Shaitaan (2024 film)

Shaitaan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vikas Bahl
Written by	Aamil Keeyan Khan
Story by	Krishnadev Yagnik
Based on	Vash by Krishnadev Yagnik
Produced by	Vikas Bahl Jyoti Deshpande Ajay Devgn Abhishek Pathak Kumar Mangat Pathak
Starring	Ajay Devgn R. Madhavan Jyothika Janki Bodiwala Anngad Raaj
Cinematography	Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti
Edited by	Sandeep Francis
Music by	Amit Trivedi
Production companies	Jio Studios Devgn Films Panorama Studios
Distributed by	Pen Marudhar Entertainment
Release date	8 March 2024 (2024-03-08)
Running time	132 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹65 crore
Box office	est. ₹211.06 crore

Shaitaan (transl. Devil) is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language supernatural horror film directed by Vikas Bahl and produced by Devgn Films, Jio Studios and Panorama Studios. The film stars Ajay Devgn, R. Madhavan, Jyothika, Janki Bodiwala and Anngad Raaj. The story revolves around a family whose lives are disrupted when their eldest daughter falls under the spell of black magic cast by a stranger. The family then endeavors to stop the possession and uncover the stranger's motives.

The film was officially announced in May 2023, and principal photography took place between June to September 2023, proceeding in India and London. It is a remake of the 2023 Gujarati film Vash. The soundtrack was composed by Amit Trivedi, while Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti served as cinematographer and Sandeep Francis edited the film.

Shaitaan was theatrically released on 8 March 2024, coinciding with Maha Shivaratri. With a worldwide gross of ₹211 crore against a budget of ₹60–65 crore, the film ranks as the fourth highest grossing Indian film of 2024, as well as the second highest grossing Hindi film of 2024.

Plot

Kabir Rishi, a chartered accountant, and his wife Jyoti reside in Dehradun, Uttarakhand with their kids Janhvi and Dhruv. On a vacation to their farmhouse at a remote hill station, they meet an enigmatic man, Vanraj Kashyap. After eating a laddu Vanraj gives her, Janhvi gets the craving to obey his every command like a puppet.

Vanraj arrives at the farmhouse, citing that his phone's battery has died. The family is unsettled by his presence and Kabir asks him to leave. Janhvi, upon Vanraj's orders, prevents her father from kicking him out. Vanraj reveals that he has hypnotised her through black magic; she will obey every command he gives. He asks them to give her to him, as he needs their permission to do so. When they refuse, Vanraj cuts the phone lines and torments the family by dictating Janhvi to do strange and cruel things, such as hitting herself, eating dry tea leaves, and attacking her brother.

When police respond to a call from Jyoti's hidden cellphone, the family acts normal to prevent Janhvi from causing an explosion in the house. Kabir offers money in exchange for sparing them but Vanraj sets the money on fire, declaring that he has no use for materialistic things; he aims to control the world, believing he is as good as God. He goes to sleep, instructing Janhvi to stab anyone who approaches. When her father tries to steal Vanraj's phone, Janhvi urinates in her shorts to stop him so she does not have to stab him. Distressed, Kabir relents.

Having had enough, Kabir and Jyoti attack Vanraj. He orders Janhvi to laugh herself to death and reveals that even if he is killed, Janhvi will continue acting on his last order until she perishes. This compels Kabir to let him go, but Vanraj instructs Janhvi to kill her brother. He survives her attempt, though grievously wounded. Realizing their children might really die, Kabir and Jyoti give him permission to take Janhvi.

Jyoti drives Dhruv to the hospital while, unbeknownst to Vanraj, Kabir trails him to his lair, having fixed a tracker in his cellphone earlier. It is revealed that Vanraj has kept 108 other girls similarly hypnotized. With Janhvi as the last addition, he prepares to sacrifice them. This will complete the ritual for him to acquire the power to control anyone at will, as he believes humans don't deserve free will. Kabir cuts Vanraj's tongue off; when the girls try to kill him, he plays an edited recording of Vanraj's voice, in which he declares their freedom. Earlier, Kabir had taken the home's security camera recording of Vanraj speaking to Janhvi, then spliced his words together to make it seem like Vanraj is ordering the girls to go back to normal. Thus, the girls are freed from his control.

As Kabir and his family recuperate at the hospital, Vanraj's hostages are safely returned to their homes by police. The police inform Kabir that Vanraj has gone missing.

A year later, Kabir is seen going down into an isolated chamber, where he has, in fact, held Vanraj captive. He mocks Vanraj, who can no longer speak, for wanting power and states that true power comes from parents, who can go to any extent to protect their children. He declares that this is hell now and he is Vanraj's devil (shaitaan).

Cast

• Ajay Devgn as Kabir Rishi
• R. Madhavan as Vanaraj Kashyap
• Jyothika as Jyoti Rishi
• Janki Bodiwala as Jahnvi Rishi
• Anngad Raaj as Dhruv Rishi

Production

Development

Hindi remake of the Gujarati horror film Vash (2023) was announced in May 2023 with Ajay Devgn in the lead role, to be directed by Vikas Bahl, while the official title Shaitaan was confirmed in January 2024. R. Madhavan was cast as the antagonist and Jyothika as Devgn's wife, marking their third collaboration post Dumm Dumm Dumm (2001) and Priyamaana Thozhi (2003), along with Jyothika's return to Hindi films after 25 years. Janki Bodiwala and Anngad Raaj were signed to play the children, with Bodiwala reprising her role from Vash.

Filming

The film was shot in London, Mumbai and Mussoorie with filming taking place from June 2023 to September 2023.

Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by Amit Trivedi and lyrics are written by Kumaar. The first single titled "Khushiyaan Bator Lo" was released on 15 February 2024. The second single titled "Aisa Main Shaitaan" was released on 29 February 2024. The third single "Shaitaan Theme" was released on 8 March 2024 during release. The fourth single "Papa Tu Hai Naa" was released on 2 April 2024 after release.

Track listing

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Khushiyaan Bator Lo"	Jubin Nautiyal	3:32
2.	"Aisa Main Shaitaan"	Raftaar	2:58
3.	"Shaitaan Theme"	Siddharth Basrur	2:16
4.	"Papa Tu Hai Na"	Sireesha Bhagavatula	2:21

Release

Shaitaan was theatrically released on 8 March 2024, coinciding with Maha Shivaratri. Shaitaan was available for streaming on Netflix from 4th May 2024.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 43% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10.

Bollywood Hungama gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Shaitaan is a nail-biting thriller laced with superlative performances and clapworthy climax that keeps you engaged". Dhaval Roy of The Times of India gave the film 3.5/5 and wrote "Even though Shaitaan’s narrative stumbles at times, the masterful use of atmosphere and top-notch acting elevate it into an unsettling experience worth having".

Sana Farzeen of India Today gave the film 2.5/5 and wrote "Shaitaan falls short, probably cursed by a weak script and the pressure of helming a remake". Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost rated 2.5 out of 5 and opined "Shaitaan could have been a good supernatural thriller, which we haven’t seen much in Hindi cinema of late, but it turned out to be a complete mess in the process of depicting the war of good vs evil. It’s a poorly made remake and the story is just not believable. Making the hero win at the end makes the film just too predictable". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 1.5/5 and wrote "Jyothika is the only one in the cast who is able to rise a bit above the sheer absurdity of the proceedings. The two male characters and the actors playing them don't stand a chance".

Box office

As of 10 April 2024, Shaitaan has grossed ₹177.96 crore (US$22 million) in India, with a further ₹32.52 crore (US$4.1 million) in overseas, for a worldwide total of ₹210.48 crore (US$26 million).

External links

• Shaitaan at IMDb