Bhargavi Nilayam is a classic horror film that established the tone for the horror genre in Malayalam. It introduced the cliches that are now commonly seen in horror films. Most female ghost horror films in Malayalam have been variations of Bhargavi Nilayam, each with distinct sensibilities. Therefore, when remaking a film that laid the foundation for a genre, creative liberties can be challenging. While Aashiq Abu successfully created a visually captivating film, the writing and performances struggled to reinvent the dialogues and align them with the sensibilities of a generation that may not have seen the original.
The story is set in 1961, where a famous writer moves to a new town and stays in an abandoned mansion named Bhargavi Nilayam. He learns from the locals that he is staying in a haunted house where a young girl named Bhargavi committed suicide after her lover cheated on her. Our protagonist decides to investigate the story and comes up with his own theories about what might have happened to Bhargavi.
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer's humor is challenging to translate to the silver screen in today's day and age. It requires an element of grace and enthusiasm to make the sophisticated words in common conversations sound lighthearted for the viewer. Although the filmmakers succeeded in building the world in a genuine way, the conversations lacked finesse.
As a filmmaker, Aashiq Abu has a clear vision of how he wants his version of Bhargavi Nilayam to look. The wide aspect ratio provides breathing space for the film, and Neelavelicham is not heavily reliant on jump scares. Even in a sequence where the protagonist is shivering in fear, the ghost is portrayed as liberated and happy. The visual effects in the film are not overtly flashy, as seen in Vinayan's films. The dream sequence where Bhargavi wakes up to the sound of a train passing by her bed was spectacularly executed with imaginative visuals
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