Amazon, T-Series Films and Panorama Studios’ Dybbuk (UA) is a horror film.
Sam (Emraan Hashmi) and Mahi (Nikita Dutta) are a married couple. Sam has to go on an assignment from his company, to Mauritius for two years. Mahi is not very happy about leaving Bombay (India) but, nevertheless, agrees and accompanies Sam. They live in a palatial bungalow in Mauritius.
Strange things start happening to Mahi who has bought an antique box from an antique dealer in Mauritius. It is clear that either Mahi is possessed or the bungalow is haunted. It is also clear that the antique box has something to do with the strange happenings. At first, Sam is unwilling to believe in the presence of a ghost but when his priest-guardian (Denzil Smith) arrives in Mauritius, he educates him about Dybbuk, a box which was used by the Jews to capture a spirit that was believed to be the dissatisfied soul of a dead person. The priest contacts a Rabbi (Anil George) but before he can help Sam and Mahi, he dies. Rabbi’s son, Markus, now takes it upon himself to free Mahi of the spirit. To make matters more complicated, Mahi gets pregnant during this period. According to Jew mythology, the spirit either attacks a person who has a mental problem (like fear psychosis) or an unborn child. It is feared that Mahi’s unborn child is possessed by the spirit. But for any corrective action to be taken, it is necessary for Markus to know whose spirit it is.
It turns out that the spirit is that of Abraham Ezra (Imaad Shah), which was locked in the box by his own father, Yakub Ezra (Yuri Suri), after he (Abraham) was completely paralysed due to an unfortunate incident.
What does the spirit of Abraham Ezra want? Is Mahi possessed or is it her unborn child? Or is it someone else? Does Markus succeed in freeing the spirit of Abraham Ezra from the body in which it has entered? How?
Jay K.’s story is a routine story of a horror film except that it talks in great detail about Jewish mythology. And therein lies the problem because his screenplay (with additional screenplay by Manu Warrier) gets into so many technicalities about mythology that it puts off the viewers for whom it becomes very difficult to understand. This is because Jewish mythology is not common knowledge. Besides, the pace of the drama is very slow, especially in the first half. It, therefore, bores the audience. Chintan Gandhi’s dialogues are routine.
Emraan Hashmi does well in the role of Sam, more so in the second half. In the pre-interval portion, he is a little too laid back. Nikita Dutta does an average job as Mahi. Manav Kaul is fair as Markus. Imaad Shah is effective in a brief role as Abraham Ezra. Denzil Smith is okay as the priest. Gaurav Sharma is earnest as inspector Riaz. Anil George has his moments as the Rabbi. Yuri Suri makes his presence felt in the role of Yakub Ezra. Darshana Banik lends decent support as Abraham’s girlfriend, Norah, although she has a minuscule role. Aryan Meghji is quite good as young Sam. Bijay Anand (as Sanjay) and the others are adequate.
Jay K.’s direction is alright. However, a faster-paced narration would’ve helped. Amar Mohile’s background music is nothing to shout about. Sathya Ponmar’s cinematography is good. Pradyumna Kumar Swain’s action and stunts are quite thrilling. Production designing (by Snigdha Karmahe, Pankaj Paol and Somenath Pakre) and art direction (by Brijesh Kumar Singh, Chetan Acharya and Shantanu Chatterjee) are appropriate. Sandeep Francis’ editing is reasonably sharp.
On the whole, Dybbuk is too complicated to make an impact on the audience. It will, therefore, not find much appreciation.
Released on 29-10-’21 on Amazon Prime Video.