When I saw the box for HAWA in a local charity shop, I was immediately intrigued by a few things. There was the fact I'd never heard of it, the fact I'm always on the look out for Bollywood horror films (a rare breed indeed) and the fact that 'supernatural terror' was plastered across the box in big letters. Inevitably I bought it and took it home for a spin on the DVD player – and I found myself with no less than a Bollywood rip-off of two big 1980s Hollywood ghost films, THE ENTITY and POLTERGEIST!
As far as rip-offs go, this one is pretty good. It's got its own visual style and plenty of special effects sequences whereby glass shatters, cars are possessed by malignant forces, and bodies hurled through the air. Even better, the cast seem to be behind their characters, giving performances which lessen in no way because of the film's subject matter. Tabu, in particular, shines as the innocent woman repeatedly violated by an evil spirit. My only problem with the film is the length and repetition of these rape scenes, which are disturbing and done in very poor taste. I understand the director's reliance on them – after all, showing a woman getting raped by an invisible ghost requires no effects whatsoever – but one scene would have been enough without the endless focusing on them.
Things pick up for the climax, which is where the POLTERGEIST stuff really kicks in, including the introduction of a weird exorcist type character. Things shift to an underground cavern and take on a decidedly fantastic aspect as our heroine relies on a magical amulet to fight a giant animated demon whose cartoonish features still look somewhat frightening even to this adult viewer. It's no surprise to say that it all ends well, but during its running time, HAWA ably does what it sets out to do: horrify the audience. A distinctive Bollywood spin on old Hollywood themes.
As far as rip-offs go, this one is pretty good. It's got its own visual style and plenty of special effects sequences whereby glass shatters, cars are possessed by malignant forces, and bodies hurled through the air. Even better, the cast seem to be behind their characters, giving performances which lessen in no way because of the film's subject matter. Tabu, in particular, shines as the innocent woman repeatedly violated by an evil spirit. My only problem with the film is the length and repetition of these rape scenes, which are disturbing and done in very poor taste. I understand the director's reliance on them – after all, showing a woman getting raped by an invisible ghost requires no effects whatsoever – but one scene would have been enough without the endless focusing on them.
Things pick up for the climax, which is where the POLTERGEIST stuff really kicks in, including the introduction of a weird exorcist type character. Things shift to an underground cavern and take on a decidedly fantastic aspect as our heroine relies on a magical amulet to fight a giant animated demon whose cartoonish features still look somewhat frightening even to this adult viewer. It's no surprise to say that it all ends well, but during its running time, HAWA ably does what it sets out to do: horrify the audience. A distinctive Bollywood spin on old Hollywood themes.