When people hear the word "Pari," they usually think of a winged beauty or a guardian angel. You've probably seen those stories where a celestial being falls to earth and fixes everything with a magic wand. But then Anushka Sharma dropped Pari Not a Fairytale in 2018, and suddenly, the wings were bloody and the magic was a curse. Honestly, it was a massive gamble for a mainstream Bollywood star to take on something this grim. It isn't just a horror movie; it’s a weird, atmospheric descent into folklore that most people didn't see coming.
The film follows Arnab, played by Parambrata Chatterjee, a guy who accidentally hits a woman with his car during a rainstorm. This leads him to Rukhsana. She’s living in a shack in the woods, chained up, looking like she’s been through literal hell. Arnab, being the "good guy," tries to help. Big mistake. Or maybe not? That’s the tension that carries the whole runtime.
The Folklore That Makes Pari Not a Fairytale Different
Most Indian horror movies rely on a lady in a white saree or a vengeful spirit looking for her lost jewelry. This one? It goes into the deep, dark corners of Islamic occultism and the myth of the Ifrit. It’s gritty. It’s damp. You can almost smell the wet earth and old blood through the screen.
The movie centers on a cult called the Qayamat, which is obsessed with propagating the bloodline of the Ifrit. Rukhsana isn't a ghost. She’s something biological. Something physical. That’s why it works. When she eats a bird or stares at a television with childlike wonder, you feel a bizarre mix of empathy and terror. Prosit Roy, the director, didn't want jump scares. He wanted a "mood." And man, did he get it. The cinematography is draped in blues and greys, making Kolkata look like a gothic nightmare rather than a bustling city.
Why Rukhsana Isn't Your Typical Monster
Anushka Sharma’s performance is the heartbeat here. She’s feral. One minute she’s sniffing a soap bar like a confused puppy, and the next, she’s scaling a wall or inflicting horrific violence. It’s the duality that sticks with you. You’re rooting for her because she’s a victim of a horrific cult, but you’re also terrified because she isn't human.
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The makeup team deserves a massive shoutout. They avoided the CGI-heavy look that ruins most modern horror. Instead, they went with practical effects that look "wet" and "raw." It’s visceral. When you see the markings on her skin or the way her body reacts to certain stimuli, it feels grounded in a way that The Conjuring or Insidious clones never quite manage.
Pushing Against the Bollywood Grain
Bollywood usually plays it safe. You get a song, a dance, a bit of romance, and maybe a scary face pops up once or twice. Pari Not a Fairytale basically threw that playbook in the trash. There are no dream sequences in the Swiss Alps. There’s no catchy item number. It’s a relentless, 135-minute journey into trauma and supernatural biology.
The film actually faced some pushback. In Pakistan, it was banned. The Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) there claimed it contained "black magic" and "non-Islamic" sentiments. It's a testament to how effectively the movie used its source material—it felt real enough to be dangerous.
The Subtext You Might Have Missed
If you look past the blood and the creepy kids, the movie is actually a pretty heavy allegory for how society treats "the outsider." Rukhsana is a product of systemic abuse. The cult treats her like a vessel. Arnab treats her like a project. Nobody really sees her as a person until it’s way too late.
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It’s also about the cycle of violence. The Qayamat cultists believe they are doing "God's work" by eradicating the Ifrit bloodline, but their methods are more demonic than the creatures they hunt. This moral ambiguity is what elevates it. There are no "heroes" in the traditional sense. Everyone is stained by the environment they live in.
A Breakdown of the Horror Elements
The film uses several distinct layers to keep the audience off-balance:
- Atmospheric Dread: The constant rain and the crumbling architecture of Kolkata create a sense of claustrophobia even when characters are outside.
- Body Horror: It’s not just about gore; it’s about the transformation of the human form into something unrecognizable.
- Sound Design: The whispering, the scratching, and the lack of a loud, overbearing background score make the silent moments much more piercing.
- The "Nurture vs. Nature" Conflict: Watching Rukhsana try to be "normal" while her DNA screams for blood is the most unsettling part of the story.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
A lot of viewers were confused by the finale. They expected a massive showdown or a neat resolution where the monster is banished. But that’s not what this story is. It’s a tragedy. The "Not a Fairytale" subtitle is literal. In a fairytale, the beast becomes a prince. Here, the beast stays a beast, and the human is the one who has to change—or die.
The ending focuses on sacrifice. It’s about breaking the cycle, even if the cost is everything. It’s messy and emotional, which left some hardcore horror fans wanting more "action," but for those who like psychological depth, it was perfect.
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How to Watch Pari if You're a Horror Skeptic
If you usually hate horror because it’s "cheap," you should still give this a shot. Watch it with the lights low, but pay attention to the production design. Look at how the colors shift when Rukhsana feels safe versus when she’s hunted.
Honestly, it’s more of a dark supernatural thriller than a "slasher." If you liked movies like Tumbbad or the more atmospheric parts of Bulbbul, this is in that same neighborhood. It’s part of a growing movement in Indian cinema where filmmakers are finally looking at their own local folklore instead of just copying Hollywood's "haunted house" tropes.
Pro-Tips for the Best Experience:
- Subtitles over Dubbing: Always. The nuances in Anushka’s vocal performance and the Bengali-inflected Hindi are essential for the vibe.
- Research the Ifrit: A quick search into the mythology will make the cult's motivations much clearer.
- Watch for the Red Herrings: The movie throws a few "rules" at you early on that it later breaks or subverts. Don't assume you know how the "monster" works.
Actionable Takeaways for Cinema Lovers
If you want to understand why Pari Not a Fairytale matters for the future of the genre, look at the production house, Clean Slate Filmz. They’ve consistently backed projects that challenge the status quo.
- Compare and Contrast: Watch this back-to-back with Tumbbad. You’ll see how Indian horror is moving toward "folk-horror" which is way more effective than traditional jumpscares.
- Analyze the Gender Roles: Notice how the film flips the "damsel in distress" trope on its head. Rukhsana is powerful, but that power is also her prison.
- Support Original IP: In an era of endless sequels and remakes, supporting weird, original stories like this is the only way we get more of them.
The film serves as a reminder that the scariest things aren't always the monsters under the bed. Sometimes, they're the things we try to "save" or the "righteous" people who think they have the right to destroy what they don't understand. It’s a grim, beautiful, and deeply uncomfortable piece of cinema that lingers long after the credits roll.