1920 London

Director: Tinu Suresh Desai

Cast: Sharman Joshi and Meera Chopra

The witch in the horror film 1920 London would kill for a soul. She wants it so bad that this demon, with tar-filled eye sockets and a perennial bad hair day, will destroy anyone that comes in her way.

Watching this supernatural thriller is so exhausting that the viewers may contemplate laying down their souls for her. For that would mean the torture in the guise of a horror film-meets-unrequited love story would mercifully end.

The gore fest begins when Shivangi (Meera Chopra), a London-based princess from a Rajasthani royal family, goes home to find an exorcist. Her husband is ill and she believes that his body has been possessed by an evil spirit. The only man who can save her is her ex-lover, Jai (Sharman Joshi). He is a shepherd-turned-exorcist. Ok, it is 1920, so a bit of poetic license is allowed.

Jai and Shivangi fall apart due to differences opposed by social norms, and he paid a heavy price for falling in love with royalty.

1920 London is the third installment in the 1920 series by producer Vikram Bhatt, exhausts every cliche that has been regurgitated in Bollywood love stories.

Joshi might be on a quest to explore different kinds of roles, but he comes across as a misfit in this horror film. Barring an interesting twist in the first half, the second half falls into a glorious mess. Director Tinu Suresh Desai seems to have faltered when it comes to casting and keeping the story together. Chopra, who plays the devout wife who’s also torn about her failed love affair, gives an insipid performance. Songs that are inserted at regular intervals don’t offer respite and just serve in prolonging this strenuous torture.