Amavas fails to scare audiences even for a second. But in the process, it turns out to be an unintentionally funny film and that compensates to an extent. The film has such cool characters like a girl combing her hair in the evening and then putting shower cap till she goes out at night because it’s inauspicious to comb after sunset, psychiatrist who believes more in ghosts than science, a guy who doesn’t age in eight years and has grey hair in his student days and a disgruntled lover who tells the owner of the house to get out from his own residence! Sachiin Joshi is a very poor actor and his dancing and romancing abilities are embarassing. Nargis Fakhri is also nothing special but in comparison to Sachiin, she does way better. Ali Asgar crosses all limits of overacting. Mona Singh and Navneet Kaur Dhillon genuinely do a fine job but are letdown by poor dialogues and illogical narrative. Despite being a disappointing flick, Amavas is recommended as it’s trashy gold film. I am definitely going to show it to my like minded friends on a stay over night or during a trip for an unforgettable experience!

My rating - ** out of 5!

A VERY DRY WEEK BEFORE THE OVERFLOW OF RELEASES NEXT WEEK!

As reported in the last week’s Bollywood Talk, with the postponement of Sonchiriya, the previous and coming Friday (tomorrow February 8) have turned out to be quite dry with some not-so-exciting Fridays dominating. Last week, there was just a single release – Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga – and it turned out to be a dull affair at the ticket window. This Friday might be even more horrible as both the films hardly have anything going for them. My analysis:

THE FAKIR OF VENICE: Believe it or not, this was supposed to be the debut film of Farhan Akhtar. Meaning, it was shot in 2007 before Farhan Akhtar’s first film as an actor, Rock On, hit the theatres in 2008! The delay reportedly happened because the producers got changed. Then there were some Censor issues as well. However, such troubles have been faced by a lot of films and it’s shocking that the film had to wait for more than a decade to see the light of the day. The film also co-stars Annu Kapoor and is directed by Anand Surapur. It’s amusing to know that the film is based on the life of filmmaker Homi Adajania. The trailer is interesting as it tells the tale of a man who gets a fake fakir in Venice to con the European art world.

The buzz however is negligible. When the film was to release in 2017, there were reports that Farhan will promote the film. Sadly, that won’t be happening and the only bit of promotion done by Farhan is to tweet the links of the film’s trailer and the song. Very few know that such a film is releasing and even if there was awareness, very few people in the urban multiplexes would have ventured out to see it. Ideally, The Fakir Of Venice should have directly released on an OTT platform. The opening will be less than Rs. 1 crore and if response, is positive, it’ll still have a tough time with such a bad opening. The other issue is also the fact that Farhan isn’t a big star who could pull audiences to theatres merely with his name. The film has just six days to score since Gully Boy releases next Thursday, which co-incidentally is a Farhan Akhtar production.

AMAVAS: This looks like a typical masala Hindi horror film, starring Sachiin Joshi and Nargis Fakhri. It is directed by Bhushan Patel, who has made similar horror films in the past like 1920 Evil Returns, Ragini MMS 2 and Alone. The trailer is okay and nothing new. But since it’s a horror film, it has a chance to score in the single screens and B and C centres. Last year, a similar film, 1921, released sans any significant promotion, and still had an opening of Rs. 1.57 crore. Amavas might open in the similar range or if audiences don’t turn up, the opening will be around Rs. 70-80 lakhs. It’ll definitely do better than The Fakir Of Venice.

WHICH FILM WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

Said to be annoyed by the press prying into her personal life, Fakhri leaves Amavas promotions midway, flies out of the country leaving producers in the lurch
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 30, 2019)

The horror flick, Amavas, was being touted as the comeback vehicle of Nargis Fakhri, who had gone missing from the big screen after Banjo (2016). The actor had flown down to India in the first week of January to promote the Bhushan Patel-directed movie that is slated to hit screens on February 8. However, after honouring her promotional commitments for a week, Fakhri, we hear, has quietly slipped out of Mumbai, leaving the producers and actor Sachiin Joshi in a lurch.

Says a source close to the production, "Nargis was present at the trailer launch on January 5, post which a string of interviews and promotional appearances on reality shows were lined up for the next 10 days. While she did her round of interviews on January 6 and 7, she refused to answer questions regarding her alleged break-up with Matt Alonzo, and the supposed rekindling of romance between Uday Chopra and her. Her tantrums started over the next two days - during one of the interviews, presumably irritated by the press prying into her personal life, she back-answered a reporter when asked about Uday. She also cancelled a few interviews that were slated for January 9."

Joshi and Fakhri were to make an appearance on the reality show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. However, she did not show up for the shoot. "The film's team was shocked when they heard that she had left the country. Since then, they have been requesting her to return, but there has been no response from her end." Buzz suggests that the movie's release was pushed for Fakhri. "The film was earlier scheduled to release on January 18. But the makers postponed it because they felt it would benefit from her presence at promotions."

The spokesperson of the production house confirmed the news, saying, "Nargis was supposed to stay back in India till January 15, but she left on January 11. She refused to inform us about it. Since then, we have been trying to reach her and get her dates, [but she] hasn't given any clarification on her availability." Fakhri remained unavailable for comment.

Nargis Fakhri recounts how she shot at a Sussex location, that is rumoured to be haunted
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; December 5, 2018)

Her last outing, 5 Weddings, may have sunk without a trace, but Nargis Fakhri is looking forward to her next, Amavas. The Bhushan Patel-directed venture sees her exploring the horror genre for the first time. Talking to mid-day, the actor reveals how Patel, in a bid to be authentic to the script, shot a pivotal sequence at Castle Goring in Sussex, which according to legend is haunted.

"I get goosebumps even at the thought of that castle," begins Fakhri, who is paired with actor Sachiin Joshi in the January release. Recounting the last schedule, she says, "The cast wasn't informed that the place was haunted. During the shoot, weird things would keep happening — there were several instances when the lights would switch on and off on their own. We thought it was a technical glitch. It was only when we had almost finished shooting that Bhushan revealed that the place is believed to be haunted."

Interestingly, the castle in Worthing, owing to the myth surrounding it, also earned a place in an episode of the American television series, Ghost Hunters. Patel — who has previously helmed several horror outings, including 1920: Evil Returns (2012), Ragini MMS 2 (2014) and Alone (2015) — says that the location served as the perfect backdrop for his narrative. "The story is laced with suspense and horror. So, we thought it would be ideal to shoot at a location that has the haunted feel to it. We were lucky to be granted permission to shoot in the castle."


Castle Goring, Sussex