Unlucky number 13 syndrome

13B
Cast: R Madhavan, Neetu Chandra, Poonam Dhillon
Director: Vikram K Kumar
Rating: **

‘Fear has a new address’ says the tagline for this film, but by the time you reach the end, you find yourself asking: is that address 13B, a EMI acquired flat in a high-rise, or cable and satellite channels that intrude into each of our homes.

Vikram Kumar’s script examines the haunting hold of the TV on our lives and the hypnotic effect of soaps. His intent is to use the TV as a metaphor for modern society and the unquestioning faith we place on the idiot box.

Manohar and his brother buy a flat for their family (mother, wife, kids, sister) on the 13th floor. They are facing a 20 year long home loan repayment plan but they are overjoyed at having their own home.

The flat appears to bring luck to all the family members, except Manohar who gets increasingly suspicious of supernatural forces at work at 13B. Lifts don’t work only for him; nails refuse to go into the walls of the puja room; lights come on by themselves; the milk curdles everyday and the TV gets stuck on channel 13.

But the women, including mother (Poonam Dhillon, nice) and Manohar’s wife Priya (Neetu Chandra, performing as if she were on speed) aren’t complaining.

They’ve discovered a new serial on channel 13 and are addicted. Funnily enough, only Manohar notices the parallels between their lives and events unfolding in the daily 1300 hours soap. As proceedings on and off screen get more violent, Manohar begins to fear for his family.

The climax finally presents some intrigue but is convoluted.