Nanu Ki Jaanu review: Run away from this horror tragedy

The beauty of the supernatural is that it empowers you to create a world of fiction, a world of endless possibilities. The problem in the Indian context, though, is that often filmmakers reduce the genre to a bad joke. The paucity of gripping spooky thrillers has seen Hindi cinema warm up more to horror comedies. Sadly, most of these films turn out to be horror tragedies than comedies. The latest film to go down the drain, rather dig its own grave, is Abhay Deol-starrer Nanu Ki Jaanu.

This is not a review, but an epitaph of a film that leaves you only with bad memories.

We have Nanu (Abhay Deol), a Delhi thug who makes a living coercing his landlords into selling their rented properties. It takes a tragedy for the man to redeem himself. Nanu rushes a badly injured Siddhi (Patralekhaa) to the nearest hospital, but the woman succumbs to her injuries. Though sad about her demise, the thug manages to flick the deceased’s gold pendant.

Once a fierce and feared Jat, Nanu is now left traumatised as Siddhi's ghost makes herself feel at home in his plush kitchen chimney.

The trailer promised a horror-comedy, but Nanu Ki Jaanu provides very little of any. Instead, what you get is bizarre, baffling occurrences one after another. You are left laughing at the shambolic screenplay, poor and weak writing, and archaic dialogues.

It’s not Abhay Deol or Patralekhaa who are to be blamed. That blame lies solely on the shoulders of actor-writer Manu Rishi Chadha.

As an actor, Chadha has shown his prowess in films like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008) and Phas Gaye Re Obama (2010), but as a writer he is found wanting in Nanu Ki Jaanu. He falters with his screenplay and fails to provide gripping dialogues.

The first half is largely boring, but you still hope that Chadha may conjure up a nice, entertaining plot in the second half. Sadly, that turns out to be more horrendous, exposing the incompetency of Chadha as a writer. The events in the second half are simply embarrassing to watch.

Chadha reunites with Deol after a decade. Ironically, they were thieves then and now, as Chadha plays Dabbu, Nanu’s partner in crime. Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008) was refreshing, laced with subtle Delhi humour. That though is grossly missing here.

As an actor, too, Chadha is becoming monotonous. Oye Lucky! Luckly Oye! was followed by Chadha playing a gentle kidnapper in Phas Gaye Re Obama (2010).  It’s time that the naturally gifted actor has a change of profession in his films. It may change his luck too.

Director Faraz Haider had previously helmed and acted in the nondescript  2013 comedy, War Chod Na Yaar. He does his reputation no good with Nanu Ki Jaanu. Interestingly, he played the paanwala (betel leaf seller) in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! The Deol-Chadha-Haider reunion is clearly not a happy one for the audiences.

An uninspiring plot could still be salvaged by respectable performances by the cast. Save for Deol, the rest of the cast disappoints. There are some unwanted characters, like the abusive, wife-beating neighbour, the annoying next door kid who looks more terrifying than Siddhi’s ghost, the thug neighbourhood teenager and the incompetent watchman. Actress Himani Shivpuri, who plays Nanu’s mother, and Brijendra Kala have been completely wasted.

The biggest disappointment, though, has to be the talented Rajesh Verma, who plays Siddhi’s father. He lacks conviction, mutters pathetic dialogues, and hams his way. Fathom this, Mr Kapoor’s (Verma) last words to his daughter are: “Dahi ke bina parathey ka kya mazaa”.

You have to feel for poor Deol. To his credit, Deol holds much of the film together with his wit. The humour quotient is largely borne out of the petrified look and a few chilling scenes. Once a macho man, Nanu can barely swat a fly now. Sadly, the bad screenplay haunts Nanu, too, more cruelly in the end of the film.

Patralekhaa was a revelation in her maiden film, Citylights (2014). Despite her immense talent, the Shillong girl has struggled to get much work. She picked the erotic thriller Love Games (2016), which she confessed, in a recent interview, as her biggest mistake. Sadly, you wonder what does Patralekhaa gain from a Nanu Ki Jaanu where she barely has any screen presence. We never see her face as the ghost. And she isn’t convincing in the few scenes as a living being too. At best, Patralekhaa can use this performance to warn producers, directors of the consequences if they don’t cast her in meaningful roles.

Though overall it's disappointing, the film does have a few genuinely funny scenes. The one that strikes the most is seeing a cool, fraudster ghostbuster and her bald, tuxedo-wearing associates – Ghanshyam and Alfred. The lady lies to Nanu that a pooja (ritual) in Paris is what will help him get rid of the entity in his house. The ghost of Siddhi, though, quickly spoils the woman's Parisian plans.

The few odd humorous scenes are not enough to save the film. You're better off doing other things instead of watching the horror tragedy Nanu Ki Jaanu.