Written and directed by Nuhash Humayun Chorki
Pett Kata Shaw is not so much an inter-connected collection of stories but four individual tales. There is no narrative arc or framing sequence to join them together, so viewing is like binge-watching a short series rather than a feature film. It is, however, possible to determine a rough link between the stories. The first two move traditional South Asian folklore into modern urban settings while the last pair could be psychological character studies in which events are determined by collective guilt and unresolved grief as much as supernatural developments.
Max von Sydow, when interviewed about starring in the classic horror The Exorcist explained the themes of the film had less impact upon him than the average viewer as his Scandinavian background made him regard devils as mischief makers like Loki rather than evil creatures. Which demonstrates the potential challenges arising from one culture trying to appreciate legends from another.
The demons in Pett Kata Shaw are alien and grotesque as much as scary and the opening tale moves towards a metaphysical philosophical conclusion. Apparently, South Asian djinns have a sweet tooth as one offers a devil’s bargain to Mahmud, a struggling sweet shop owner. In exchange for sweets the demon unlocks Mahmud’s memory making him, in effect, a living search engine able to recall any event. This has a beneficial effect on his business as curious customers are attracted by his abilities but becomes a personal curse for Mahmud who can recall the peace of his mother’s womb and begins to long to return to the blissful period before he was born. The horror sequences come not from physical threats but unnatural concepts such as trying to literally return to the womb.
The second story is almost a dark comedy and the tale to which viewers unfamiliar with South Asian folklore might find hardest to relate. A lonely single man, who may be obsessed with or mourning his late mother, is followed home by a “petnee,” a fanged witch drawn by the smell of fresh fish. Knowing the creature is prone to attack if eye contact is broken the protagonist is driven to extreme measures including using a previous victim as a scarecrow – propping open the eyes of a corpse to distract the demon. Accepting he is unlikely to escape, the protagonist realises he must find ways of adapting to, even befriending, the alien.
The third tale uses traditional methods of storytelling – puppets are employed to set out the plot – but tackles modern themes. A couple, one of whom is unfaithful, on a rambling holiday encounter a community whose tales, while explaining the origins of cautionary sayings and superstitions, reveal they are struggling to cope with collective guilt. Although the community’s tales have customary features – a ghastly, cursed creature obsessed with collecting human hair- it is possible to interpret the character as being persecuted for being transgender.
The final story brings the sense of an ending, the possibility the growth of urbanisation has forced supernatural creatures away from human residences into the sea from which, mermaid like, they lure the unwary to their doom. As events are determined by a flawed character unable to come to terms with the suicide of his lover, the story is as close to secular rather than supernatural and could be the grim consequences of unresolved grief.
It is unfair to judge Pett Kata Shaw as a movie because it was never intended to be one, it does, however, work as a sample of the sometimes lurid but always fascinating South Asian folktales.
Pett Kata Shaw is screening at the Raindance Film Festival 2023.
