Census Bloodbath: Re-Modeled

Note: The only copy of this movie that I could access was in unsubtitled Hindi, so take my review with a huge grain of salt.

Year:
1984
Director:
I.V. Sasi
Cast:
Kamal Haasan, Reena Roy, Tina Munim
Run Time:
2 hours 10 minutes

Plot: Karishmaa follows photographer Sunny (Kamal Haasan, who also starred in the 1981 Kollywood movie of which this is a remake, Tik Tik Tik) as he befriends a group of models and begins dating one of them, Nisha (Reena Roy). When they begin dying one by one, he becomes the prime suspect.

Analysis: It is not uncommon for successful regional Indian films to be adapted into full-scale Hindi-language Bollywood productions, so it was perhaps inevitable that we'd be retracing our steps with an Indian slasher at some point. Although the Tamil-language movie Tik Tik Tik was not a success in its original run (nor did it really deserve to be), a Telugu-language dub later found a major audience, and I guess that was enough for Bollywood to snap it up, along with its original star.

Considering the fact that it's the same guy giving the same performance in the same story, it's a little hard to review Karishmaa on its own merits. In fact, it's practically a scene-for-scene remake (down to the weird moment where the horse shot glasses behind the main character's head trigger a neighing noise on the soundtrack whenever they appear), so the only texture comes from the slight differences between the two movies.

For instance, thanks to some careful tweaking, Karishmaa is even less of a horror movie than Tik Tik Tik, instead amplifying the action scenes. While this was annoying for the purposes of Census Bloodbath, it at least allowed for certain pleasures like the stately Bond villain of the original movie being transmogrified into an Evil Karate Guy.

Unfortunately, a great many of the changes that were made are for the worse. The main character is still a pathetic sleazebag (even more so, in fact) and they've given him a disgustingly precocious child sidekick this time around, just to rub salt in the wound. Plus, while the lingering specter of rape culture was present in every scene of the previous movie, Karishmaa adds a sexual assault element to the opening murder that pulls the subtext into text in a particularly gross way.

There are some good changes, at least. The kills we do get are slightly more grody and intense, which elevates the slasher element somewhat in spite of the fact that horror in general is hardly a priority here. Also, the musical numbers here are actively good rather than being bland lumps of nothing. 

The choreography (which includes a number where Nisha keeps teleporting around Sunny, and a fun moment where the couple is dancing with one another face-up on the ground) is creative and well-performed. Actually, Kamal Haasan is such a charming dancer that I almost liked his character more than I did in Tik Tik Tik.

That said, I enjoyed watching Karishmaa slightly less overall, presumably because I was essentially watching the exact same movie within a few hours of seeing the original. The changes aren't major enough to stand out, and the more or less even balance between good and bad changes results in the whole thing being kind of a wash.

Killer: Evil Karate Guy and His Henchmen

Final Girl: Sunny (Kamal Haasan) feat. Nisha (Reena Roy)

Best Kill: Even though I object to it lacking the operatic melodrama of the villain's death in Tik Tik Tik, Evil Karate Guy is crushed by a statue that falls on him, which is still a pretty exciting way to go.

Sign of the Times: The opening credits sequence is a disco meltdown featuring Sunny dancing in silhouette as eye-searing colors surge across the screen.

Scariest Moment: Sunny takes photos of Nisha while a fan is blowing her skirt up, and we're meant to like him. (This doubles as a secondary Sign of the Times.)

Weirdest Moment: Sunny discovers an important clue because he is woken up by it while napping on the beach.

Champion Dialogue: N/A

Body Count: 5; not including a goon who gets dragged on the ground by horses, but whose fate we never specifically learn.

1. Model #1 has a diamond carved out of her with a knife.
2. Model #2 is stabbed in the chest offscreen.
3. Goon is shot.
4. Bearded Guy dies of wounds sustained in a fight.
5. Evil Karate Guy is crushed by a falling statue.

TL;DR: Kharishmaa is a mostly useless remake, with the good changes and bad changes largely canceling each other out.

Rating: 5/10

Census Bloodbath: Boom

Note: The only copy of this movie that I could access was in unsubtitled Tamil, so take my review with a huge grain of salt.

Year:
1981
Director:
Bharathiraja
Cast:
Kamal Haasan, Madhavi, Radha
Run Time:
2 hours 15 minutes

Plot: Tik Tik Tik follows photographer Dilip (Kamal Haasan, who also starred in this film's Bollywood remake, Karishmaa), who makes friends with a group of models and ends up dating one of them, Sharadha (Madhavi). When the models begin dying one by one, Dilip becomes the prime suspect. He strives to protect Sharadha and discover the identity of the real killer while avoiding the police.

Analysis: I have seen quite a few Indian slashers from the early 1980s at this point, and the majority of them are boring. While I can't say that I liked Tik Tik Tik either, it is certainly never boring.

The second half of the movie is something I can fully get on board with. It takes Indian cinema's habit of blending horror with the romance and musical genres and goes one step further by adding an action-crime component with a full-on James Bond villain thrown in for good measure (he doesn't have a cat, but he does roll around shirtless on a bed of diamonds, which is just as good).

The movie is over-the-top and kooky as hell once it really gets rolling. However, it takes a looooooong time for it to get to that point. The first hour is a real slog, for a multitude of reasons. This includes the erratic editing, which I think is supposed to build Dilip's photography into the visual schema of the movie by shoving in random still images. This almost never works, instead making Tik Tik Tik feel distracted and manic.

Also, the lead is an abrasive, bumbling, "don't take no for an answer," lecherous idiot. I was never once on his side, and it was tough to be asked to root for him on his two-hour-plus adventure. He never improves, it's just that the movie eventually adds enough other material to drown him out.

Another demerit for Tik Tik Tik is that, considering how many other subgenres it's balancing, it doesn't focus much of its time on being an effective slasher. While the erratic editing does result in a few genuinely horrific images (largely via superimposed shots that combine two of the movie's manic moments), there are no onscreen kills and the murder plot frequently takes a backseat to underbaked romance or flop-sweaty slapstick. 

Oh, and the musical numbers are pretty boring. They lack bombast and just kind of sit there taking up space.

All in all, I guess I wasn't furious that I watched it, but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone but the most slasher faithful among us.

Killer: Oberoi (Shamasundar L. Asrani) and His Henchmen

Final Girl: Dilip (Kamal Haasan) feat. Sharadha (Madhavi)

Best Kill: The ultimate death of the villain Oberoi is melodramatic as all hell. He swallows all the diamonds that he smuggled into the country (via the models that he has murdered) and shoots himself on the front steps as the police approach. It's quite a scene.

Sign of the Times: There are more corded phones in this movie than characters.

Scariest Moment: Sharadha is menaced by an underwater assailant while swimming in a pool.

Weirdest Moment: In one scene, every time Dilip moves his head to reveal the horse-themed shot glasses that are on the shelf behind him, there is a neighing noise on the soundtrack.

Champion Dialogue: N/A

Body Count: 7; give or take - it was not always easy to tell exactly what was happening, and to whom.

1. Sherley (Sarika Thakur of Sannata and Karishmaa) is killed offscreen.
2. Swapna is stabbed in the chest with a knife offscreen.
3. Radha is killed offscreen.
4. Ambulance Driver is killed offscreen.
5. Woman is shot in the back.
6. Goon is shot by the police.
7. Oberoi shoots himself in the head.

TL;DR: Tik Tik Tik is a kooky good time, but only after you slog through the first hour.

Rating: 6/10