Zee 5’s film Barot House gives complete freedom to our daily routine, stress, and anxiety because while watching this story full of thrills and emotions, you’ll forget your worries and stay with the main characters for anywhere between 1 hour and 35 minutes.

Barot House Review: Yay or Nay? Critics Deny True Story Act! 

What is Barot House?

The Bugs Bhargava directorial is a 2019 suspense story, said to be based on a real-life story 

With an  IMDb rating of 7.3, the thriller drama film stars Amit Sadh and Manjari Phadnis in lead roles. Barot House is about, you guessed it, the Barot family and what happens when one of the daughters and more children go missing and is then killed. 

However, everything changes when the daughter dies, leaving each member of the family to face a great emotional and psychological upheaval. 

Watch this for a tightly packed thriller: 

ZEE5’s Barot House can be classified as a Manjari Phadnis-Amit Sadh thriller that will blow your mind with impeccable storytelling and dreamy performances. The writers and directors also want you to enter the story completely and do as much reasoning as possible to squeeze it out..maybe your guess will be correct but beyond your logic. 

It stars Amit Sadh and Manjari Phadnis; and tells the story of a family that is beset by tragedy when two of the family’s daughters are found murdered. It received mostly positive reviews upon its release; But the performance of young Aryan Meghji, who plays his son, Malhar, was considered the greatest. 

Specially made for ZEE5 users:

Barot House is a ZEE5 Original movie streaming online, which means you need to have a ZEE5 subscription to watch it.

ZEE5’s Barot House trailer review: 

5 star worthy! When we saw the trailer of Barot House, we immediately knew that we were witnessing something different and quirky here, something that we don’t often see. 

The plot for Barot House:

Main characters:

This Manjari Phadnis-Amit Sadh thriller is the story of a family whose head is Amit Barot i.e. Amit Sadh and his wife Bhavna i.e. Manjari Fadnis. The main character’s mother is in the house, his younger brother lives with them, and there are 4 children…Malhar, Shreya, and Shruti, and lastly a baby girl in her lap. Although Amit Sadh and Manjari Phadnis are mother and father to two girls and a boy, the boy has always been the center of attraction and attention for Amit. Although they live together like a happy family, there is much more than what they show on the surface. The film takes you on a journey of relationships and many other aspects, which give birth to many theories in your mind. One of these theories will prove to be true, but behind that theory, nothing is what you are thinking. 

The main problem:

Barot House opens in a sequence where the Barot family is seen enjoying Diwali celebrations in the house and on the same day one of the daughters of the house, Shreyai, goes missing.

The next day her dead body is found in a cemetery. Amit’s suspicion goes to his neighbor Anthony because Amit has serious suspicions that the girls they are raising are not his children as the result of Manjari’s alleged affair with their neighbor Anthony. Both Anthony and Manjari went to college together and were good friends. However, there is always a suspicion in Amit’s mind that there is more to them than just friendship and hence he often accuses Manjari in the most subtle of ways that they are not his children.

One day another girl child is found dead in the house itself..as the brother is present on the spot, then the police catch him…but in the midst of all this, one day the neighbor’s girl child is also found dead. 

With impeccable storytelling and dreamy performances, this incident which is beyond everyone’s understanding, makes it necessary to find out who is the murderer because the other two accused are on the radar of the police..now the film revolves around the real murderer and his motive for the murder and along with it the internal tussle of the family on many surfaces. 

Who is to blame?

As we mentioned above during the occasion of Diwali, the children are in a playful mood and a girl named Shreya decides to play hide and seek with her uncle Ajay (Amit’s brother) and hence hides in the graveyard. As Shreya hides, someone comes from behind and swings the ax with full force to kill Shreya. Ajay immediately becomes the automatic suspect as he was the one who clearly knew about Shreya’s final whereabouts. 

However, the police suspect Anthony (the neighbor) for the murder of Barot’s child as his own dog was accidentally killed by Malhar, Amit’s young boy, or how it is made to look like an accident. This casts doubt on Anthony as there is a revenge angle in the case.

After this murder, other murders also take place causing all the relations to become strained. 

The Alfred Hitchcock-type twist:

The narrative takes a completely new turn when Amit Barot suspects his 9-year-old son of being behind the murders.

Amit learns that it is his own son Malhar who is a sadistic psychopath killer who brings blood and death. Amit tries his best to recover the child but realizes the potential danger if he is around and hence confesses to the police that it is Malhar who is the killer. 

Although the police initially do not believe it, Malhar’s confession clears it up and it sends him to the Juvenile Court for judgment. 

Malhar is later sent for treatment, and like Tom Riddle from Harry Potter he manipulates several minds and in a move like Voldemort, he convinces the authorities that it is actually his father who has committed the murders and he is trying to save them. 

The doctor and the police are manipulated by the antics of this young child and they begin to believe that it is Amit and not Malhar who is behind the murders. However, the climax unfolds completely unexpectedly and it leaves everyone shocked and stunned by how the plot takes a twist that is completely beyond expectation.

Cast, director, and talented acting:

The film is completely performance oriented so obviously, its casting should be talked about. 

Amit Sadh:

Talking about acting then Amit Sadh a father’s grief, his anger..surrounded by family confusion. The body language of a depressed person struggling with pressure has been able to present his attitude very well. Especially with his mannerisms of walking, speaking, sitting, and fidgeting, you get connected directly. 

Amit Sadh added that he as an audience likes to watch real-life stories and as an actor he likes to bring those real-life characters on screen so that the audience can relate to some parts of their lives.

Manjari Phadnis:

Manjari Phadnis has also done a great job… The expressions of sadness, grief and craziness are on point and it doesn’t make you feel like it’s a reel. Manjari is spot on when it comes to gripping the emotions of a mother who has lost daughters who are dying spontaneously. 

The lead actors of the film, Breathe and Kai Po Che fame Amit Sadh and Kis Kisko Pyaar Karu fame Manjari, in an exclusive interview with Mid-Day, revealed that they both had to dig into their dark sides and revisit some memories. Manjari Phadnis said that she thought that no one should have to go through these things but they did and these things actually happened and added that the preparation for the film was very intense for her as well as her co-star Amit Sadh. 

To be able to identify Phadnis described the film as the story of a happy family made up of complex characters, until one day a tragedy strikes the family which changes their lives. While this is Amit Sadh’s third web project after Breathe and Shockers, this will be Manjari’s second web project after Voot’s Fuse Fantasy.

Aryan and Malhar: 

Aryan has lived many times ahead… The most important thing about this character is his carelessness and Malhar has presented that carelessness so naturally that seasoned actors are not able to present such expressions. 

The film grabs you from the very beginning and there is not a single moment in the film that makes you want to take your eyes off the screen. Every shot and every sequence is well planned and executed and only ends up adding to the collective potential of the film. 

Bugs Bhargava:

Director Bugs Bhargava has nailed it with his directorial and storytelling abilities. But without a doubt, the highlight factor remains the performances of the lead stars, Manjari Phadnis and Amit Sadh, who only managed to make acting real in the real sense of the word. 

Criticism of ‘Barot House’:

Can’t find the true story:

The suspense thriller, which was released on Zee5 in August 2019, is actually based on a true story. But one main thing is that people haven’t been able to find the original story that this movie is being told based on.

Not all the actors did well:

Amit Sadh and Aryan Menghji’s performances are stellar; But the rest of the cast just fails to last. The entire atmosphere of the film also seems a bit dull; And you never feel the chill that you would expect from a thriller. The film clearly struggles with budgetary constraints and the limits of imagination. Having said that, it is worth watching! 

Writing and storytelling: 

The couple have four children, and their lives are turned upside down after two of their daughters are murdered. The needle of suspicion then points from one character to another. The identity of the killer is released about half an hour into the film which the makers released to keep the suspense alive. 

As a viewer, you can be certain who the killer is; And after that, the rest of the movie is just about what happens next.

Final Verdict on Barot House:

This psychological thriller is a must watch for sure and you cannot miss this thriller as it is all set to simply blow your mind with how realistic the actors have made it look. Overall, watch it for the acting, the amazing storyline and for a totally unique program on ZEE5!