Aatma (film)

Not to be confused with Athma (film).

Aatma
Directed by	Suparn Verma
Produced by	Kumar Mangat Pathak Abhishek Pathak
Written by	Suparn Verma
Starring	Bipasha Basu Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Music by	Sangeet Haldipur Siddharth Haldipur
Cinematography	Sophie Winqvist
Edited by	Hemal Kothari
Production company	Wide Frame Pictures
Distributed by	Wide Frame Pictures
Release dates	22 March 2013 (2013-03-22)
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹80 million (US$1.2 million)
Box office	₹87.8 million (US$1.3 million)

Aatma is a 2013 Bollywood psychological horror film directed by Suparn Verma and starring Bipasha Basu and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles and Shernaz Patel and Doyel Dhawan in supporting roles. Aatma released on 22 March 2013 and centers on a mother that must fight to keep her daughter safe from the ghost of her husband.

Synopsis

Nia is the daughter of Maya (Bipasha Basu) and Abhay (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), who are divorced. Maya and Nia live with Maya's parents. Nia is unaware of the fact that her father is dead. Maya deliberately hides the truth from her as Nia is a sensitive child and worships her father. Things start getting bizarre when Paras, Nia's classmate who bullies her, ends up dead. Soon after, Nia's teacher, Mrs. Sinha, who complains about Nia, is also found dead. Moreover, Nia starts talking to her absent father.

Concerned about the absurd change in Nia's behavior, Maya takes her for counseling. It is revealed that Abhay was a hot-tempered man. He loses his job and friends because of his frequent violent bouts of anger, and also suspects Maya of having an affair with a colleague. However, he loves his daughter more than anything else. After Abhay starts beating up Maya, she files for divorce and gets the sole custody of Nia. Abhay cannot bear this and threatens Maya that he will take Nia away from her. Shortly after the hearing, Abhay dies in a car accident. After the session, the counselor (Mohan Kapoor) advises Maya to take Nia out for the weekend. The mother daughter duo do so but Abhay possesses Nia and tells Maya he will take their daughter.

Maya consults a priest (Darshan Jariwala), who tells Maya that as long as she and her daughter share a strong bond of love, Abhay won't be able to kill either of them. After the counselor tries to convince Nia that her father is dead, the counselor himself is found dead. Later, Abhay kills Maya's friend and frames Maya, who is admitted into a mental health facility. Maya's mother calls the priest home to get the home blessed. Abhay kills the priest and Maya's mother. Maya, in a desperate bid to save her daughter, kills herself, as she remembers the priest's words that no mortal can fight a spirit. Maya becomes a spirit and saves Nia just as Abhay is about to kill her. She also destroys Abhay's spirit, thus ensuring Nia's safety for the rest of her life.

In an epilogue, Nia is shown celebrating her 18th birthday while Maya's spirit fondly watches her.

Cast

• Bipasha Basu as Maya Verma
• Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Abhay
• Doyel Dhawan as Niya
• Shernaz Patel
• Jaideep Ahlawat
• Tillotama Shome
• Darshan Jariwala
• Shivkumar Subramaniam
• Mohan Kapoor
• Geetika Tyagi
• Padam Bhola as Pankaj

Production

Verma first announced plans to direct Aatma in 2012, with a July 2012 announcement confirming that Basu would be performing in the film. Shortly after it was also confirmed that Nawazuddin Siddiqui would be joining her in the film, marking the first time the two actors worked together. Basu has stated that she would "be a fool" to not star in the movie, with Siddiqui remarking that their pairing in the film was "an unusual pairing perhaps because Bipasha is taller, but we shared a beautiful chemistry. Siddiqui further commented that the film is a psychological thriller rather than a horror film, with Basu remarking that the film was "a strong human drama about a mother's maternal instinct and a father's attachment to his child".The film received a "A" certificate from the Censor Board of India.

Marketing material for Aatma was released in February 2013, with the official trailer releasing on 11 February 2013.

The promo of the film was also aired during the 6th Filmsaaz award ceremony held on 3 March 2013

Reception

Critical reception for Aatma has been mixed, with a reviewer for Rediff.com criticizing the film for lacking a "sense of mystery, the element of surprise that’s essential for films in this genre". NDTV praised the film's acting, particularly that of Doyel Dhawan and especially of Bipasha's deep role, but also commented that they felt the film wasn't particularly frightening. In contrast, India TV stated that the movie's "thrilling parts" "succeeded in frightening [them]", although they found the ending anticlimactic. Yahoo Movies Review stated,"The film’s linear narrative follows a very predictable plot trajectory that hardly delivers on the thrill quotient" and gave the movie a 2 star rating.

External links

• Aatma at Bollywoodhungama.com
• Aatma at IMDb