13B (2009)

Director:

Vikram K. Kumar

Writers:

Abhinav Kashyap (dialogue)
Vikram K. Kumar (written by)

Release Date:

6 March 2009 (India)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear has a new address

Plot:

In today's world, the major source of relief, information and entertainment is the TV. So much so, that...

Plot Keywords:

Television | Television Show | Death By Hanging | Supernatural Power | Spook

Cast

Madhavan	...	R. Manohar (as R. Madhavan)
Neetu Chandra	...	Priya
Poonam Dhillon	...	Manohar's Mother
Sachin Khedekar	...	Dr. Shinde
Dhritiman Chatterjee	...	Kamdar (as Dhrithiman Chaterjee)
Deepak Dobriyal	...	Ashok
Murli Sharma	...	Cop (as Murali Sharma)
Amar Upadhyaya		(as Amar Upadhayay)
Vinan Jain		(as Vinay Jain)
Suhasini Mulay
Meera Vasudevan
Sampath Raj	...	Adv. Ram Charan (as Sampath)
Sanjaih Bokaria	...	R. Manoj (as Sanjaih)

Also Known As:

Yavarum Nalam (India: Tamil title) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

137 min | USA:146 min

Country:

India

Language:

Tamil | Hindi

Color:

Color | Black and White

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | India:A (cinema release) | UK:15

Company:

Big Pictures

Trivia:

The majority of the film takes place inside an apartment. A temporary shooting floor was created from scratch in Egmore, Chennai inside which an elaborate apartment set was erected.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Electrician sent by Manohar to drill holes in the Pooja room gets a shock, we can see the electric socket on the wall, but later when Manohar is checking the room the wall is bare. Additionally, when Manohar is hammering the nails the first time and enters the Puja room, there is no electrical socket. So the electrical outlet was stuck to the wall only when the Eletrician comes in.

Movie Connections:

Version of Yaavarum Nalam (2009)

13B - An Average Thriller!!

13B, produced by Big Pictures and directed by Vikram Kumar is more of a thriller with a slight hint of horror, is an average movie. 13B lacks the energy that a thriller movie needs to carry right till the end. Again this movie is engaging and makes you cling on to your seats only in parts. The script is let loose on most of the occasions. However 13B doesn't disappoint once you're done watching it.

13B's protagonist Manohar(Madhavan)an civil engineer moves in to a new flat 13B with his family. Strange events follow, after their entrance into the building. Every event makes Manohar aware of the presence of something that's very unusual like the camera in his phone or the lift in the building. Till one day when he finds out that a daily soap on TV which starts siring at exactly 13:00 p.m resembles the story of his own family and how the family's future is dependent on the Daily Soap. A series of unpleasant incidents follow, making Manohar desperate to solve the mystery about the Soap and characters in it. He goes on to find out, how a family was brutally murdered in 1977 in their home which marked the same house number and address as his own apartment. The uncanny events that follow are something to seriously watch out for.

13B is an sincere attempt by the débutant director Vikram Kumar to give the audience a good movie but he just manages to make it a average watch. 13B's main highlight are the actors, who have done a stupendous job. Madhavan is absolutely spot on with a very good performance supported well by the rest of the cast. Not impressive but certainly good are the old creepy sound scares. 13B could have been better had there been no songs.

Music of 13B is by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and is nothing to be talked about. The music is ordinary and totally unnecessary provided the theme of the movie. Background Scores by Tubby and Parik are definitely good.

At the end of the day, 13B is an average movie. Go with no expectations and you may well like it.

I will go with 7 out of 10 for Vikram Kumar's 13B.

Raghav Movie Critic, Writer's Lounge.

For more reviews: www.raghavthecritic.blogspot.com