1920 Horrors of The Heart Review: Avika Gor’s Hindi Film Debut Is Nothing But Balika Vadhu 2.0

Director: Krishna V Bhatt

Cast: Avika Gor, Rahul Dev, Barkha Bisht, and others

Where: In theatres near you 

Rating: 1.5 stars

If you have been missing the melodramatic television show Balika Vadhu, then here’s a chance for you to relive the experience on the big screen with a grown-up and much more glamorous Anandi aka Avika Gor, but with a horror spin. 

Director Krishna V Bhatt, daughter of genius Vikram Bhatt has been struggling to helm a film and finally brings the fourth installment of the 1920 franchise which is way more torturous than the last two ones, however, the very first one featuring Adah Sharma and Rajniesh Duggal is the flag bearer of best horror representation of Hindi cinema to date. 

Meghna (Avika Gor) decides to seek revenge on her mother after she discovers that she is the reason for her father’s untimely death. Little did she know that a web of lies is waiting for her in the mysterious house, where her mother is living a happy married life with Shantanu (Rahul Dev) and their daughter Aditi. 

Debutante filmmaker Krishna, who had the best schooling in the horror genre over the years seems to have a different plot line than the senior Bhatts, which makes this film a tad bit stand out in the franchise. Krishna keeps the basic outline of a revenge thriller in this too but delves into the tackiest technology that ruins the story of a dysfunctional family.

Set in a fictional town, Kosha Hills, the film lacks the simplest of logic throughout— especially when Avika’s character spits rotten rat and doesn’t seem to have any association with the plot. With the evident green screen edit and visual design, 1920 Horrors of The Heart is an uneasy watch. It is when Krishna introduces a timeline to the story towards the pre-climax, one realises that the film is set in the early 1900s. Hence, the film has pre-independence era elements attached to the narrative. 

The film even struggles to scare but somewhere remains true to its genre in the second half, where the stepdaughter Aditi gets possessed and seeks revenge from the entire family. Known for melodic music, the Bhatts are loyal here too, although, all three songs serve as a perfect background score. 

Avika, who started acting at a very early age looks confident as Meghna, but she hasn’t come out of her routine portrayal of television. Surely, enacting cringy dialogues must have been a huge task for her. Barkha Bisht and Rahul Dev are okay in their respective roles. 

If you are up for a crunchy cockroach treat, 1920 Horrors of The Heart is definitely for you. After all, a laughter session of 122 minutes is what you need after a long tiring week.