13 B

13 B in is a bilingual film directed by Vikram K. Kumar, and starring Madhavan and Neetu Chandra in the lead roles. Produced by Sujatha Cine Arts for Adlabs, with music scored by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Yavarum Nalam and 13B released on 06 March 2009.


At the luxury high-rise apartment 13B, on the 13th floor, in an Indian city, civil engineer 'Mano'Manohar (Madhavan) lives with his wife Priya (Neetu Chandra), his mother, his college-student sister Divya, his brother Manoj and Manoj's wife and two young children. Manohar experiences mysterious happenings in his home and in the elevator and in a few other situations. His wife, mother and sister-in-law become addicted to a weekday soap opera airing on channel 13 at 13:00 hours not realizing that it is almost a mirror of their own lives. Manohar, the only person to be aware of the things around, and his friend, police sub-inspector, Shiva (Murli Sharma), work hard to unravel several life threatening mysteries in a suspense filled second half.

There was a time when the horror genre monopoly was with the Ramsays who scared through shabby masks and gory facades. Ram Gopal Varma brought a change in the scene with creepy camera movements and shocking sound effects but the fear was merely a natural reflex action to stimulus. Somewhere the storyteller was camouflaged behind makeup men, cinematographers and sound designers. Debutante writer-director Vikram K Kumar succeeds in scaring you with his spooky story.

The urban story setting is similar to RGV’s Bhoot with a family shifting in to their new apartment no. 13 B in a city high-rise. The extended Barjatya -big joint family comprises of Manohar (R Madhavan), his wife (Neetu Chandra), mother (Poonam Dhillon), bhaiya, bhabhi, bachas and behan . From day one Manohar experiences strange occurrences in the building but keeps ignoring them until he happens to watch a daily afternoon soap on his TV that his family is hooked on.

Soon he realizes that the script of the serial coincides with the screenplay of his life. The characters in the soap correspond to that of his family and the events of the show run parallel to his real life. Manohar has to track down the analogy between the real and the virtual world and find the mysterious link between the physical and paranormal planet.

Writer-director Vikram K Kumar employs an innovative storytelling technique by not resorting to the antique body-possessed-by-spirit formula or exorcist emancipation approach. Rather the horror is induced through contemporary gadgetry like cellphone, television set, elevators, electric bulb and other such elements of everyday use which the viewer can easily identify with thereby relating to the protagonist’s panic. With the modern milieu, the screenplay doesn’t opt for the obvious thereby teasing your anticipation.

Like is the tendency of most horror films, this one doesn’t waste time with the protagonist’s disbelief in the supernatural and the subsequent conflicts between science and superstition. Rather Manohar comes to terms with the horror in his house pretty soon and probes into the puzzling past. The first half is devoted towards a brilliant buildup to the horror. The actual ambiguity unveils only in the second half with a multilayered flashback account.

The novel narrative has sufficient strength to induce fear by itself and the film doesn’t have to blatantly rely on external elements like a spooky background score or erratic camera angles. However this doesn’t imply that the film is trifling on technicalities. The cinematography is perfectly poised, not obstructing the storytelling and simultaneously keeping the audiences riveted. The editing by Sreekar Prasad is competently crisp and slick. The opening credits amidst assembling of television components are inventively designed. The end of the film is equally intelligent.

The most obvious amongst the minor loopholes is the fact that apart from Manohar, no other member from the family realizes the correlation between the reel and the real life. The culmination of the climax into a revenge drama becomes a bit trite. The concluding reels get long-drawn-out and could have been trimmed down, like the nightmare sequence in the pre-climax. And clearly a song on beach has no place in a hypnotic horror film like this. Rather some genuine lighter moments in this tense thriller are induced through an unsuspecting watchman and the Murli Sharma track, without going tangential from the plot.

Vikram K Kumar is not just a smart storyteller and a proficient technician but has also extracted credible performances from his cast. R Madhavan is excellent as the central protagonist of the film, troubled by the TV. He adds absolute conviction to his character and is largely responsible in adding life to this tale of dead. Neetu Chandra takes a backseat but exudes raw appeal through her husky vocal chords. Deepak Dobriyal is impressive in a short but strong characterization. Murli Sharma lends able support.

13B promises big entertainment while weaving a story around the small screen. The film spooks you with its (serial) killer of an idea.

Vikram K Kumar, the writer director of 13B has had an illustrious career, which began as an assistant to Priyadarashan. His latest film, 13B, has been made in Hindi and Tamil, with R Madhavan and Neetu Chandra playing the lead in both versions. The film, which belongs to the horror genre might just about arouse curiousity and generate a tad bit of suspense, but if it's horror that the makers are doling out, then they have definitely got the wrong address. There is nothing in the film which could get one scared, startled maybe. 13B has an interesting premise and towards the climax it does manage to pick up pace. But the overall impact is hardly exciting.

The problem with most Hindi horror films is that makers generally go over the top in the manner in which they use the background score, right from the first frame, even before anything horrifying has begun. It continues right up to the point where they build up suspense over every little thing. In this film, for instance, there is an illustrious Bengali film actor called Dhritiman Chatterjee, who plays the role of a blind man, who has a guide dog. As he lives in the same building as Manohar (Madhavan), the protagonist keeps bumping into him. He hardly has any role to talk about. In fact, the dog probably has more to do in the movie. The director just uses him as a red herring, as there is no reason for him to be there in the film. This over the top attitude is also evident in the choice of camera angles, specially seen in the first scene.

The film revolves around Manohar and his family, who have just moved into their own flat. It is on the 13th floor and the flat number is, 13B. The women of the house, which includes Manohar's wife (Neetu Chandra), his mother (Poonam Dhillon) and his sister in law, spend most of their time in front of the television, catching all the soaps being aired. After a while, strange things start happening in the life of Manohar and his family. It starts with little things land then gradually, one day Manohar discovers that one of the TV soaps called 'Sab Khairiyat Hai', which is telecast everyday at 1pm in the afternoon, seems to be strangely mirroring everything that is happening in his familoy. It happens in the soap first and then the very same incident is played out in his family. is suspicion gets confirmed when his wife has an accident in the kitchen and is admitted to hospital in a serious condition. She suffers a miscarriage and the doctors ate unable to diagnose her condition. All of this is shown happening to the wife of the protagonist of the serial as well. It's only after her recovery is shown on n the soap that Manohar's wife recovers, much to the surprise of the doctors. Incidentally, the soap is only beamed in Manohar's house. He confides in a friend of his, who is a cop (played by Murali Sharma). The two try to investigate into the motive behind all that is happening. They dig up some clues and discover that the family which appears in the soap, was actually bludgeoned to death many years ago. The bunglow, where they lived, used to be on the same spot where the building in which Manohar lives, has now come up. The address of their house was 13B, which is Manohar's flat number. Digging into the past, the two discover a tale of murder and revenge. Manohar needs to unravel the mystery fast if he wants to save his family from a killer who is out on the loose.

While the part about the uncanny similarity between the events in the serial being replicated in real life, is a little unsettling, the film loses its bite once the mystery starts to be unraveled. The journey back into the past and the story of the unrequited lover is nor sufficiently moving enough. Hence when Sachin Khedekar, the friendly GP, sheds his friendly image, there is not much of a shock. In fact, one is really not drawn into the movie and the plight of its protagonists, except perhaps for Manohar. The problem lies in the manner in which the film has been written. There is little that writer director Vikram can do to retrieve the movie. The music of the film has been composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, who deliver a fairly decent score. The cinematography by PC Sreeram is good.

The only thing that keeps the film going is the acting prowess of R Madhavan, with some great support from Murali Sharma. But A Madhavan is not enough to prop the film. He does his best and tries to be as natural as possible. He receives little support from the cast, which includes veteran actress Poonam Dhillon and taleneted newcomer Neetu Chandra. Murali does a good job as Madhavan's friend; Deepak Dobriyal is just about OK as the madman, while Sachin Khedekar's character's motives do not appear to be strong enough to warrant such a crime.

13B comes with a tagline saying that 'Fear has a new address.

Unfortunately, the film and its treatment do not bear that out. On the whole, a disappointing experience.

In today's world of unrelenting pressures, challenged survivals and super fast life styles, the major source of Relief, Information and Entertainment is... the TV. So much so, that it has moved up from its modest position of being just another 'house hold appliance' to actually determining the power equation in a family. It is easy to identify the hierarchy in the family depending on who controls the Remote Control. So what happens when the TV realizes this power and begins to take control. What happens when instead of showing you the facts, the TV, begins to show you what it wants you to see. What happens when Manohar, to his great horror, realizes that this is exactly what is happening with his wonderful family, who has just moved into their sweet new home at 13B.