by J. McDole

Created on: July 28, 2010

My first venture into Indian foreign films was the Bollywood movie, 1920. This horror flick, released in 2008, is a story of revenge, love, and redemption. Bollywood is a term that refers to the film industry in Mumbai, India. The films are in the Hindi language, although some English words and sentences are used. Lavish song and dance numbers usually appear in these movies.

The movie 1920, set in that very year, tells the tale of a young architect and his wife. Hero Arjun Singh Rathod elopes with his girlfriend, Lisa. His father opposes the marriage and actually tried to burn Lisa alive. Lisa is the daughter of an Indian woman and a British man; and Arjun’s father feels that she is not worthy of his son. Arjun, a devout Hindu, rebukes his father and his God. The couple is married, and eventually, Arjun takes on the project of demolishing a mansion and building a hotel on the grounds. His new wife is fascinated by the mansion, but is also frightened by it. Little by little, Lisa is taken over by an evil entity. Arjun eventually discovers that his wife is the reincarnation of one of the mansion’s previous inhabitants, a beautiful young woman named Gayatri Devi. The spirit held within the mansions walls has waited for years for his revenge on Gayatri. A spiritual battle ensues for the soul of Gayatri, who is now Lisa.

The film relies heavily on mood, including contrasts in colors used in the film. The sky was used as a backdrop to the emotional setting of the scenes. A bright sky indicated scenes in which happiness and morality prevailed. For example, in Arjun’s first scene, he prayed the Hanuman Chalisa on a beautiful sunny day. When he brought home news to Lisa of his promotion, the sky again was bright. However, when the couple took their first look at the mansion they were to occupy, the sky was filled with dark clouds.

Lighting in the film added greatly to the emotional impact. The lighting effects within the mansion correlated with the color of fire, utilizing the warm colors of oranges and yellows. The lights highlighted only what need to be seen; a character’s face, motion in the room. One interesting effect occurred when Lisa first encountered the entity. As the evil moved towards her, all the candles extinguished according to its movement.

1920 seemed to provide much about the morality of faith. Lisa was a devout Catholic; she engaged the help of a priest to assist her with the dangers of the house. She first met the priest

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