Bollywood horror films are usually considered a joke, some of the past example are- Bhoot, Darna Mana Hai, Krishna Cottage, the list can go on. So, when the trailer of Pari released, we were surprised. We were curious, and we wondered whether the pattern of horror films in Bollywood was finally about to change. It became quite a strong belief that Anushka Sharma's Pari would set a precedent for horror films in India.

Pari Cast: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rajat Kapoor

Pari Director: Prosit Roy

Pari Rating: 2.5/5

So here's the basic premise of the story. The film is placed in a rather dark and depressing Kolkata setting, a point that is repeat by constant thunderstorms and rain. Meet Arnab, played by Parambrata Chatterjee, a rather sad and melancholy person, who likes a quiet life.

Bollywood heroes have a fatal weakness. They must take a random girl home, and give her shelter. It clearly doesn't matter if she has a bloodied appearance, or has clearly a million issues, (like huddling under the bed when seeing incense sticks, or cutting nails with a knife), or looks possessed most of the time. And, that's exactly what Arnab does. Obviously, Ruksana has a deep and dark secret, which only Rajat Kapoor and his gang of henchmen know. Keeping it short, there are lot of toothy demons, ghosts, demon babies, and some witchy rituals involved in this secret.

The story of Pari is submerged under irrelevant scenes, jump scares, and the desperate need to fall into the horror-film category. It's a shame, because the storyline was actually quite a unique and interesting one. Why do we concentrate so much on trying to terrify people that we forget about the main story? Pari is different from other Bollywood horror films. Yes. But, we still have a long, long way to go in the genre.