Ghost
- Director
- Vikram Bhatt
- Studio
- Pooja Entertainment
- Release Date
- 17 October 2019
- Language
- Hindi
- Budget
- ₹13.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹1.82 Cr
Review
Arjun Nair here, and I've got to say—"Ghost" is a schizophrenic mess that can't decide whether it wants to be a courtroom thriller, a psychological drama, or a possession horror film, so it halfheartedly attempts all three and fails spectacularly at each. The premise had potential: a lawyer with her own demons defending an accused murderer while supernatural forces lurk in the shadows could've been deliciously complex. Instead, we get a bloated narrative that introduces a vengeful ghost halfway through like it's some clever plot twist, when really it just feels like the writers panicked and threw in jump scares to mask their lack of direction. The lead performance is serviceable but uninspired, and the supporting cast seems more confused by the tonal whiplash than the audience—by the time we're doing exorcisms and smashing lockets, any emotional investment has evaporated. Director's previous work averages 5.8, and frankly, this doesn't even reach that bar.
What truly galls me is how the film squanders its social commentary about hidden identities and institutional negligence—the possessed girl's backstory involving a lesbian relationship and suicide in a mental institution could've been genuinely powerful, but it's reduced to a plot device powering generic horror beats. The courtroom scenes feel obligatory, the ghost mythology feels tacked on, and the romance between Simran and Karan emerges from nowhere with zero chemistry to justify it. Technical execution is adequate but
Storyline
Barkha Khanna's brutal murder lands her husband Karan—a slick English politician—straight in the cop's crosshairs, and he's looking seriously guilty with CCTV footage placing him at the crime scene during the exact time of death. Enter Simran, a razor-sharp lawyer drowning in her own mess—morphine addiction, dead father, dumped by her judge boyfriend—who gets dragged into defending him by his campaign manager Bob. She digs deeper and uncovers the messy truth: Karan and Barkha's marriage was a total sham, she was having an affair, and now the evidence screams that he actually did it.
But wait—there's a vengeful ghost in the mix, and things get absolutely wild when Bob gets murdered trying to expose the truth about who's really behind all this supernatural chaos. Simran's investigation reveals a possessed girl was with Karan that night, and through a demonologist, she unearths the haunting backstory: Barkha was in a secret lesbian relationship, the girl got institutionalized and died by suicide in Simran's father's care, and now she's coming back as a furious spirit with one mission—destroy everyone who wronged her. The locket she's been using to channel her power becomes the key to everything.
In a pulse-pounding exorcism showdown, Simran smashes that locket just in time to save Karan from complete possession and finally prove his innocence—the ghost had actually been the one pulling the strings all along. Karan walks free, wins his election, and the two confess their love in that totally-earned romantic moment. But here's the killer twist: at his victory party, an old cellmate hands him a mysterious box containing broken locket pieces—because apparently, this curse isn't finished yet!
