Gaslighting, though used flippantly by most, happens when someone is deliberately made to question their version of events or even reality as they know it. For a horror-thriller, this real world horror presents a lot of premise.
Pavan Kirpalani's Gaslight takes this premise and places it in a large sprawling haveli and its surrounding estate.
The story revolves around Meesha (Sara Ali Khan) who returns home presumably after years in a last ditch attempt to fix her strained relationship with her father Ratan (referred to primarily as raja ji).
She is welcomed by her stepmother Rukmini (Chitrangda Singh) who informs her that her father is out for business and is also the woman Meesha blames for her parents' separation.
Things go bump in the night and visions precede more visions as Meesha tries to figure out what really happened to her father, even as everyone around her 'gaslights' her into believing all is well.
As Meesha, Sara Ali Khan's performance leaves a little to be desired when the stakes rise in the story. There's an attempt to rise to the complexity of her character but it falters in places, except in the final sequences of the film.
Chitrangda Singh receives the character she's given with open arms, truly exploring the complexities of her role in the second half. She plays to her strengths and makes Rukmini someone you'd be willing to hear out no matter what.
The only person assisting Meesha in her Sherlock Holmes efforts is the estate manager Kapil (Vikrant Massey) who is indebted to raja ji. Massey makes a decent effort in Gaslight but his efforts are overshadowed by the fact that he's done this before.
Kirpalani, as is evidenced from Phobia, has an interesting understanding of horror, especially the subgenre that deals with horror beyond the explicitly supernatural. Iconic pieces of art by the likes of Vermeer and Goya hint at the feelings the filmmaker is trying to invoke and for the most part, the scare tactics work.
The issue comes from the fact that the film doesn't stick to its guns, relying instead on a climax that attempts several cliché short of punar janam (reincarnation).
However, it’s fascinating to see the way the makers present the characters themselves as story pieces to decode.
By giving us little to nothing to go on except childhood videos from a past long left behind, Gaslight creates enough suspicion in the viewer’s mind for every person they come across but then, once again, is the audience purely being hoodwinked or are you actually figuring something out?
The cinematography by Ragul Dharuman provides the viewer with some stunning frames and adds to the setup for jumpscares. Choosing to desaturate the screen at times works in his favour and sometimes does not. Herian's work is complemented by Chandan Arora's crisp editing and Gaurav Chatterji’s intuitive background score.
Gaslight would have benefited from a more effective climax because the film’s flaws in pacing and its predictability could’ve been ignored for a smarter ending.
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