Horror and fantasy fiction are rare-cross breeds. It is only occasionally that we come across a decent film or television show, for this genre has always been tricky to crack. Spirited or Jagat Arwah lets us into the life of a young boy who is about to discover a potentially life-altering secret. Will the boy be ready to take on the adventure?
Jagat Arwah begins with a certain gentleman entering a mansion, and it is pitch dark inside, which proves no one has lived in this place for a while. The man walks towards a door, and by the looks of it, he is clearly on the lookout for something. It is not revealed who the man is or why he is here. He opens the door to a room to see a large object being covered by a cloth. Curious to see what the object is, he removes the cloth. It happens to be a large guillotine. The same Guillotine chops the man’s hand off as if it were being operated by someone. The man, in a panic rage, tries to get out of the room, only to be dragged by a mysterious black cloud-shaped creature. At this point, it is not explained what this creature is or why it targeted the man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
This is followed by a prologue that talks about the Jagat Stone. It was a powerful talisman which was created to maintain the balance between the human realm and spiritual one. The Dark One tried their level best to get the stone with the only intention of wreaking havoc and feeding on their greed. The Enlightener made sure the Jagat stone went into the hands of a loyal bloodline that would take care of the stone without misuse. The Aditya clan was chosen by the Enlightener in the hope that the current members of the clan and the future generations would keep the stone a secret and guard it with their lives. The stone carried massive power, and that is the reason why it needed to be protected by a family that would not misuse it themselves. The Aditya clan had to be the one, and the clan made sure to stay true to their word.
Centuries later, in the year 2022, Raga is introduced as a young boy in his late teens, and he is a guitarist with a local band. Raga and his bandmates plan to become famous and get a record deal for themselves. To put that plan in motion, Raga and the bandmates want to get an affordable home near the record company. Raga is not sure if his father, Sukmo, would agree to the idea of his only son moving away. The father and son are not on bad terms, but his father tries hard to communicate with his son. Raga is not sure how to put forward his lifelong dream of becoming a rock star. The boy also does not approve of the life his father lives. The man earns most of his money by selling medicinal oil and herbs on the street, and Raga is slightly embarrassed by it. What Sukmo never lets his son know is that he is also an exorcist who gets rid of supernatural elements with the help of the power he possesses. It can be well assumed from here on that Sukmo, Raga’s father, is a descendent of the Aditya clan, and that is the reason why he possesses such powers in him to get rid of the spirits.
Raga, on the other hand, would rather stay away from his home and work on the passion he wants to pursue in music. Raga has a supportive uncle, Jaya, who understands the young boy’s predicament. Raga decides to let his father know about his plan to pursue music, but that evening he gets beaten up. His father, Sukmo possesses healing powers and he gets rid of the pain caused by the wounds on Raga.
Raga finally comes out to let his father know that he is interested in pursuing music and that there is nothing that would stop him from doing so. Sukmo is not angry at this point, but he just lets his son know that he is destined for bigger things in life. This angers Raga more, which helps him make a firm decision to move away from this town. Raga comes across as a typical boy in his late teens who rebels and makes way for the things he wants to pursue, and he will not let anyone ruin his lifelong dream. Raga’s father understands his son’s angst phase, and that is why he refuses to respond to him in an angry demeanor. That same night, Sukmo is called to get rid of a spirit caught in the mansion. It is the same mansion that appeared at the beginning of the film. Sukmo prepares to neutralize the spirit, and for the first time, we are introduced to a spirit friendly to Sukmo, known as Dru. Dru is asked to recuperate because of his injuries, and Sukmo heads off to finish the task on his own. Sukmo does not survive the ordeal of getting rid of the rogue spirit. Sukmo figured his powers alone would be enough to bring the rogue spirit under control, but he grossly underestimated its power.
Raga back home senses something odd happening outside his home, and very soon, he is told about his father’s demise. Raga is bereaved because he knows the last conversation he had with his father was in anger, and it will take a while for him to get over it. Raga did not expect he would lose his father this early in his life. He starts seeing paranormal and supernatural entities right in front of him, and Jaya now knows it would be the right time to let Raga know about their family and their ancestors. Jaya reveals that Raga is the seventh Aditya of the clan, and there was a prophecy about him that was made centuries ago.
Raga is in deep shock to learn about his family and the purpose they have carried with them for centuries. The boy is getting to know his family tree and plenty of other information from a book provided by Jaya. Raga is processing the information given by Jaya, but he soon embraces the fact that he is destined to be more than what he is. His power will allow him to bring out the Jagat stone, through which he could be able to maintain the balance between two realms. The boy is completely new to this information about his family, but he is quick to embrace it because he wants to do something for his father’s legacy, and he knows Uncle Jaya will never leave his side. Raga’s acceptance of himself as the chosen one gives him a purpose in life, and he is ready to face a new world that would be different from the environment he was raised in.
‘Jagat Arwah’ Ending Explained: Was Raga Able To Protect The Jagat Stone?
Uncle Jaya introduces him to Dru, a spirit taken care of by Raga’s father. Dru was Sukmo’s bodyguard, and now that he is gone, Raga will always have Dru around him so that the boy is not harmed. Dru visibly comes across as a scary person, but he is a docile man with a strong personality. Raga is initially not happy to have Dru around because he blames Dru for not being there for his father. Sukmo would have survived if not for Dru, is what Raga thinks. Raga makes it clear he does not want Dru around, as he is not used to having a bodyguard around him all the time.
Dru tries to attack Raga, and Uncle Jaya comes to his rescue because Raga is unable to defend himself. Dru, being a powerful spirit, would be able to take Raga at any time, but Jaya comes to the quick conclusion that Raga should be taught the methods to go into the spiritual realm and face them, and he should also be given lessons to control his power, which has been slowly and steadily coming out since his father’s death. The prophecy about Raga, the seventh Aditya, can also be the reason behind Raga’s powers manifesting. Jaya offers a drink to Raga, which helps him get a vision he didn’t have before. With this drink in hand, Raga must save himself from three ghosts that have followed him since the day of his birth. These are the rules set centuries ago, and Jaya and Raga will only have to follow them to find an oath and control their power. The third one happens to be Kunti, who has followed him around since he was born. There is a sense of shared love they have for each other because Raga is attracted to her, and she has protected him many times in the past, making him wonder if he is falling for her.
Kunti, though, does not join Jaya and Raga for their next expedition to the dead forest, where Uncle Jay lets him know of the new blood sacrifice that is about to happen, which gives birth to a woman. Raga is new to all these rituals he is introduced to and the age-old traditions and rites attached to them. Raga was not raised this way, but somehow the power comes to him to face the spirit of the Dark One. With the power in him slowly coming under control, Raga can come to terms with what he can withstand and what he cannot. He can get rid of the spirit thanks to his uncle Jaya, who believes in him. Jaya patiently waited for Raga to figure out his powers. The two have a heart-to-heart conversation in Nonik’s presence. Nonik is another spirit that remains with Jaya, like a loyal supporter. Jaya and Raga talk about the powers that are required to push them further into this world, and Jaya also lets the boy know that he must just open his eyes. Jaya promises Raga that he will be there for him no matter what.
To Raga, Jaya is almost like his father because the boy grew up sharing all his problems with his uncle. The next second, Jaya is killed by the spirit, who is rendered unconscious by Jaya himself. With Jaya gone, Raga only has Dru, Kunti, and Nonik on his side, and they have no clue how to move forward. They are powerless without Jaya’s knowledge. There has to be a way out for Raga to figure out how to get to the Jagat stone. Nonik starts getting visions of Jaya being alive, and these visions take them to the mansion where Raga’s father was killed. The guillotine is still there, and a lot of the interiors of that mansion have not changed. On reaching the mansion, Kunti and Nonik are dragged into a negative dimension because, from that space, they would not be able to help Raga. Raga was only expecting something bad to happen, but with his Uncle Jaya turning up, the situation had turned worse. Jaya had not died, and he’d faked his death so that it would force Raga to come to this mansion. Jaya had powers over him, and he wanted to force Raga to get the Jagat stone so that he could come into possession of the power that exuded from the stone and change the prophecy. Jaya being the villain here comes as a shock to Raga. Jaya also reveals that he was the one who killed Raga’s father just to be able to get to the Jagat stone. Jaya wanted control over his destiny and to force a naive Raga to get the Jagat stone because power and greed superseded family and love.
Raga, under pressure, brings out the stone using his power, and Jaya manages to get hold of it, and he now knows that the power is in him. Meanwhile, Raga is trying hard to control the power coming out of Jaya because of the stone, and Raga knows he alone cannot stall his uncle Jaya. Dru in the forest gets maximum power from his mentor. The mentor lets Dru know that if he demands extraordinary power, his spirit will be crushed, and Dru will not survive for more than a year. In Raga Dru sees a child who comes forward to apologize to him. In Raga, Dru sees the Aditya that would rescue people and safeguard them by bringing about a balance with the Jagat stone. Dru gains all the power he demands, and he is on his way to help Raga. Raga is unable to stop his uncle’s power, which he has gained from the stone. Soon they are joined by Kunti and Nonik, who possess immense power, and join Raga to finish Jaya.
Raga goes into a transcendent state surrounded by white clouds, where he sees his father letting Raga know that the responsibility that comes with becoming Aditya is stressful, but Sukmo is proud of where Raga has reached. Raga manages to get the stone out of Jaya’s body using his powers, and the Jagat stone finally assimilates into Raga’s skin. Raga cannot believe he managed to do this because just a few days ago, he wanted to become a musician, but now his goals have changed. All he wants to do is make his father proud. Raga initially lets go of his uncle, but Jaya again tries to kill him and to protect him, Dru’s bodyguard jumps in with all his power to save Raga. Dru knew he would lose all his power with this save, but he had been hired to protect Raga, and he did what any bodyguard would do. Raga is finally able to finish his uncle and his power with the help of Nonik and Kunti. The women came by, stood up, and faced the challenge with Raga.
Raga finally plans to leave the town to pursue music, and he bids his final goodbyes to Nonik and Dru. The boy had to move away so that he could stay away from these talks of earthly and spiritual powers. He knows he carries his power with him, but he is not in the mood to misuse it. He asks Kunti to join him, and she agrees, too, asserting the fact that they are in love. The post-credits scene of the film has the Four Death Slayers of Getih, who now want to get rid of Aditya, the seventh, and flood the place with blood. This is an indication of the sequel to Jagat Arwah. The sequel will have more evil spirits going after Raga, and the Four Death Slayers of Getih will be the antagonists this time. Raga will have to come back to secure his power and help get rid of the menace these men are about to unleash.
Jagat Arwah is an Indonesian film now streaming on Netflix with subtitles.
