Phobia

Phobia (2016)
Dir. Pavan Kirpalani

Phobia – noun – an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.

As the title suggests, those fighting to make logical argument to the narrative might be disappointed; those willing to accept the irrationality can delve wholeheartedly into this brilliantly realised attempt at horror (though it tries to pretend to throw jump scares at you, but it’s the genuine awkwardness of the situations it develops that creates a sense of comedic unease).

Mehak (Radhika Apte) suffers from agoraphobia (an anxiety disorder characterized by anxiety symptoms in reaction to situations where the sufferer perceives the environment to be dangerous, uncomfortable, or unsafe) after a bad experience in a taxi. She is shifted to a new home (by moral doubtful means) by her friend Shaan (Satyadeep Misra), the only sane male presence. Here she develops a fear of the things happening in the house, much like the string of horror  movies we have been fed on, starts believing that a deeper narrative of a possibly murdered soul (interestingly named Jiah Kh-urana) is behind the activities, which gives rise to situations of genuine comedy of unease.

The film looks technically sound – there are scenes of brilliant visuals and lighting in an otherwise uninviting space, complimented by a matching score, though sometimes a bit loud. It’s interesting to see how it’s only the female characters of the film (apart from the lead) that make sense or are caring and are portrayed without doubts. While the phobia for unexpected jumps and bursts is what we share with the protagonist in the moment, it is the phobia of other basic problems in life that creates this feeling for the the character – Mehak’s unhappy incident makes her unwantingly project the fear of being misused onto Shaan, the character we sympathise with –  which ultimately culminates in a phobia of commitment.

We see her from a distance, and try to understand by logic; till she defies her fear, and the film defies our logic by creating that situation through an irrational set of events, so that we might better understand her by giving up our rationality.

3/4