EXCLUSIVE: Vikram Bhatt reveals why Haunted - Ghosts Of The Past was renamed as Haunted - Echoes Of The Past: "You can't make a ghost film without believing in superstition"

Vikram Bhatt struck gold with Haunted 3D (2011). It’s a film that kick-started the 3D trend in Bollywood and became a sleeper hit at the box office. Hence, there are high expectations for the next film in this franchise, which is set to release on June 12. Interestingly, the film was earlier titled Haunted – Ghosts Of The Past. As per the motion poster that dropped yesterday to announce the release date, the film was renamed to Haunted – Echoes Of The Past. Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to director Vikram Bhatt about this aspect. This was probably the director’s first interaction with the media after he faced a major personal turmoil in his life. Vikram Bhatt told Bollywood Hungama, “The Haunted films are not just about ghosts. At its heart, it’s a poignant love story. Meanwhile, the film was getting delayed for some reason or another and also, I had to face incarceration. A very close friend of mine said that this is probably happening due to the word ‘Ghost’ in the title. He t...

Writing Hawa review – Afghan woman fights for freedom as the Taliban close in

Najiba Noori’s thought-provoking documentary follows her mother, finally getting her chance at autonomy just as the Taliban retake the country

Shot in Afghanistan shortly before the 2021 Taliban takeover, Najiba Noori’s thought-provoking debut juxtaposes the private transformation of a woman with the public unravelling of the nation. At age 13, Noori’s mother, Hawa, was married off to a man 30 years her senior. Now with grownup children, she can finally embark on her own mission: to learn how to read and write, and to open her own textile business. Even though supported by her family, Hawa’s hopes and dreams are suffused with melancholy; soon, even more draconian laws will be imposed on Afghan women.

During the calm before the storm, Noori’s roving camera serves as a facilitator for intergenerational dialogue. With stunning candour, Hawa speaks of her unhappy married life, and her past desire to elope with another man. In a painful twist of fate, the cycle continues with Zahra, Hawa’s granddaughter and Noori’s niece. Looking for refuge at the Noori household after running away from her father’s village, her aspiration is to return to her studies. A particularly tender sequence shows Zahra and Hawa sharing the same whiteboard as they practise their spelling. Their happiness is sadly short-lived; with the Taliban closing in, Zahra is sent back to her father’s family for protection. In the end, she is forced into marriage, not unlike Hawa in her youth.

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