Raat / Raatri

Story:

Raat (Hindi) or Raatri (Telugu), meaning “Night,” is a 1992 Indian supernatural horror film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. Filmed simultaneously in both Hindi and Telugu, it features Revathi in the lead role. The background score, entirely instrumental and without songs, was composed by Mani Sharma in his debut as a music composer.

The film is notable for bringing the horror genre into the mainstream of Indian cinema. It also holds the distinction of being the last Telugu and Hindi film shot on 70 mm film. Upon release, Raat was met with favorable reviews.

Plot

A family of four moves into a house rumored to be haunted. College student Manisha Sharma, known as Mini (Revathi), lives there with her father Mr. Sharma (Akash Khurana), mother Shalini (Rohini Hattangadi), and young nephew Bunty (Master Atit). Mini is in a relationship with her classmate Deepak (Kushant). One day, Bunty discovers a mysterious-looking cat in the basement with unnerving, staring eyes. Tragically, the cat is accidentally run over by Mr. Sharma and secretly buried in the backyard without Bunty’s knowledge.

Soon after, Bunty encounters a new cat that looks exactly like the one that died. This marks the beginning of disturbing events. On a trip with Deepak, Mini is left alone by a pond while he fetches a spare tyre. When he returns, he finds her eerily transformed—her eyes glowing red like the cat’s—and is startled into falling into the water. Just then, Mini seems to return to normal and calls out to him.

Later, Mini attends a wedding with her friend Rashmi, who is brutally murdered—her neck twisted grotesquely. While interrogated, Mini eerily mirrors the injury using her doll. The investigating officer soon dies in a mysterious accident. Fearing for their daughter, Mini’s parents seek help. Shalini turns to their superstitious neighbor Nirmalamma, who suggests calling Sharji (Om Puri), a spiritual healer from Falaknuma. Mr. Sharma, skeptical of the supernatural, consults a psychiatrist (Ananth Nag), believing a scientific approach like MRI scans will help Mini.

Sharji, meanwhile, consults his meditating guru (Vijayachander) and receives sacred ashes as protection. He discovers the spirit haunting Mini is that of Sunanda, the former owner’s mistress, who was violently murdered and buried beneath the basement. Sunanda’s ghost kills her murderer in a grisly fashion, emerging from the bed to twist his neck.

As the haunting escalates and Mini becomes increasingly possessed, Sharji confronts the spirit using chants and the ashes. Ultimately, the ghost is expelled from Mini’s body in a dramatic, thunderous climax.

While scientific methods are pursued to treat Mini, Sharji warns that such darkness doesn’t completely disappear—it only recedes temporarily.