name. The daughter tells her folks everything, even things about her love life. The mother is sweetness and gentleness and love and care personified. And just when we think this family is too good to be true, the shaitaan pays a visit.
Someone must have a good sense of humour. The name of the character Madhavan plays is Vanraj, which was what Ajay Devgn was called in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. There, the name belonged to a saint. Here, it’s affixed to the worst kind of sinner. The first half seems to be on loop: the girl does something the Devil says, the parents give shocked reaction shots. And over. And over again. These portions could have used some variations. And the second half does not exactly build up to that big mumbo-jumbo climax. (Fun fact: “This film does not support / endorse black magic.” This text actually appeared on screen.) But the actors keep us watching. Jyotika is solid in the scene after her daughter embarrasses herself. Ajay Devgn, too, is rock-solid. You really feel for him in the scene where he walks upstairs, silently, resigned to his daughter’s behaviour. But Shaitaan, finally, belongs to Madhavan, who delivers the entire spectrum from subtle to loud, as per the character’s flickering demands. Sometimes, he makes you feel the Devil is toying with this family. At other times, he makes you feel the Devil’s exasperation at their repeated attempts to save the girl. This may be a horror-thriller, but Madhavan also makes it a whole lot of fun!
