Ankahi, a supernatural thriller, mirrors social and cultural unease

Those who follow popular culture know that horror’s surge is no accident. It mirrors social and cultural unease, and horror tales thrive in uncertain times by externalising fears. With Sinners in theatres and Khauf on OTT, Aadyam Theatre opened its eighth season this past week with the premiere of Vikranth Pawar’s Ankahiat Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi.

Over the course of 90 minutes, one discovers how horror — on stage — is one of the most powerful and perhaps an underrated way to experience fear. Unlike films, where cameras and editing control what you see and artificially build tension, live theatre, when projected well, makes its scares feel immediate and unpredictable.

A Hindi adaptation of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, which was famously adapted for the West End by Stephen Mallatratt, Ankahi unfolds as a meta-psychological thriller, infused with strong supernatural elements. It is the story of Sandeepan Chauhan (Gopal Datt), a middle-aged lawyer burdened by a terrifying secret from his past that he has never been able to voice or escape. Desperate to confront this unspoken (ankahi) truth, he seeks the help of a young, rational theatre actor played by Rohit Chaudhary, who has also adapted the play.

What begins as a collaborative rehearsal, where Sandeepan tries to turn his real-life ordeal into a staged performance, gradually draws both the characters and the audience into his traumatic memories of an encounter with a malevolent spirit.

Sandeepan re-enacts a seemingly routine professional assignment — he travels to the misty and marshy Sunderbans to settle the estate of a deceased woman, Fatima Ilyas. As the ‘performance’ progresses, Sandeepan’s recollection reveals a disturbing encounter with a mysterious, gaunt figure. This leads to a tragic tale of loss, unresolved maternal grief and vengeance.

The line between memory and reality steadily blurs as the young actor gets deeper into the narrative, while the supernatural curse tied to Sandeepan’s past begins to manifest in the present — suggesting that some truths cannot be contained or exorcised simply by telling them. The play tests the limits of rationality and confronts the conspiracy of silence. 

Vikranth, best known for bringing Disney’s Beauty and the Beast to the Indian stage, follows the original’s minimalist two-actor format, clever use of sound, set design, lighting and audience imagination to create the mood and menace without ornate spectacle. Whether it is a train on rails or a pony and trap ride, Vikranth hand-holds us, with the feisty dog — Tara — in tow, into the haunting mystery that awaits us.

The adaptation does not probe the curse nor does it delve deeply into Indian experiences of trauma and silence, and as a result, it misses an opportunity to engage more intensely with socio-political, cultural anxieties and beliefs. However, the performances and atmospheric tension remain gripping.

Actor Gopal Datt shifts from his familiar screen persona to convey layered trauma, father’s regret and mounting dread. Sandeepan’s scepticism evolves convincingly into fear, creating believable tension. In a two-actor piece, chemistry is everything. The play works because their interactions make the supernatural feel invasive. The meta-layer, where one character directs the other and the ghost tells its story through them, creates a shift in the power dynamics; with humor turning to horror and emotional vulnerability overtaking you.

Together, they remind us that the most terrifying experiences are those we stage ourselves.

(Ankahi  will be staged on April 18 and 19 at NCPA, Mumbai)