Indian cinema may be a stranger to horror but it shouldn’t be ignored. The bright colours and cultural heritage are a strange world away from a genre clouded in darkness and the worst of human nature.

 

NAYAKI is a comedy horror from eastern cinema that blends elements of THE EVIL DEAD and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE with colour and music. Yes, for every serious moment, NAYAKI manages to undo its darker moments for little more than a misunderstanding of horror.

 

A short film maker, Sanjay (Sathyam Rajesh) plans to wed a wannabe actress Sandhya (Sushma Raj) with intention to claim her inheritance and furthermore be unfaithful. Fortunately, as the pair take a romantic break in the woods, the house they inhabit is also occupied by the ghost of a discouraged actress, Gayathri (Trisha Krishnan).

 

While NAYAKI opens as a comedy, when the truth of Gayathri’s being is an emotionally charged series of events and as her true meaning for remaining in this world are made clear, it’s surprisingly hard hitting and deep for a film of this nature.

 

Unfortunately, everything surrounding said tale is inappropriately comedic and disjointed. Gayathri’s battle against the sexist industry and rape culture is overshadowed by a horny honeymooner who sees his good side overturn his repulsive nature. All with moments of song and dance thrown in. While there’s a lot to explain NAYAKI in its home language, to an eastern viewer it feels disjointed and mis-handled for what could have been one of India’s first powerful horror films.

 

It’s deeply upsetting to see there was some potential here but it all becomes obscene after the laurel and hardy antics of its leads. The only laughable moments are how bad these scenes are handled leaving Krishnan’s stellar performance forgotten and obsolete. NAYAKI is over long, over stretched and insensitive to its subject, disappointing for a film that should be at the forefront of Indian cinema.