Cinematographer-turned-director Wasim Khan shows some promise but is undermined by the weak script.
Oh My Ghost review: A scary experience but for completely different reasons
Cinestaan Rating
Release Date: 12 Feb 2021 / Rated: U / 01hr 54min
Suyog Zore | Mumbai, 12 Feb 2021 16:30 IST
The concept of a ghost coming to the rescue of a man who has lost all hope in life has been done to death. From Shah Rukh Khan's Chamatkar (1992) in Hindi to the Bharat Jadhav-starrer Kho Kho (2013), we have seen numerous films with this premise. Prathamesh Parab's latest horror-comedy Oh My Ghost follows the same formula.
Jaggu (Parab) is a deeply unsuccessful individual whose failed suicide attempts have become a source of entertainment for youngsters in his neighbourhood. From a grocery store owner to his landlord, Jaggu owes everyone money and they are constantly on his case. After yet another botched suicide bid lands him in the hospital, Jaggu starts seeing four ghosts who not only follow him home but also demand that he appease them if he wants to be left alone. As he starts doing their bidding, Jaggu rediscovers the joy of living.
Parab's career got off to a flying start with the back-to-back blockbusters Balak Palak (2013) and Timepass (2014). Since then he has appeared in few decent films, but of late his choices have been quite poor. After the horrible sex comedy Doctor Doctor (2020) one hoped that Parab would make a solid comeback but Oh My Ghost is yet another big disappointment.
Oh My Ghost is a lazily written film that uses trivial issues to manufacture 'conflict'. Moshin Chavda's screenplay is packed with forgettable scenes that aren't entertaining enough to induce the viewer to overlook obvious plotholes. The entire first half is squandered on introducing the main conflict, with the story progressing only in the second half. But by then one loses interest due to the sheer amount of boring and outright silly scenes.
In films such as these, the arrival of ghosts usually creates issues in the everyday life of protagonists, but in Oh My Ghost everything starts to work out in Jaggu's favour thanks to the paranormal activity. And because of this, the film becomes very predictable.
You see the depressed and suicidal Jaggu apparently gain confidence but you don't sense any change in his character. The film never shows why he wanted to end his life or explains his afflictions. Hence when things start to take a turn for the better, one cannot empathize with the character.
The four ghosts, played by Kurush Deboo, Someshwari, Pankaj Vishu and Apurva Deshpande, have no character traits to speak of. In fact, they even talk in a monotonous drone as if they are making a public announcement. There is also a mandatory love story, between Jaggu and a young woman named Kajal (Kajal Sharma), which is completely irrelevant to the main plot.
Cinematographer-turned-director Wasim Khan shows some promise but is undermined by the weak script. It will be interesting to see what he pulls off once he lands a good script. In fact, the cinematographer in him shines through on many occasions in the film.
If there is one positive thing about Oh My Ghost, it is not a totally unwatchable experience like Doctor Doctor, but then again that's not saying much.