Despite having an abundance of mythology and folklore at its disposal, the regional filmmakers of Assam have shown little interest in exploring the rich genre possibilities that can be drawn from its history – fictional or otherwise. In that regard, Siddharth Shasta, a faculty member of the Screen Acting Department at FTII, Pune, deserves credit for recognizing the untapped potential of such narratives. His Baazingg Khwatai (The Cursed Deity), a Hindi feature film with a mix of Assamese and non-Assamese cast, was released exclusively in the cinema halls of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on 8 May 2026.
A fictional story set in Assam that takes the best creative benefit of the region’s history of tantric traditions, Baazingg Khwatai tries to pack mystery and suspense along with a mild touch of horror. The story begins with a series of gruesome murders that pushes the region into a state of fear. All the killings share a similar peculiarity – beheaded victims. While the investigation is underway, the police are yet to arrive at any definitive answers.
Meanwhile, in a parallel storyline, officer Tribhuvan’s (Siddhartha Sharma) daughter, Pooja (Pooja Chetry), returns home from her studies to carry out an academic project. The subject she chooses is a forgotten ancient goddess named Khwatai. As she visits the trenches of rural Assam to find more clues about the age-old faith system, Pooja is kidnapped by masked men. This is where the two storylines converge, which makes officer Tribhuvan desperately motivated to stop the unfortunate from happening.
For its relatively modest budget, the production design of Baazingg Khwatai is moderately successful in creating an unsettling effect out of its atmospheric sensibilities. But the shabbiness of its direction weighs on the possible and intended impact of the film. To put it in a different way, the film had all the right ingredients for a cold and biting suspense thriller, but it appears generic at best. This is because of the weak writing and direction.
The graph of the narrative is virtually non-existent. It just moves from one plot point to the other, with unnecessary songs in between. Even for an investigative drama, it had too many breathing spaces in between. And for the same reasons, it also feels as though the film purposefully didn’t want to become the taut thriller that the trailer had promised.
Further, when a know-it-all monk character appears, the film takes the ultimate shortcut of all. He hands out all the details to the police officer about a cult that worships goddess Khwatai. He also alerts him about the Saptdarshi Akhand Ahatam, a rare occasion that comes only once in 400 years, and hence the preparation for an ultimate sacrifice to revive the goddess. After that, the police just act on this information and find the missing girl.
Partly arresting and partly goofy, the best quality of the film is that it doesn’t shy away from the brutality of cult worshipping and human sacrifice. But while the horrifying scenes will definitely disturb a sensitive viewer, a horror enthusiast will only be half-satisfied. The makers had the opportunity to elevate the experience and give the film a visual treatment similar to that of The Wailing (2016) through a sickly visual palette, but it seems like they lost out on that opportunity.
Written by Siddharth Shasta, Baazingg Khwatai is a carnival of multiple genre ideas bubbling inside the same film. It could have been a heavy folk horror like Apostle (2018) or an investigative thriller like The Wicker Man (1973), but it chooses only to be a little of both. There’s not only the perspective of the investigator but also that of the abductors and the abducted. Had this been done through more adept hands, it would have been an achievement, but as it stands, it results in an objective third-person perspective that fails to create any engagement with either of the perspectives.
Other demerits of the film include the choice to make the Assamese actors converse in Hindi and its easy association of queer identities with immoral activities. And about the performances, there are some commanding notes from Alwin D. as Mahindra, Jijoy Rajagopal as Darjing, Anshul Tyagi as Nakoda, and Vivek Mishra as monk Bitupon, but Siddhartha Sharma as officer Tribhuvan remains just serviceable. Further, there is not much contribution from Novkishor Dutta as Sunil Mishra and Pooja Chetry as Pooja either.
Therefore, in its overall assessment, Baazingg Khwatai remains a forgettable film that will likely come up only in discussions of films based on folklore and mythology, or in conversations about the gaze adopted by non-Assamese filmmakers when depicting subjects rooted in Assam.
Some recent Hindi films made by Assamese and non-Assamese filmmakers with Assam as their subject and context are Shivam (2011) by Anshuman Barua, 18.11: A Code of Secrecy (2014) by Mohibul Haque, Aisa Yeh Jahaan (2015) by Biswajeet Bora, Dooor (2016) by Anshuman Barua, III Smoking Barrels (2017) by Sanjib Dey, Purab Ki Awaaz (2017) by Chandra Mudoi, Pepper Chicken (2020) by Ratan Sil Sarma, Shadow Assassins (2022) by Nilaanjan Reeta Datta, Kooki (2024) by Pranab J Deka, Bihu Attack (2026) by Suzad Iqbal Khan, Ohh My Dog (2026) by Amit Rai, Harrd Disk (2026) by Udoyrraj Baruah, etc. Shot in Tinsukia and its nearby areas, Baazingg Khwatai (2026) is the latest addition to the lot. It ran in the cinema halls of Assam for two weeks.