Bloody
Ishq
comes
off
looking
even
more
shoddy
and
ill-conceived
when
there
is
so
much
superior
content
to
entertain
the
horror
buff,
observes
Deepa
Gahlot.
The
horror
universe
in
Hindi
cinema
has
moved
on
but
Vikram
Bhatt
is
still
stuck
with
outdated
plots
of
haunted
mansions
and
women
trapped
with
evil
spirits.
Written
by
Mahesh
Bhatt,
Bloody
Ishq
is
a
mix
of
Vikram
Bhatt’s
own
1920,
and
dozens
of
films
about
vengeful
ghosts
that
have
been
made
before.
It’s
a
surprise
that
the
Bhatts
are
not
tired
of
remixing
the
same
formula.
Neha
(Avika
Gor)
wakes
up
in
hospital
with
memory
loss,
after
being
fished
out
of
a
lake.
She
discovers
that
she
is
married
to
Romesh
(Vardhaan
Puri),
and
they
live
in
a
castle
on
a
remote
Scottish
island,
where
there
are
no
other
people,
not
even
domestic
help
(who
cleans
that
monstrosity?).
To
begin
with,
the
house
is
a
hideous
mix
of
heritage
(bad
art
and
antique
marble
statues)
and
modern
(a
white
staircase
that
looks
out
of
place).
But
cavernous
rooms
and
long
corridors
are
a
must
for
horror
films
of
this
kind.
She
discovers
that
Romesh
is
about
to
convert
the
chalet
into
a
resort,
to
recover
from
business
losses
caused
by
COVID.
Workmen
show
up
perfunctorily,
that’s
about
the
extent
of
his
plan.
There
are
strange
sounds
and
eerie
goings
on
—
shrieks
and
moans,
bloody
palm
prints
on
the
window,
glass
shattering,
objects
rolling
about,
a
broken
lift
cranking
up
and
down
in
the
night,
which
spook
Neha
but
Romesh
blissfully
sleeps
through
it
all,
and
refuses
to
admit
that
the
house
is
haunted.
A
mysterious
woman
claiming
to
be
Neha’s
best
friend
Ayesha
(Jeniffer
Piccinato)
tells
her
that
Romesh
is
lying,
and
the
mansion
has
a
spirit
that
hates
Neha.
This
Ayesha
seems
to
wander
in
and
out
of
the
island,
and
it
doesn’t
occur
to
Neha
to
ask
how
she
manages
that
when
the
only
way
to
reach
it
is
by
ferry.
In
fact,
in
another
scene,
a
woman
lands
up
in
the
dead
of
the
night,
easily
messaging
Neha,
when
there
is
supposedly
no
network
on
the
island.
Neha
finds
the
card
of
a
cop
on
the
floor
of
the
basement,
and
he
(Shyam
Kishore)
shows
up
claiming
that
Romesh
was
a
suspect
in
the
murder
of
his
father
(Rahul
Dev),
and
Neha
had
had
another
so-called
accident
earlier.
Then
she
finds
a
receipt
of
a
‘Ghost
Investigator’
(Gautam
Sharma),
who
tells
her
he
and
his
partner
had
recorded
definite
proof
of
the
ghost
in
the
house.
Now
Neha
must
discard
all
Romesh’s
declarations
of
love,
and
find
out
what
is
really
happening.
The
reason
for
all
the
ghostly
mayhem
in
the
mansion
is
just
too
weird.
Neha,
of
course,
has
no
other
family
or
friends
she
can
reach
out
for
help,
but
finds
a
strange
medium,
who
tells
her
where
to
look
for
clues.
The
film
is
full
of
bizarre
scenes,
like
Romesh
taking
a
woman
wounded
in
a
gun
attack
to
his
house
instead
of
letting
the
cops
take
her
to
hospital.
The
spirit
can
take
any
form
and
reach
anywhere
but
needs
to
pound
on
the
door
when
Neha
needs
time
to
gather
the
means
to
fight
it!
Films
about
ghosts
and
ghouls
expect
suspension
of
disbelief
but
within
the
requirements
of
the
horror
genre,
a
story
can
be
told
in
a
convincing
manner.
It
is
never
clear
what
the
spirit
wants
—
to
get
Neha
off
the
island
or
to
kill
Romesh,
because
everything
is
muddled.
To
make
the
viewing
experience
more
painful,
Avika
Gor’s
costumes
and
make-up
are
ghastly
(she
has
full
war
paint
on
even
in
bed),
Vardhaan
Puri
can’t
act,
and
the
film
is
too
long
and
slow.
Everybody
seems
to
walk
in
slow
motion,
and
talk
in
irritatingly
whispery
voices.
Bloody
Ishq
comes
off
looking
even
more
shoddy
and
ill-conceived
when
there
is
so
much
superior
content
to
entertain
the
horror
buff.
Bloody
Ishq
streams
on
Disney+Hotstar.
Bloody
Ishq
Review
Rediff
Rating:
