Recently I saw 'Sansani' aka 'The Sensation' in the catalog of an online video vendor and purchased it. I had no experience of 'Irshad' before. Bollywood b-horror has mostly looked to the Ramsays as pathfinders and the name Irshad was Greek to me. As the movie had a tight star cast, I chose to buy it. To my surprise, I wasn't disappointed at all. Sansani has everything in it; thrill, suspense, horror, mystery etc., but what actually misses here is the budget. Yes, the budget is very meager and most of it seems to have gone to the prominent lead and supporting cast. Irshad has used his inherent logic and decided to use bad lighting for the film's own advantage. The murky atmosphere, grainy appearance and down to earth effects have been made to work harmoniously and in the best way possible for the sole good of the movie. Let's have a look at the plot.
On a foggy and cold night, two young men alight from a train at an isolated and remote railway station Balipur. One is Ajay Sachdev (Vinod Mehra) and the other is Prem Kumar Chopra (Prem Chopra). It looks Prem had been following Ajay through the journey and has some hidden motives. Ajay and Prem both come to an old guest house to spend night. At this point the caretaker of the guest house tells something eerie about Balipur, but Ajay isn't able to deduce his talks and rejects everything as a lore. Next morning Ajay heads to Balipur, while Prem keeps an eye on him from a distance. Ajay is here for Mr. Mathur (Jagdeesh Raj), on Nisha's (Bindiya Goswami) request. Mathur's daughter Nisha is Ajay's love interest and she fears that someone is after her family. Mathur is a wealthy man and owns a big factory at Balipur. Time took a bad turn when workers of the factory were stalked and brutally murdered by an unseen assailant. Most of the townspeople think that Mathur's factory is haunted and whoever goes there becomes the victim of blood sucking ghosts. Mathur's health had been badly deteriorating during all these days and he wants to meet Ajay to share some secrets.
Balipur is home to several oddballs. A clownish Nawab (Jagdeep), his two wives Chavanni (Meena T) and Athanni (Jayshree T), his orderly Jumman Mian (Keshto Mukherjee), and several others. Then there is a Christian family with Wilma Vaz (Dina Pathak) as the matriarch, who lives with her daughter-in-law Monica (Kavita). Monica was once married to Tony (Shailendra Singh), but Tony disappeared and was declared dead. However every night, his voice emerges from his grave and troubles Wilma and Monica. Most of the townsfolk left Balipur after brutal murders became a trend. Horrors lurked in their vicinity and they feared death. A certain Mr. Kumar Rajdev (Shreeram Lagoo), a private detective has teamed up with police to speed up the investigations. However, he as well as the police don't yet have anything against the culprits.
Ajay suspects Prem as the perpetrator of the grisly murders. He however couldn't prove Prem guilty and soon finds himself trapped in a cob web of deceit and lies. His life becomes a living hell. He is declared a fugitive and must now race against time to prove his innocence.
This is a surprising movie with all the b-grade masala in it. The film could have been better with an extra budget, but as mentioned before, the director has subtly utilized the bad lighting and hopeless photography to add atmosphere to the movie. The best things about Sansani are the nice depiction of a ghost town, dim and murky lighting, sense of isolation, grainy landscapes, and discomforting darkness. The dance numbers are volatile and add no value to the plot. The comedy is horrible and has only made the duration of the film grow for unjust reasons. Sansani is a perfect midnight movie for all the horror buffs, who are more into giallo genre than decent horror.
On a foggy and cold night, two young men alight from a train at an isolated and remote railway station Balipur. One is Ajay Sachdev (Vinod Mehra) and the other is Prem Kumar Chopra (Prem Chopra). It looks Prem had been following Ajay through the journey and has some hidden motives. Ajay and Prem both come to an old guest house to spend night. At this point the caretaker of the guest house tells something eerie about Balipur, but Ajay isn't able to deduce his talks and rejects everything as a lore. Next morning Ajay heads to Balipur, while Prem keeps an eye on him from a distance. Ajay is here for Mr. Mathur (Jagdeesh Raj), on Nisha's (Bindiya Goswami) request. Mathur's daughter Nisha is Ajay's love interest and she fears that someone is after her family. Mathur is a wealthy man and owns a big factory at Balipur. Time took a bad turn when workers of the factory were stalked and brutally murdered by an unseen assailant. Most of the townspeople think that Mathur's factory is haunted and whoever goes there becomes the victim of blood sucking ghosts. Mathur's health had been badly deteriorating during all these days and he wants to meet Ajay to share some secrets.
Balipur is home to several oddballs. A clownish Nawab (Jagdeep), his two wives Chavanni (Meena T) and Athanni (Jayshree T), his orderly Jumman Mian (Keshto Mukherjee), and several others. Then there is a Christian family with Wilma Vaz (Dina Pathak) as the matriarch, who lives with her daughter-in-law Monica (Kavita). Monica was once married to Tony (Shailendra Singh), but Tony disappeared and was declared dead. However every night, his voice emerges from his grave and troubles Wilma and Monica. Most of the townsfolk left Balipur after brutal murders became a trend. Horrors lurked in their vicinity and they feared death. A certain Mr. Kumar Rajdev (Shreeram Lagoo), a private detective has teamed up with police to speed up the investigations. However, he as well as the police don't yet have anything against the culprits.
Ajay suspects Prem as the perpetrator of the grisly murders. He however couldn't prove Prem guilty and soon finds himself trapped in a cob web of deceit and lies. His life becomes a living hell. He is declared a fugitive and must now race against time to prove his innocence.
This is a surprising movie with all the b-grade masala in it. The film could have been better with an extra budget, but as mentioned before, the director has subtly utilized the bad lighting and hopeless photography to add atmosphere to the movie. The best things about Sansani are the nice depiction of a ghost town, dim and murky lighting, sense of isolation, grainy landscapes, and discomforting darkness. The dance numbers are volatile and add no value to the plot. The comedy is horrible and has only made the duration of the film grow for unjust reasons. Sansani is a perfect midnight movie for all the horror buffs, who are more into giallo genre than decent horror.
