Bhoot Chaturdashi

Be careful. That has the camera and lenses.

You deserve the Nobel Prize for your extraordinary IQ.

How can you put the camera kit in the boot?

Do you want me to rig it to the car?

Just a two days to go for the Kali festival...

Documentary or road trip?

First decide on that.

It's called multitasking. We'll do both.

And there's a special reason.

That's a secret between me and your mom.

You're going to shoot a documentary without a crew.

It's not a big budget film.

The spookiness of the house will be lost if there's a crowd.

You're there to help me out, my assistant director.

I don't think so.

Pritha and I are going to chill.

By the way, why are you bringing Pritha?

You know I can't stand her. Such a nag!

Please don't say mean things about her. She's my best friend.

Stop fighting and drive. They must be waiting.

"They"?

What's taking them so long?

Idiot!

It's them.

- You took your time! - Finally!

Pritha? All set?

What do you mean?

You guys are so late.

Do you know how long we've been waiting for you?

What's up? You couldn't find our location?

We're late because of Rono.

Hi, I'm Debu. Pritha's boyfriend.

Nothing is final yet.

- Oh, baby... - Behave yourself.

Amazing!

No smoking in here. The AC is on.

Can you crank up the AC? Very hot.

Nice.

Do you have anything to drink?

Debu?

Just water, sir. Want some?

Yes...

I'm your driver. Always at your service.

He's so sweet.

Shreya, please give me the snacks. I'm very hungry.

I've the traditional 14 leafy veggie dish.

My mom made it for "Bhoot Chaturdoshi", the day of the ancestors.

- Do you want some ? - What? I'm not eating that.

I'm sure she packed the almanac as well.

Yeah, the one by Beni Madhav Sil. It's kept more carefully than Rono's camera.

I just knew it.

"Jharna Ghee", "Boroline", almanac...

Bengalis and their loyalties.

What about when you post selfies during the Bengali New Year?

With the hastag, "small bindi and light lipstick."

Rono, you're very mean.

Do you have cards? We can play some poker.

- Will tarot cards do? - Yes!

Not those. I got them for the shoot.

- Anyway, I don't believe in tarot. - Please, Rono.

Okay, go ahead.

First turn, Pritha.

Well, I've no idea about these.

- Hey, who asked you to look? - What do you mean?

- Oh, s***! - What is it?

Number 13. The death card.

- Hey, how mean... - It doesn't only mean death.

I know.

Death is like the Phoenix in tarot.

The Phoenix rises from the ashes even after everything is destroyed.

Exactly. Death is a new beginning.

Like this roadtrip.

A journey that's going to change our lives.

And who knows, maybe for the better.

Right?

Bro, you're like Socrates.

But what if death means death. Then what?

What are you talking about?

Debu, your turn.

Okay.

- What happened? - What was that?

Rono...

- What was that? - What was that?

What was...

- S***! S***! S***! - Did you hit something?

Rono, wait. Don't go out there alone.

Debu, please go with him.

- Yeah, yeah, I'm going. Chill. - Shreya, we should go too.

Let's go.

Rono, what...

It's okay. Let's go back to the car.

Shreya, bring Rono. Come on. Get inside the car.

Rono, let's go. Let's go, Rono.

- I didn't... I didn't see it.. - It's okay.

Just forget about it. Let's go.

Rono, come on.

- It's okay. Rono, come. - It was completely squished.

Pritha, will he be able to drive?

Just ask him or else I'll drive.

Can you drive?

- Are you okay, Rono? - Will you be able to drive?

Okay, fine. Let's go.

THE NIGHT OF THE ANCESTORS

What do you want to eat?

A toast for me. And Pritha, you?

Whole wheat and egg whites.

Don't be stupid. You won't find it here.

Then I don't want anything. I'm on a diet.

- Do whatever you please. - Okay.

- Do you want firecrackers? - Yes!

Three teas, please.

What's there to eat?

- Eggs, toast, whatever you want. - Three eggs with toast, please.

- How much are these sparklers for? - 40 bucks.

That's expensive. Anyway, give me more of these.

- Excuse me, I was looking... - You won't find any liqour here.

The police have raided the place twice already.

Not alcohol. I'm looking for an address.

Whose address?

Which hotel are we staying in?

- Is our room booked? - Small problem.

We're not staying at any hotel. We'll go straight to the haunted house.

What house?

- Lokhhi's house, close to Ajoy river. - Okay.

There used to be a Santhal village there but now it's just forest.

I've never been to that area.

But everyone knows about that house here.

We're going to stay there tonight.

Are you kidding?

You rich kids have strange ways of having fun.

Is it a prank?

Are we to stay going to stay in a haunted house in the middle of a forest ?

Debu, relax.

We're not from the archeological survey. Why should I relax?

Shreya is my oldest friend.

I'm sure she has a plan.

So don't worry. And let's buy the firecrackers.

Give me a few fire spinners.

What kind of ghosts are there in that house?

It's not the kind of ghost you read about in books.

Do you know what a ghoul is?

- Ghoul? - One moment...

Material... Give me the camera.

Can you speak into the camera please?

Do you know what a ghoul is?

There are no harmless ghosts in that house.

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in our Philosophy."

One of my nephews was a shaman.

He would say the inhabitant of that house is a creature from hell.

No one could dare remove the spirit from that house.

It wasn't just Rabindranath Tagore.

The Tagore family's relationship with the supernatural world...

...has been shrouded in mystery.

Shantiniketan is a temple for us.

It's a place of purity, holy place.

If you talk rubbish, we'll skin you alive.

I began my research on the Tagore family's black magic practises.

My funding stopped in a month.

I was asked not to dig any deeper.

I don't leave the hostel after dark.

I haven't seen any ghosts but I've heard a lot of stories.

Ghosts?

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear Shantiniketan?

Peace.

There was a Santhal village near Bolpur.

A long time ago, a girl was born there.

She was called Lokhhi.

Not a lot of people knew that she was an illegitimate child of the Tagore family.

The gentleman had gone abroad to study voodoo.

It was believed that Lokhhi was born with supernatural abilities.

Did people know about Lokhhi?

Everyone knew.

The tantrics would say that Lokhhi was a reincarnation of Goddess Chamunda.

She had descended on Earth to protect her devotees from unjust tyranny.

After they heard about it, the Tagores built her a mansion in the forest.

But it was more of a prison.

Because Lokhhi was imprisoned there.

The villagers called her a witch.

The tantrics worshipped her like a goddess.

They imprisoned a little girl.

Didn't the police take any action?

Police didn't get a chance to do anything.

Tantrics say if you want to pacify the goddess...

...you must return her child to her.

So, it was decided to sacrifice Lokhhi on the night of "Bhoot Chaturdoshi".

But not on the guillotine.

Because the goddess isn't scared of blood.

According to myths, she destroyed the blood demon with her bare hands.

That's why, Lokhhi was cremated alive.

Hail Goddess Chamunda! Hail Goddess Chamunda!

Rise, Goddess, rise!

Hail Goddess Chamunda! Hail Goddess Chamunda!

Rise, Goddess, rise!

Rise, Mother Goddess, rise!

Hail Goddess Chamunda!

You've been hungry for a long time, Mother Goddess.

I've brought you my offering.

Hail Goddess Chamunda! Hail Goddess Chamunda!

Rise Goddess, rise!

Don't cry my baby. You're such a good girl, Lokhhi.