Something sinister is lurking in room 333 of the Pragati Working Woman Hostel – something so dark that it prevents four of the women from ever leaving the building. They haven’t been the same since Anu (Asheema Vardaan), the fifth member of their tight-knit group, moved out six months ago. Things get worse when an unsuspecting new arrival to Delhi moves into the cursed room.
Madhu (Monika Panwar) has left her hometown of Gwalior to escape a traumatic incident and be closer to her devoted boyfriend Arun (Abhishek Chauhan). With the help of friends Bela (Aastha Ssidhana) and Nakul (Gagan Arora), Madhu lands a job in Delhi and lands up at the hostel.
Her optimism and hopes for a new life are dashed as the hostel turns out to be a house of horrors, inhabited by a hostile gang and a demonic presence that makes Madhu’s life a living hell. The cruelty of Madhu’s neighbors – Nikki (Rashmi Zurail Mann), Komal (Riya Shukla), Lana (Chum Darang), and Rima (Priyanka Setia) – pales in comparison to the malevolent force in room 333.
Elsewhere in Delhi, there's another house of horrors, where a healer (Rajat Kapoor) is ruthlessly pursuing his own survival. This city is no place for women – not on public buses or in subways and certainly not under the guise of treatment from a hakim who concocts his own potions and poisons.
Khauf is the creation of writer Smita Singh who, in collaboration with directors Pankaj Kumar (also the cinematographer) and Surya Balakrishnan, delivers an eight-episode series on Prime Video that relentlessly explores themes of violence, abuse, vengeance and horror.
Besides Arun, Madhu finds some support from her employer Shohini (Shilpa Shukla), a psychiatrist who believes the four women are bonded by shared trauma rather than trapped by a supernatural force. Hostel warden Gracie (Shalini Vatsa) is far from sympathetic. She’s more interested in meeting her friend Ilu (Geetanjali Kulkarni) than caring for her wards. Ilu is a complicated character, torn between duty and protecting her wayward son Jeeva (Satyam Sharma).
Eventually, all the characters and their decisions tie back to the hostel. There is very little light or lightness in the series, which delves into sexual assault, demonic possession, black magic, human sacrifice, stalking, female infanticide – the list goes on. There’s even a reference to the 2012 gang rape on a Delhi bus.
The men don’t just objectify women. They disrespect and despise them. Only one male character is portrayed with a conscience.
Monika Panwar effectively conveys Madhu’s transformation. We see the initial changes in her appearance and sexual confidence, and later more dramatically, as confusion, fatigue, and despondency set in. Panwar throws herself into a physically and emotionally demanding role.
With the aid of makeup and prosthetics and a raspy voice, Rajat Kapoor is all kinds of creepy. Abhishek Chauhan and Satyam Sharma also deliver notable performances.
Telling a story about possession over five hours leaves room for the suspension of disbelief to falter. Logical questions arise. Why do the four women only attempt to escape through a haunted side gate? Is Madhu so naive that she would get into her assailant’s car?
Pankaj Kumar’s lighting and camerawork set the mood, while Alokananda Dasgupta’s music builds suspense and foreboding. But with its incessant and bloody violence, the misogyny and denigration of women, and the sheer hopelessness it conveys, Khauf is unsettling and exhausting.
