'Khauf' review: Monika Panwar shines in gripping, sensitive series
What's the story
Amazon Prime Video's horror-thriller series Khauf features a stupendous performance by Monika Panwar (Jamtara, Gaanth). Led by a predominantly female cast, it also stars Chum Darang, Rajat Kapoor, Abhishek Chauhan, Geetanjali Kulkarni, and Shilpa Shukla. Thrilling, gripping, meticulous, and well executed, Smita Singh's eight-part show accurately analyzes the ghastly horror of being a woman in a man's world.
Premise
Follows Madhu and the horrors she faces in new city
Khauf follows Madhu, played by Panwar, an ambitious girl from Gwalior who moves to Delhi for work and to escape the demons of her past. She starts a new job and shifts into a hostel, but not too long after, she is tormented by the dangerous shadows lurking in the dingy, haunted building. Will Madhu run back home or put up a fight?
#1
Talks about female safety with precision
Khauf surprised me with its sensitive, scathing portrayal of the issues that plague women. It confronts you with cold, hard, brutal questions: What does it mean for a woman to navigate a world teeming with monsters? It even seems like a companion piece to Adolescence, considering both projects dissect the psyche of wayward, dangerous men and the price women pay due to their wrongdoings.
#2
More on the above aspect
The series begins with a chilling scene that's all too familiar to women—the fear of being stalked, especially when the Sun goes down. Public places, offices, well-lit lanes, and even your home—the worst can happen anywhere and everywhere, and Khauf showcases this with finesse and utmost empathy. The real "horror" in the series, thus, isn't the ghost possessing Madhu but the humans surrounding her.
#3
The portrayal of female solidarity is sweet and sensititive
Because female safety is Khauf's cynosure, female solidarity is also one of its strongest, most likeable themes. Nikki, Rima, Lana, and Komal, who live next to Madhu, are a staunch, tight-knit group of friends who're closer to each other than their respective families. So, when all breaks loose in the penultimate episode, they stick together even when danger threatens to devour them alive.
#4
It's loaded with subtext and commentary
Like most Indian series, Khauf also speaks about numerous issues together. These include the worldly cost of female freedom, female foeticide, mental health, sexual assault, superstitions, and patriarchy, among others. The show's strength, however, lies in the fact that none of these themes seems unnecessary or overdone and perfectly fit the narrative, lending it gravitas.
#5
Keeps surprising you at every turn
Despite a large ensemble cast and multiple sub-plots, everyone gets their moment to shine. Some stories and characters may confuse you initially, but as the episodes progress, the show slowly and interestingly peels the layers off these characters. The show is multilayered and full of surprises, especially toward the end, and there's enough fuel in the script to keep it going.
#6
How the locations help dictate the mood of the scenes
In horror-thrillers, the locations are just as important as the twists, and Khauf makes good use of the dingy, dirty hostel where most of the action takes place. When we see Madhu (Panwar turns in a fantastic performance) and other characters in confined, repulsive spaces, we're tense and scared, too. And when Madhu is outside, with the wind caressing her, we, too, feel emancipated.
#7
However, the series is not without its faults
After starting on a solid, engaging note, the show loses steam in the middle and takes a long time to reach the big reveals in the last two episodes. It certainly needed a tighter narrative. Another frustrating aspect is the stereotypical representation of Kapoor's character as a dangerous, demanding, and conniving hakim. His preachy, boring dialogues don't do him any favors, either.
#8
Not spooky and scary enough
Along with the aforementioned aspect, another drawback that stares you right in the face is the lack of impressive horror in this horror-thriller series. The show keeps trying to scare you, but it's only successful at a few jumpscares since the graphics do a lamentable job. Plus, toward the end, the series relies on extreme bloodshed, and it's too gory for its own good.
Verdict
Watch it for its writing and performances; 3.5/5 stars
Chauhan, who plays Madhu's boyfriend, is underutilized, and the show struggles to tie up its loose ends properly. However, despite the few hiccups along the way, Khauf remains consistently watchable, coasted by the strong performances of Kapoor, Shukla, and Panwar, among others. It marries social commentary with traditional horror tropes and asks the age-old, uncomfortable question: Are women's issues just theirs alone? 3.5/5 stars.