Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani 2002

Divya Manisha Koirala and Karan Saxena Sunny Deol are in love and engaged, sharing a life built around their close circle of friends and study partners. Karan acts as a protective older brother to his younger step-brother Vivek Sonu Nigam, who navigates college life with their group of friends. The social circle includes Atul Akshay Kumar, Vijay Suniel Shetty, Divya, Abdul Arshad Warsi, Vivek, Ashok Kejriwal Aditya Pancholi, Prem Srivastav Aftab Shivdasani, Victor Sharad Kapoor, Rajesh Rajat Bedi, and Madan Siddharth Ray. The group shares a sense of camaraderie, a mix of ambition, and a few unruly impulses that ground their college years in a mix of humor and trouble.

Trouble arrives when Rajesh Rajat Bedi and Madan Siddharth Ray target Divya, attempting to molest her. Karan confronts them and takes the matter to the college principal, Professor Joseph Raj Babbar, who suggests Divya forgive the men to put the matter to rest. She agrees, hoping to move past the humiliation, but Rajesh and Madan vow revenge, setting a darker turn for the group’s dynamics. Soon after, Karan travels to London for work, leaving Divya to deal with the fallout and the escalating danger from those who want to preserve their own reputations.

In a twist that blends the present with an ancient fate, Divya’s death is not the end but a doorway. The story reveals that Divya was reborn from Vasundhara, a snake-woman, in a past life, with Kapil, a snake-man with magical powers who gains near-immortality and the ability to impersonate anything through penance. Their story is interrupted by a sage’s curse that binds them to separation until the 21st century, a fate that will revisit Divya in her new life. Kapil, scarred by the century-long wait, awakens with a fierce determination for revenge the moment he learns of Divya’s death. His powers threaten to outmatch the living, as Divya’s spirit survives and conspires with Kapil to exact vengeance upon the male members of the group who pressed Divya to the fort that night.

From the moment Divya’s soul and Kapil’s power align, the killings begin—first Madan is killed, and Divya’s presence becomes a malevolent force capable of entering bodies. Divya enters the body of Rajesh’s wife to attack him in a pivotal moment of the night’s chaos, drawing the attention of law and order as the line between the living and the dead blurs. The group looks for strategies to defend themselves, and the college principal lends supernatural support by providing protective necklaces that supposedly shield wearers from harm while they are in possession of this talismanic power. Atul, a skeptic in matters of faith, initially distrusts the talisman, but a close encounter with Kapil shifts his view as he survives an attack when the necklace grips his hand.

As the plot deepens, Divya’s involvement intensifies. She enters Prem Srivastav Aftab Shivdasani to eliminate his nemesis, Ashok Kejriwal Aditya Pancholi, and Prem’s subsequent arrest becomes tangled in a courtroom drama fueled by Rashmi Kiran Rathod’s false testimony. Rashmi’s testimony collides with loyalties within the group and with Kapoor’s ominous plan, leading to Prem’s death sentence being pronounced. Divya’s haunting influence does not stop there; she uses the spell of impersonation to frame Prem, revealing the intricate web Kapil weaves as he manipulates those around him.

Preeti Pinky Campbell’s engagement becomes another turning point as her father pushes for a different match for her, this time with the boxer son Raju Shahbaz Khan. Divya, now intent on pursuing her own vengeance against the men who failed to protect her, enters Raju’s body to test her power in the boxing arena and to erase the threat to Vijay Suniel Shetty. The result is a dramatic showdown at the boxing ring, culminating in Vijay’s death after Divya, acting through Kapil, chooses to end his life by jumping from a terrace.

The fear and chaos ripple outward to Karan, who returns to protect Vivek and the rest of his friends. Kapil, using his powers to impersonate the college principal and others, presses Karan to discard the protective locket and reveals his true plans. In a tense confrontation, Kapil impersonates Karan and fatally wounds Vivek, but his hold on the young man falters as Karan arrives and interrupts the deadly blows. With Vivek fighting for life, Atul escapes from a hospital with Vivek, and Kapil’s assault on them continues, forcing Atul to seek the help of the principal who intends to restore order and save the living.

Desperation peaks as Atul dies from wounds sustained during the struggle to protect Vivek. Karan breaks out of police custody to confront Kapil directly, and the two engage in a final clash. The college principal, wielding a fusion of outer-world powers that draw on three major religions, resurrects Karan and grants him supernatural abilities equal to Kapil’s. The climactic duel ends with Karan overpowering Kapil, ending his reign of terror and ensuring the survival of Vivek as the sole survivor among his closest friends. In a final, somber note, Kapil and Vasundhara are reunited in the afterlife, a haunting reminder of the past that continued to shape the present.