Rating:
3.0/5
Star
Cast:
Anushka
Sharma,
Parambrata
Chatterjee,
Rajat
Kapoor,
Ritabhari
Chakraborty,
Dibyendu
Bhattacharya
Director:
Prosit
Roy
'Puraani
havelis',
'creaking
doors',
'women
dressed
in
white
saris'
and
'evil
men
wearing
horrendous
makeup';
Anushka
Sharma's
Pari
steers
clear
of
these
Indian
horror
films
staple
and
instead
churns
out
an
engaging
story
with
oven-fresh
treatment.
The
screamers
released
prior
to
the
film
built
up
a
sense
of
mystery
around
the
plot.
We
promise
we
won't
mar
the
fun
for
you
by
sneaking
in
spoiler
alerts!
Pari
opens
with
Aurnab
(Parambrata
Chatterjee)
subjecting
himself
to
an
arrangement
set-up.
Unfortunately
on
their
way
back,
their
car,
driven
by
his
father,
hits
an
old
woman
and
instantly
kills
her.
On
conducting
further
investigations,
the
cops
reach
the
deceased
woman's
house
in
the
forest
where
they
discover
Ruksana
(Anushka
Sharma)
chained
and
battered.
Feeling
pity
on
her
sorry
state,
Aurnab
decides
to
offer
refuge
to
her.
But
beware,
this
isn't
a
fairy
tale!
Will
Arnab
realise
this
before
it's
too
late?
Helmed
by
first-time
director
Prosit
Roy,
this
devil-mortal
love
story
offers
something
new
on
the
platter
when
it
comes
to
horror
genre
in
Indian
cinema.
Beware,
it
doesn't
go
easy
on
gory
and
has
some
disturbing
visuals
which
might
not
be
every
one's
cup
of
tea.
What
works
for
Roy
is
that
he
gets
the
atmospherics
spot
on
right
from
the
first
frame
itself.
The
unabating
ashen
hue
with
thunder
and
heavy
rains
throughout
the
film
sets
the
right
tempo
in
this
scary
tale.
Under
the
guise
of
a
horror
film,
Pari
has
a
beautiful
and
unique
love
story
as
its
core
and
that's
what
makes
it
different.
On
the
flipside,
the
sluggish
narrative
gets
a
tad
tiresome
at
some
places
and
leaves
you
restless
in
your
seats.
The
melodramatic
touch
in
the
climax
dilutes
the
spook
and
leaves
things
a
litle
off
track.
Minus
the
clutter
in
the
last
twenty
minutes
and
Pari
has
all
the
ingredients
of
an
impressive
supernatural
story.
Kudos
to
Anushka
Sharma
for
portraying
a
gamut
of
emotions
and
be
all
game
for
a
bloodied
avatar.
Ditching
the
make-up
look,
the
actress
is
at
her
basic
best
with
cold-blue
eyes
which
have
secrets
hidden
in
them.
Like
a
chameleon
changing
its
color,
Anushka
is
at
once
vulnerable,
repugnant
and
vicious.
Parambrata
Chatterjee
is
in
top
form
and
despite
Anushka's
commendable
presence,
he
too
manages
to
leave
behind
his
own
charm.
Rajat
Kapoor
is
eerily
spooky
and
one
wished
we
had
more
of
his
sinister
presence
in
the
film.
Mansi
Multani
and
Ritabhari
Chakraborty
put
up
a
fine
show.
Pari's
cinematography
is
top-notch
and
paints
a
perfect
picture
to
send
shivers
down
the
spine.
Special
mention
for
Ketan
Sodha's
haunting
background
score
which
lingers
with
you
for
a
long
time.
Pari
manages
to
frighten
you
purely
with
its
superlative
performances
and
spine-chilling
visuals.
To
Anushka
Sharma,
'We
love
you,
too'
for
stepping
out
of
your
comfort
zone
and
giving
us
a
supernatural
film
that
succeeds
in
avoiding
the
deep
pit
of
cliches.
This
is
not
one
for
the
faint-hearted
ones!