Alone (2015 film)

Plot summary

The movie starts on a stormy night in Kerala. A large tree branch falls and breaks the roof of an out-house, releasing a dark entity. The woman who inspects the out-house ends up in a hospital suffering from a coma.

In another town her daughter Sanjana (Bipasha Basu) and her husband Kabir (Karan Singh Grover) argue about not being able to spend her birthday together. Sanjana gets a call about her mothers accident and they quickly fly to Kerala. In Kerala, Sanjana begins having paranormal visions that make her believe that her dead conjoined twins soul is after her. Her husband does not believe her and sends her to his former Professor for spiritual healing.

During the healing sessions she tells the Professor about how her conjoined twin Anjana (Bipasha Basu) always disliked that Kabir liked Sanjana more than her. In fact it was when Kabir told Sanjana that he was coming back home from abroad that Sanjana decided to separate from Anjana. It was during this operation that Anjana died, and Sanjana blames herself for her sisters death. The Professor reassures her that when she sees Anjana in her visions it is the result of her guilt and only a figment of her subconscious.

Back at her mothers place, while getting water at night Sanjana is abducted into the out-house by an unseen entity. Hearing noises Kabir wakes up and finds her unconscious in the out-house. We later learn that Sanjana is now possessed by Anjanas soul.

After this, Sanjana/Anjana cant seem to get enough of Kabir. When the professor meets her again he feels there is something wrong and tells Kabir to keep an eye on her, which she overhears.

The caretaker suggests for them to have a ritual performed after her daughter-in-law sees Sanjana/Anjana messing with the dog. After the ritual Anjanas stronghold escalades and her true colours are shown, resulting in an exorcist being called in.

During the exorcism Anjana reveals that she was actually murdered and urges Kabir to find the truth as she leaves Sanjanas body. After Sanjana wakes up, Kabir threatens to leave her, then Sanjana tells him about years ago when he called her to tell her that he was coming home, Anjana lost her mind and tried to kill her because she too had feelings for Kabir. In self-defence Sanjana hit Anjana on the head with Anjanas glass music box, killing her accidentally. Their mother covered the murder to protect her daughter. After consulting with the Professor they try to find and burn the last remaining thing of Anjana that will set her soul free.

Sanjana, Kabir, the caretaker and her daughter-in-law all go into the out-house following music. There, under the floor they find the dead body of Anjana. The Caretaker and her daughter-in-law go inside to get kerosene to burn the body. The two of them instead end up dead. Then the Professor arrives at the out-house with kerosene, but is actually possessed by Anjana and attacks Sanjana. While Kabir fights him, he finds the locket he gave to Sanjana when they were both young, on what is supposed to be Anjanas dead body. When he confronts Sanjana about it, she finally confesses that she is actually Anjana and she was the one who killed Sanjana with the music box and took her sisters place so she could be with Kabir. Outraged, Kabir decides to leave her despite of her trying to convince him that she loves him, so she hits him on the head with a chair while trying to stop him, but Sanjanas soul stops Anjana while the burning roof falls on Anjana, saving Kabir and the Professor.

Cast

Critical reception

Trade Analyst Komal Nahta said "Alone is an entertaining fare and will do fair business at the box-office." "Bipasha Basu does a splendid job of both, Sanjana and Anjana. She looks sexy and glamorous, acts wonderfully and also exposes uninhibitedly. Karan Singh Grover makes an impressive debut on the big screen. He looks handsome and has screen presence. He acts very ably."

India TV stated that "With some genuine scary moments and Bipasha-Karans scorching chemistry, Alone stands apart from numerous horrible horror flicks made in the past. Bipasha Basu as a terrified lady in the beginning while as a ghost herself shines, Karan Singh Gorver flaunts his acting skills with same exactness that he carries while flaunting his body when required."

Filmfare gave it a 3 stars and said "The only reason why Alone will work is for its erotic packaging. Those looking for a genuine scary movie will only get bad rehashes of scenes from The Conjuring and other popular Hollywood fare." Talking about the performances "Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover dig deep into their respective convictions and give good performances. Both look absolutely stunning in the frames"

Times of India gave it a 2.5 and said, "When you scratch the surface, you dont end up scared shitless. And isnt that what Alone is meant to do?" Although talking bout the leads the reviewer says "Bipasha looks sensuous and Karan Singh Grover makes an interesting big screen debut"

Bollywood Hungama gave it 2 stars and said "On the whole, ALONE is a below average fare that has a commendable performance by Bipasha Basu" Praising debutant Karan SIngh Grovers performance it says "Karan Singh Grover makes a sprightly debut. Hes not conscious of the camera at all. Considering he has done TV, he is high on emotional appeal. He has all the trappings of being a star but he needs to choose his films more wisely. "

Zee News gave 1.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "The scenes have been lifted from various English horror films and although they have been executed fairly, they leave you a little disappointed." The India TV critic Rajeev Masand stated, "Im going with one-and-a-half out of five for Alone. Youll wish youd stayed home instead."

Critic Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave it a rating of 2 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Alone is strictly for those that have an insatiable appetite for cinematic concoctions that serve up the dual dose of sex and horror." however, the film received negative reviews from the US Cinema

Subhara gupta of The Indian Express gave it 1.5 stars out of 5 and stated it has very few mild scares.

Box office

Box Office India stated that Alone had the highest opening of the four major films released in its weekend, opening with 50% occupancy nationwide and full houses at some single screens. Daily News and Analysis stated that Alone s business of Rs 140 million and modest budget allowed for a good financial return. FilmFare also reported that the movie had a good weekend making 146.5 million in the opening weekend.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon, Raghav Sachar and Jeet Ganguly. The album consists of 4 songs.