Director Parambrata Chattopadhyay brings forth a mythological horror thriller right in time for the scary season starring Chiranjeet Chakrabarti, Gaurav Chakrabarty, Surangana Bandopadhyay, Anindita Bose, Arna Mukhopadhyay and others. The series has 7 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes. The thriller is based on the story of the same name by Souvik Chakraborty.
Four friends travel to the hillside for a tranquil and idyllic vacation, only for one out of the group, Mitul, to start acting erratic and frightening. Concerned for her safety, the group calls in renowned cultist Bhaduri Moshai to look into the matter, who eventually realises that he has to ward off ancient deity Devi Parnashavari’s wrath to save all of them from ending up dead.
– The Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Parnashavarir Shaap Review
Parambrata Chattopadhyay’s Bhoot Chaturdashi special series has a lot going for it. Horror/thriller lovers will have a swell time with this one, and although the scares are few and far in-between, the atmosphere is tense and the backstory solid and thus, the series leaves you feeling rather invested and creeped out.
The series brings forth all the main characters and their backstories quite well, doesn’t spend too much time with frivolous moments and jumps straight into the possession and eventual exposition dump. The premise is definitely interesting, albeit quite cliched at this point. However, I guess one could say that it’s not something that Bengali media sees every day, so it’s new in that sense. Either way, there’s definitely some creepiness in the mix that will get to you.
I think it has more to do with the way the series is shot and the cinematography than the storyline. As mentioned previously, the storyline isn’t anything too shocking or new, but the way that it is shot will creep up on you. From the first minute, the friends’ idyllic vacation feels claustrophobic and weird, as if something is not right. When the women go out of their way to follow some random smell, you know things aren’t going to go well. But, screaming at the protagonist to not slap themselves in their faces has rarely worked for audiences, and it’s not any different this time around.
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However, in spite of how the tense atmosphere keeps you hooked on learning about the mystery of the series, there’s something about Chiranjeet’s Bhaduri Moshai that is both a force to reckon with and too good to be true. He’s the last word when it comes to the occult, which is all fair and fun. He oddly reminds me of Ed and Lorraine Warren on steroids. His character, although important, feels like a know-it-all sometimes and dumps exposition like he can see the past and future at the same time.
Some of his expertise is important and even needed, but most of the time, he says too much and takes away the mystery and the audience’s ability to decipher clues. Thus, before you can come up with your deductions, the answers are already there for you. I think leaving the audience in a bit of darkness is always a good deal with mystery/horror/thriller shows so that they can come up with their own deductions. Unfortunately, Bhaduri Moshai’s walking encyclopedia shtick gets old very fast and brings everything to the light earlier than needed.
I think I was interested to know throughout the runtime whether Mitul and her family will be able to get out of the curse that they have been forced to carry. However, apart from that, the series delivers no other thrills or chills and more or less becomes a drama at some point. The interaction between Pallab and Bhaduri in the last episode feels forced and weird. The sudden twist is flat; no one feels very interested or tense at the situation unfolding in front of them and delivers their lines as if they are talking about the best deals on cauliflower at the local market.
Either way, Parnashavarir Shaap ends on a cliffhanger/wink-wink next season type deal, which, weirdly enough, sounds quite interesting. If the makers decide to green-light another season with Bhaduri, I really hope they tone down the encyclopedia thing and let us come to our conclusions to create a better mystery. The last episode of the series is quite disappointing and doesn’t make you feel any fear or threat. In fact, I was mostly bored at the cliched direction the series went down and was confused as to why we got so much information about everything so early on in the series.
The makeup department, I would say, did a fine job at bringing the many spirits and ghosts to life. Thankfully most, if not all, is done with practical effects which work in the favour of the show. There are some moments in the forest that were genuinely quite well done and creepy, although we did stick to white pupils for Surangana Bandyopadhyay’s Mitul. Well, you can’t win them all.
Final Thoughts
Parnashavarir Shaap is a good mystery that is watchable for most of its runtime. The story is a bit cliched, and there are practically no scares, but it has a tense atmosphere, at least in the first half. Chiranjeet’s Bhaduri feels like an encyclopedia that takes away the mystery of figuring things out. However, the nod towards the main “antagonist’s” condition and its social perception does deserve a pat on the back and hopefully makes people aware of its rather harmless nature. All in all, it’s an enjoyable watch if you can tune your expectations accordingly and will result in a good weekend binge, considering how short the runtime is.
Parnashavarir Shaap is streaming on Hoichoi.
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