The recently released film Shaitaan has garnered massive praise from audiences and critics alike. Directed by Vikas Bahl, the film touches upon topics such as black magic and hypnosis. Shaitaan stars Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Jyothika, Janki Bodiwala & Anngad Raaj as central characters. R Madhavan plays the role of the antagonist, Vanraj, who wants to control the entire world. Shaitaan is an official remake of the super hit Gujarati film, Vash which was released in 2023. Janki Bodiwala played the same role in the Gujarati version as well.
Shaitaan is definitely one of the most brilliantly executed films in recent times. The story, paired with the stunning visuals and perfectly aligned background score, keeps audiences on the edge of their seats at all times. Additionally, each actor brilliantly plays their part. Especially, R Madhavan & Janki Bodiwala steal the show. R Madhavan, as Vanraj, terrifies you just by looking at him, and Janki’s role as Janvi is also extremely convincing as a girl influenced by hypnosis. Devgn’s Kabir and Jyothika’s Jyoti also deliver great performances as parents fighting to save their children from the clutches of evil.
Where did Kabir and his family meet Vanraj?
Shaitaan starts with Kabir traveling to his farmhouse with his family for quality time. The family consists of Kabir, his wife Jyoti; Janvi, their daughter and Dhruv, their son. During the road trip, they halt at a cafe for refreshments. While looking for change, Kabir meets Vanraj, a seemingly normal man. Vanraj soon joins the family at their table, having breakfast together. Vanraj offers Janvi a Laddoo, and she innocently has it. However, she soon begins to experience a strange feeling and starts listening to everything Vanraj says. Before they leave, Vanraj gives her a packet of biscuits and asks her to eat it after reaching the farmhouse. She does so, and this further deepens Vanraj’s control over Janvi.
A while later, Vanraj unexpectedly appears at the farmhouse, claiming his phone battery died, and requests shelter until it is charged. Despite Jyoti’s suspicions about how he found them, Kabir welcomes him in. However, Janvi’s behavior soon turns alarming when, under Vanraj’s influence, she frightens Dhruv during their playtime on the swing. Kabir and Jyoti, concerned and confused, reprimands Janvi for her actions.
Did the police help Kabir and his family?
During dinner, Vanraj gets too involved in their private conversation, upsetting Kabir. Kabir tries to make him leave, but Vanraj refuses and reveals that he’s controlling Janvi using dark magic. Janvi starts behaving strangely, following Vanraj’s every command. Later, the police show up because someone called for help. Following this, Vanraj makes Janvi sit on a leaking gas cylinder and asks her to light it up if anyone tries to alarm the police. They lie to the police to protect themselves. Even though the police leave, the family is still in danger from Vanraj’s control.
Kabir offers Vanraj a lot of money and jewelry in return for him to let go of his family. Initially, it seems like Vanraj accepts it and leaves, but the family soon realizes that Janvi is still under the spell. Vanraj comes back and keeps torturing the family and asks them to give in to his request of letting Janvi go off with him. He goes to sleep, and before dozing off, he orders Janvi to kill anyone who tries to come near him.
Kabir and Jyoti manage to take the knife away from Janvi and try to stop Vanraj. In retaliation, Vanraj then orders Janvi to hurt her brother Dhruv. She obeys and pushes Dhruv off the terrace, causing him serious injury. Vanraj leaves with Janvi, leaving Kabir and Jyoti desperate to save her.
Jyoti rushes Dhruv to the hospital while Kabir, determined to rescue Janvi, reveals he had secretly put a tracker on Vanraj’s phone. Tracking Vanraj’s location, Kabir prepares to confront him and save Janvi from his clutches. Vanraj leads Janvi through a dense jungle to his hidden base, where he cruelly keeps other girls under his control.
Shaitaan ending: Was Kabir able to save Janvi from Vanraj?
Vanraj has a huge bowl of black dolls and one red doll. He instructs the girls that as he throws each black doll into the fire, they all start moving closer to the fire, and when he finally throws the red doll, all the girls should jump into the fire. He also reveals the intention behind his sacrifice. After the sacrifice is completed, Vanraj can control anyone just by looking at them. He will become the most powerful person in the world.
Vanraj successfully throws all the black dolls and is about to throw the red doll. However, Kabir arrives just in time and confronts Vanraj. Despite being brutally thrashed by Vanraj’s henchmen, Kabir tries not to give up. Kabir silences Vanraj by severing his tongue and casting it into the flames in a bold move. The enslaved girls rush towards Kabir and try killing him as Vanraj previously instructed the girls to kill anyone who tries to stop him. In a shocking twist, Kabir plays a recording of Vanraj’s voice, uttering the phrase “I free you.” This breaks the spell, freeing Janvi and the others from Vanraj’s control and restoring them to their true selves.
It is revealed that Kabir previously used Dhruv’s recording machine and tricked Vanraj into uttering those words. The scene shifts to a hospital, where the police come and thank Kabir for his bravery. He is informed that all the girls are returned to safety. In the mid-credits scene, a year later, Kabir picks up a dead rat from the jungle and arrives at a desolate room underneath a building. Kabir captured Vanraj. The film ends with Kabir keeping Vanraj captured in the dark room without any proper food or water and Vanraj crying for help.
