Shaitaan is one of the many horror dramas that have come out of Hindi cinema, and unlike others, there is a lot to take away from this movie. The movie works only in bits and pieces, but most of the film remains engaging only because of the performances. Shaitaan, directed by Vikas Bahl, is a remake of a Gujarati film, and it is about an entity that comes in contact with a family and creates havoc.
Spoilers Ahead
Where Did Vanraj Meet Rishi And His Family?
Rishi was a chartered accountant, and his family, which included his wife Jyoti and two children, were headed on a small vacation to a hill station in Uttarakhand. Their daughter Janvi was in her late teens and was looking forward to a vacation with her school friends to Ladakh, while Dhruv was a new-generation kid who knew a lot about technology. On the way to the hill station, they ran into Vanraj, who offered to pay for their tea and snacks. He quickly became friends with Rishi and his family and offered a sweet to Janvi, who ate it quickly. On consumption, she understood the power of the treat and began to behave oddly, which initially her parents did not pick up on. The man also offered her a packet of biscuits, asking her to consume them upon reaching their holiday home.
Did Vanraj Follow The Family To The Holiday Home?
The packet of biscuit had a weird effect on Janvi, and she had begun to behave oddly upon reaching the family home. Vanraj reached their home, and Jyoti was not comfortable with it. They had just met him, and his following them created an air of suspicion for Jyoti and Rishi, but they offered him shelter for some time. Unlike Jyoti, Rish was accommodating and hoped Vanraj would leave soon. Vanraj did follow the family and wanted to create tension in the family.
When Did He First Reveal His Powers?
Vanraj had begun to instruct Janvi to behave a certain way; meanwhile, Jyoti and Rishi quickly understood the man was bad news and that he had to be thrown out sooner rather than later. Dhruv was kept away from the conversation as Vanraj began to reveal his true powers. He seemed to have manipulated Janvi and ordered her to behave as per his instructions, which would include dancing, screaming, laughing, eating tea powder, and many other dangerous actions.
Vanraj’s control over Janvi was frightening, and he revealed he wanted the parents to willingly offer their daughter to him for sacrifice, and he would cause no further harm to any of them. Rishi and Jyoti were sane-minded people who did not believe in Vanraj’s words and considered him to be a charlatan with some powers to hypnotize people. Janvi was not in control of her body, as her mind was completely controlled by Vanraj, who admitted to having used black magic on her and was not willing to stop with his ploys. His powers were incomprehensible, and Janvi became bait. Janvi was instructed to slap her father, and she did so.
Did Jyoti And Rishi Try To Stop Janvi From Making A Mistake?
Jyoti and Rishi tried their level best to bring the situation under control. Rishi was willing to part ways with their money and the jewelry in the hope that Janvi could be returned to normalcy. Sadly, for the couple, Vanraj sets all of them on fire and shows them his real self. He was a powerful entity who claimed not to be human and wanted to control the world with his powers. For him to attain the superpowers, he wanted Janvi to follow him and help fulfill his lifelong dream. Vanraj, meanwhile, not only instructed her to beat her brother up Vanraj made Janvi guard him while he was asleep. Vanraj took advantage of the situation at hand, which forced Jyoti to attack the intruder viciously. Jyoti and Rishi got severely injured during the altercation. Vanraj was livid at the hosts trying to kill him and instructed Janvi to kill Dhruv. Vanraj, at this point, was unstoppable and was using every trick in the book to make sure Rishi and Jyoti gave up on their daughter. They were forced to choose between their children, and they could not come to an understanding of how to salvage the matter at hand.
Did Rishi Let Go Of His Daughter?
Janvi, as instructed, sprinted ahead to kill her brother Dhruv, while Rishi and Jyoti were trying hard to make sure their daughter did not make a mistake. After a long chase, the daughter kept her parents locked away in a room while she began to chase Dhruv again in the hope of fulfilling the instructions of Vanraj.
Janvi’s state was deteriorating, and nothing at this point could save either Janvi or Dhruv. Janvi caught up to Dhruv, threw the boy off the terrace, and fulfilled Vanraj’s command. As Dhruv fell off the terrace, Rishi and Jyoti were devastated, as they assumed their son was dead and Vanraj had managed to defeat them. The couple had given up on the thought of having Janvi back in their lives and assumed Dhruv was dead, which made them give their approval to Vanraj. Vanraj was not satisfied before he revealed that Dhruv was not dead, but the boy did have a severe injury to the head. As Jyoti took her son to the hospital, Rishi was hell-bent on bringing his daughter back and making sure she was not carried away or taken advantage of due to the power of black magic.
What Was Vanraj’s Ultimate Plan?
As Vanraj had hoodwinked Janvi, he had used the same method on many women, lured them into dilapidated area, and devised a vicious plan to seek the ultimate power. It was alarming to watch many women working under his command, and Janvi was one of them who sadly fell into the trap and was being used as bait.
Vanraj’s real intention was to make sure all the women he gathered would throw themselves into the pit of fire. This act of sacrifice was required to make sure he had the ultimate power to rule the world and further entrap people for his benefit. Vanraj has so far had many women and transwomen working under his spell who were willing to give up their lives for him. Nothing of Vanraj’s actual goal or his history was shared to explain why he was targeting only women for the cause. Either the man had serial killer tendencies or delusional godman-like qualities that could attract a certain type of crowd. There could also be a mental health issue that was not discussed in the film, but it could be speculated. Vanraj could have faced trauma at some point in his life, which may have developed into a god complex.
How Did Rishi Stop Vanraj?
Rishi chased Vanraj despite a severe palm injury that was the result of a knife being stabbed into it. He wanted to drag his daughter out of misery and a lifetime of guilt. There was a possibility Janvi could die as well, and as a father, Rishi could not let that happen. Rishi managed to get the location of Vanraj site of dark practices during the villain’s altercation with Jyoti. This allowed him to reach the place, only to be stopped by few transwomen, who themselves were under Vanraj’s spell and extremely powerful. Rishi managed to upstage them, only to find a hundred women, including his daughter, willing to kill themselves for the devil-like man. Vanraj had all the women under his control and was close to killing Rishi as well. Vanraj showcased his ultimate power at this juncture, and Rishi was clueless about how to stop the madness from taking over, or how to make sure all the women were saved.
As the women were about to willingly to immolate themselves on Vanraj’s instructions, Rishi, in the spur of the moment, cut Vanraj’s tongue with a knife in his hand. He did this to make sure no more words came out of Vanraj’s mouth and the spell on the women would be broken. Rishi wanted to save every woman he found at the ruins, and maiming Vanraj was the only solution. As the women were already under the spell, Rishi played Vanraj’s voice recording, which instructed the girls to act normal. Vanraj’s voice and the messaging on the device were recorded during an offbeat moment. Rishi managed to utilize this at the right time and make sure the demented woman would not kill him.
Is Vanraj Dead Or Alive?
The epilogue of the movie had Rishi, Jyoti, and Dhruv recovering from the injuries of the incident that shook them to the core. Janvi was fine, but Rishi was instrumental in saving many women who had gone missing over the years thanks to Vanraj’s manipulation and hoodwinking tactics. The police were grateful to Rishi for his act of valor, but Vanraj was missing. Rishi probably saw a lot of the young girls who were of Janvi’s age, and their families must have been desperate for some answers regarding their disappearance. As most of the women went back home, albeit traumatized, reuniting with their families was a huge achievement for everyone involved.
Shaitaan ended with Rishi confronting Vanraj a year later at the same ruins. It is understood that Rishi kept Vanraj captive all this while, and that was the punishment for him going after his family rather viciously. Rishi was close to losing his children due to Vanraj’s cruelty, and he wanted to take slow revenge on him. Vanraj almost destroyed his and countless other families, and he had to pay heavily for that. Rishi picked up a dead rat from the forest, and that could be connected to the first shot of the film. Rishi tries to lure Vanraj with fruit but offers only dead animals in return. Vanraj was mute because of Rishi, and he was struggling to speak up. The fact that Vanraj could not speak was to everyone’s advantage because his words caused problems. Rishi spoke about his love for the children as a father and the fight put up by mothers to save their children. Vanraj wanted to be the most powerful, but since he messed with a father and mother, he would never be able to get out of the ruins; he was kept captive and probably died alone in the darkness.
