Pyasi (2003)
Cast: Sapna, Anil Nagrath, Amit Pachori, Kanti Shah, Shyam Bahadur, Poonam Das Gupta
Director: Kanti Shah
Nutshell:  A horrible rubber-faced demon and a saucy woman return from the dead for a brutal killing spree.
Review by Omar Khan

Another day, another Kanti Shah slice of Z-grade cinema to behold. This time it is a film titled Pyaasi, starring the usual suspects, but with the added novelty of Kanti Shah casting himself as a handsome, dashing hero. Sapna must surely hold some world record for an actor appearing in the greatest number of double roles in cinema history, and here she doubles up yet again as the gorgeous bombshell Sapna and the evil witch Kamini.

The film begins with a shocking scene in which a nubile young woman jumps into a swimming pool that eager beavers will recognise as the same one used in numerous other films of this ilk. The scantily clad beauty leaps into the water with a hunky paramour, and the pair begin a vigorous heavy-petting session before things suddenly take a supernatural turn. Her black bikini inexplicably becomes a white outfit, and she embraces the unfortunate hunk with such terrifying supernatural force that he drops dead in her arms. The white-clad witch cackles in delight as blood streams across her ecstatic face. It is an effective enough opening and sets the tone nicely for what follows.

There is then a brief interlude in which we meet the master of an old haveli, an earnest fellow armed with a couple of horror books and a determination to learn from them and transform himself into a demon. Amid much thunder, lightning and ceremonial nonsense, he summons a spectacular rubber-faced creature who asks whether he would like to become an all-powerful, rubbery-faced demon wearing a hairy suit. The offer is accepted emphatically. The Thakur writhes on his bed in anticipation as Rubberface somehow merges his spirit into the body of the haveli owner, thereby creating yet another formidable supernatural menace for the unsuspecting countryside.

The haveli itself appears to be situated directly on some tourist trail, because an extraordinary number of passers-by seem to lose their way and arrive at its gates seeking shelter from the torrential storms that whip up a frenzy night after night. There is also a Christian graveyard immediately outside, which might explain the attraction. One particular night, a couple are driving through the area with their newborn twin daughters when their car breaks down. They make their way to the haveli, where they are understandably unnerved by Rubberface but manage to find shelter and put their baby girls to sleep. Like clockwork, another violent storm erupts, and the chandeliers begin swinging wildly from side to side. Just as the couple begin to feel safe indoors, Rubberface arrives and mutilates both parents, leaving the twin girls orphaned. One of them is eventually adopted by a kindly police inspector (Anil Nagrath), while the dark forces inside the haveli engulf the other, transforming her into the dreadful “Khoon Ki Pyaasi”, apparently possessed by the evil soul of the former Thakur.

The police chief is soon bewildered by the growing number of people who happen upon the haveli and subsequently turn up dead, many bearing grotesque injuries caused by Rubberface clawing at them and ripping apart their torsos. The whole situation rapidly spirals out of control, and the body count rises alarmingly. Kanti Shah himself eventually appears on the scene alongside Amit Pachori, and the pair survive several close shaves before Pachori finally falls victim to the rampaging Rubberface. He is attacked in a local hospital and has his intestines ripped from his hapless body in one of the film’s more enthusiastic displays of gore. Another unfortunate victim has her neck chomped into by Rubberface, whose teeth may flap rather unconvincingly whenever he moves, but prove miraculously razor-sharp whenever flesh needs tearing.

The police commissioner eventually enjoys a rare stroke of good fortune and manages to arrest Kamini. Unfortunately, instead of keeping her safely locked inside a police cell, he makes the fatal mistake of sending her to a mental asylum, from where she escapes with scarcely any difficulty at all. The hunt is now on for Kamini, even though the police can scarcely believe that she could be capable of such brutality. Kamini is eventually hunted down by a group of friends, including Pachori and Shyam Bahadur, who throw her corpse into a ditch. Naturally, this proves insufficient to keep her down, and she promptly emerges wearing a white sari, the traditional uniform of the Indian vengeful spirit. Poonam is next to die, and at this point Kanti Shah begins pilfering a few familiar elements from Mohan Bhakri’s Khooni Murda. Bodies continue dropping like flies as Rubberface and Kamini carry on with their increasingly energetic killing spree.

The question now is whether anybody will rise to the challenge and finally put an end to the carnage being caused by this dreadful supernatural duo. Is there anyone brave enough to vanquish Kamini and Rubberface, or will the horrors continue indefinitely while the blood flows in torrents? The police, it must be said, appear almost entirely helpless.

Pyaasi is a pretty atrocious film, riddled with so many loose ends and inconsistencies that very little of it ultimately makes much sense. This time around, Kanti Shah loses the thread, and his usually enthusiastic storytelling falls badly short of the mark, leaving a confused, increasingly chaotic mess. The conclusion arrives abruptly, with very little explanation, and leaves even the least discerning viewer without anything resembling a satisfactory wrap-up. Yes, we understand