Nirvana Inn is an Indian Hindi psychological horror film directed by Vijay Jayapal. It stars Adil Hussain, Sandhya Mridul, Rajshri Deshpande, and Raj Sharma in the main roles. It was released on 11th December 2020 on Cinemapreneur.
The film's story revolves around a folk dancer and boat sailor Jogi (Adil Hussain), a resident of Majuli, Assam who, stricken with some of his problems, suddenly decides to commit suicide one day. In this effort, he survives, but all the children, men and women aboard his boat dies. Jogi suffers from guilt due to this incident whereas his dance teacher says, 'God will always be with you'. Then he starts working as a manager/caretaker in 'Nirvana Inn' resort in the quaint mountain of Manali, Himachal Pradesh. In this resort, from the first day, he has to face many supernatural incidents. He seems to have his past in front. People from his past arrive at the hotel and behave very strangely, while a mysterious masked man is always staring at him in the forest.
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Soon he starts to get attracted to a filmmaker Leela (Sandhya Mridul) living in the resort, while Mohini (Rajshree Deshpande), a seductive woman, reaches there to work who starts teasing and seduce Jogi. While Jogi feels that Mohini has come to take revenge and murder her, to which she says that she cannot even think of harming him. In the village where this resort is, some people believe in evil spirits and the rituals of exorcism are deeply rooted in women. A series of unknown events give way to unfortunate events until the terror in the resort is loosened. In the midst of all this, Jogi is confused and battered by the present and horrific past, then he takes a big step.
Written by Vijay Jayapal, the film 'Nirvana Inn' is different from the horror films out there especially considering Bollywood. The film is slow and relaxing at the beginning, but slowly becomes interesting. But the problem is that the film is very much slow and the pace doesn't even pick up after the interval.
The film combines the traditions of a horror story with a touch of folklore. The film shines between the path of being literal and metaphorical at the same time. The director maintains suspense and horror till the end of the film. But still, there's a feeling of dissatisfaction. When Mohini appears on the screen, her chemistry with Jogi brings the film to life and keeps the mystery build-up firm. As a result of the director's finest skills, this film delivers a fascinating atmospheric experience of the guilt and death-stricken and troubled soul, along with serious thinking and depiction of the traumas of a human mind who's suffering from guilt as well as showing his psychological mental state, fear, and doubt. The film is a slow journey of a character, which blurs the line between realism and mystery.
The writer-director has raised the question without being dramatic or preachy that 'how can any person decide to end not only his life but also the lives of others?' Due to the weakness in the editing department, the film initially struggles to gain its rhythm. The scenes appear to be draggy and suddenly sink into the illusion of the past of the main character and some scenes are just there to add length or to evoke a little horror without adding any rigidity to the story.
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Adil Hussain has lived the character of Jogi, who is going through mental torture, and brings him alive with his acting. Jogi speaks Hindi with a clear Assamese accent. It is like 'walking on the cake' for him to make such a character authentic. He has made full use of facial expressions and his 'gaze' to do justice to the character. The performance of Rajshri Deshpande in the role of seductive, mysterious, and scary Mohini is good. Suspicion arises from every act of hers. While Sandhya Mridul leaves her influence even in the small character of Leela. Other supporting artists are ordinary.
The cinematography by Jayanth Mathavan is excellent and did an outstanding job in capturing the beauty of hilly areas but somehow fails to create that creepy horror vibes, it succeeds at some level but still not fully. Production Design by Sayali Naikwadi is good and the original score by Shamanth Nag is also effective.
Nirvana Inn directed by Vijay Jayapal is a good attempt in the psychological horror genre. But the editing and the pace goes against the film making it to fail in giving the impact it should have. Adil Hussain's stellar performance is the highlight of the film and makes this sluggish film watchable. At the core, the film psychologically examines the turbulent, depressed mind of a man who has run from a dark past. The film already had its world premiere at the "24th Busan International Film Festival" in 2019.
Rating:- 2.5/5
Now streaming on Cinemapreneur.
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