1920: Horrors of the Heart 2023

In 1920s Bombay, Meghna, a 21-year-old woman, faces an unimaginable tragedy when her father Dheeraj, a struggling writer, dies by suicide. Yet the autopsy reveals a chilling detail: although his cardiovascular system appears intact, his heart is missing. This eerie clue sets off a chain of unsettling events surrounding the cremation ritual, where a bottle of holy water sears Meghna’s hand and she glimpses a half-dead brahmin dressed in black. As she digs into her father’s belongings, Meghna uncovers her mother’s hidden past—an entanglement with British patrons for money and fame that embroiled her family in scandal.

The personal diary reveals that Radhika Thakur had once poisoned [Dheeraj], though he somehow survived. This revelation shatters Meghna’s view of her mother, who eventually abandoned the family and remarried into wealth as the Maharaja of Girvaar, taking Shantanu Thakur as her husband. Gripped by a sense of revenge and driven by her father’s spirit, Meghna returns to the family tomb to seek guidance, and the spirit’s presence urges her to confront the truth and the people who changed her life.

Back in Girvaar’s opulent house, Meghna’s entry triggers a chain of disturbances. The sacred lamp in the house is extinguished the moment she arrives, and the enigmatic Brahmin returns to instruct the lingering spirit of [Dheeraj] that his work must begin anew. The housekeeper grows suspicious, noting that the lamp has never been blown out before Meghna moved in.

Meghna forms a fragile bond with her stepsister, Aditi, even as Dheeraj’s voice pushes her to stay singularly focused on her mission. Meghna’s relationship with her boyfriend, Arjun, adds another layer to the tension: a tender moment between them is soon overshadowed when Arjun becomes aware of Meghna’s ulterior plans. A fierce warning from Dheeraj’s spirit unsettles Meghna, prompting Arjun to demand she choose between returning to Bombay with him or exposing the truth to her parents. That night, a violent assault on Arjun in his hotel room seems to confirm that something dark and supernatural is at play.

In a startling turn, Arjun urges Meghna to carry on with her revenge and presents her with an earthen pot containing the ashes of Dheeraj’s cremated body. After Meghna leaves, the real Arjun is revealed to have been killed the night of the attack, his body now possessed by the malevolent Rahasur. With the ashes sprinkled under Aditi’s pillow, Aditi herself becomes possessed, and terrifying actions sweep through the household. Despite the housekeeper’s attempts to expose Meghna, Radhika and Shantanu choose to trust her leading up to a pivotal confrontation.

A rendezvous behind the palace ends with Arjun, now Rahasur in disguise, urging Meghna to flee with him once her task is complete. When the housekeeper discovers them, Rahasur kills the housekeeper and the two move the body into a well. Meghna and Arjun flee toward Bombay, but a mirrored reflection in the train window reveals Arjun’s true nature. Back on the path of fear, Meghna returns to her mother’s mansion, where the gardener reveals a forgotten diary written by [Radhika] and Meghna confronts a painful truth: her father, [Dheeraj], was a deeply cruel man who exploited his wife for money and power. When Radhika resisted, Dheeraj tried to crush her spirit by poisoning her, only to survive; Radhika’s love for Shantanu became a lifeline that drew them together, and they had hoped to find Meghna and save her. By the time Meghna realizes she has been duped by a fake diary, she confesses to Radhika that she aided her father’s spirit in possessing Aditi, and the family seeks a way to heal.

A Hindu priest explains that Dheeraj forged a pact with the evil Rahasur—the spirit would live on to ruin Radhika in exchange for his heart after death. With no other option to save Aditi, Meghna lights the temple lamp and sacrifices herself, stabbing herself with the goddess Durga’s trident. Her spirit battles her father’s in a spectral realm, ultimately driving him toward the light. Yet a returning spark of life interrupts the final journey as Arjun’s spirit encourages Meghna to come back to the living world. Reawakening in a hospital, Meghna is surrounded by [Radhika] and [Shantanu] and a relieved [Aditi], signaling a fragile new start for the family and a hopeful path forward.