Ek Thi Daayan

Ek Thi Daayan

Year: 2013

Runtime: 135 mins

Language: Hindi

Director: Kannan Iyer

ThrillerRomanceHorrorHorror

Everything Comes Full Circle A popular magician seeks help from a psychiatrist to protect him from a witch that has haunted him since childhood.

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Timeline & Setting – Ek Thi Daayan (2013)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Ek Thi Daayan (2013). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Present-day

The events take place in present-day India, with crucial flashbacks to Bobo's childhood. Regressive hypnosis is used to revisit a distant past and a fateful tragedy. The narrative weaves between now and then to reveal how memories shape the present threat.

Location

India

Set in contemporary India, the story unfolds across an urban apartment building, a family home, a hospital, and a public exhibition. The city backdrop blends modern life with a creeping sense of dread as the line between magic and witchcraft blurs. The setting anchors the tale as a collision between everyday reality and ancient powers.

🇮🇳 Indian setting 👻 Supernatural

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 09:58

Main Characters – Ek Thi Daayan (2013)

Meet the key characters of Ek Thi Daayan (2013), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Bobo (Emraan Hashmi)

A renowned Indian magician whose glossy career hides fragile sanity, haunted by visions of his dead sister Misha. He is skeptical of psychiatric help until the threat becomes personal and imminent. His fierce love for Tamara and his devotion to Zubin push him to confront a past that refuses to stay buried.

🪄 Magician 😨 Haunted 🧠 Trauma

Tamara (Huma Qureshi)

Bobo's girlfriend who anchors his world with warmth and loyalty. She becomes entangled in the unraveling danger, but initially dismisses his fear as paranoia. Her vulnerability grows as the female antagonist’s identity shifts and the family is tested.

❤️ Partner 👀 Suspense 🏥 Health scare

Lisa Dutt (Kalki Koechlin)

A charismatic magic show entrant who wins Bobo's trust and later buys his old house, fueling his suspicions. Her charm and ambition mask motives that complicate the family’s safety. The twist elevates the question of who truly threatens them.

💃 Charisma 🧭 Intrigue 🏠 Power

Diana (Konkona Sen Sharma)

The daayan, a cunning supernatural force who moves into their world and manipulates the family. Her arrival signals a deadly bargain of power and revenge. She embodies the horror at the heart of the legend, orchestrating events from the shadows.

👻 Villain 🪄 Seduction 🗡 Manipulation

Misha (Sara Arjun)

Bobo's dead younger sister who appears in hallucinations and drives his need to uncover the truth. Her memory becomes a haunting compass pointing toward past trauma. The ghostly presence blurs the line between guilt, protection, and fear.

👧 Innocence 🌀 Memory 🕯 Haunting

Zubin (Bhavesh Balchandani)

The ten-year-old adopted son whose life becomes the focal point of the ritual and the fight against the daayan. He embodies hope and vulnerability, ultimately playing a critical role in saving the family. His trust in Bobo gives the story a human center.

🧸 Child 🛡 Shield 🗝 Key

Dr. Ranjan Palit (Pavan Malhotra)

The psychiatrist who initially dismisses Bobo’s visions as fantasy but later joins the investigation into the haunting. He serves as a counterpoint to superstition with clinical skepticism. His role evolves as the truth becomes undeniable.

🧠 Doctor 🕵️ Investigator 🛡 Skeptic

Prof Mathur (Pavan Malhotra)

A second professor figure who appears in the narrative, contributing to the sense of a larger, scholarly search for explanations. His presence adds to the film’s themes of belief versus analysis. Like Palit, he blurs the line between rational inquiry and uncanny events.

🎓 Academic 🧩 Mystery 🗝 Insight

Magic Assistant 1 (Pooja Jhaveri)

A minor stage presence in the magic world who helps set the atmosphere of performance and illusion. Her role underscores the contrast between showmanship and real danger. She serves as a small window into the magical milieu of Bobo’s life.

🎭 Assistant 🪄 Stagecraft 🎇 Showmanship

Old Man (Vidyadhar Karmakar)

An elderly figure in the community who appears in the background of a few sequences. He offers a grounded, human touch amid the escalating supernatural events. His presence hints at the world’s generational memory of fear.

👵 Elder 🕰 Witness 🗺 Background

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 09:58

Major Themes – Ek Thi Daayan (2013)

Explore the central themes of Ek Thi Daayan (2013), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🔮 Magic vs Witchcraft

The film pits stage magic against dark, supernatural power embodied by the daayan. Bobo's skills are questioned as the threat appears rooted in real occult forces rather than mere illusion. Power here is alluring yet dangerous, forcing characters to choose between belief and disbelief.

🧠 Trauma & Memory

A haunting childhood breaks into the present through visions of Misha and a past tragedy. Regression therapy attempts to unlock the truth but also dredges up long-buried guilt and fear. The past asserts itself as a living influence on choices and relationships.

👁️ Perception vs Reality

Characters question what is real as appearances, disguises, and manipulations swirl around them. The audience is kept guessing whether events are supernatural or the product of psychological strain. The film thrives on ambiguity, leaving room for multiple interpretations.

🏠 Family & Protection

Family loyalty drives Bobo to shield his son Zubin and partner Tamara from danger. The fight to keep loved ones safe is tested by fear, secrecy, and betrayal. The story uses domestic ties to ground a tale of darker forces at play.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 09:58

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Psychological horror with unreliable narrators like Ek Thi Daayan

Stories where psychological trauma blurs the line between real hauntings and madness.If you liked the unsettling ambiguity of Ek Thi Daayan, explore more movies where characters grapple with haunted pasts and psychological unraveling. These films masterfully blend supernatural horror with questions of sanity, perfect for fans of tense, thought-provoking thrillers.

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Narrative Summary

These narratives often follow a character, frequently plagued by childhood trauma, who encounters inexplicable supernatural phenomena. The plot structure alternates between their present-day crisis and haunting flashbacks, steadily building a case where reality itself becomes questionable, leading to a climax that may or may not confirm the supernatural threat.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on psychological fragility intersecting with the supernatural. They create a specific, oppressive mood of paranoia and use a steady, methodical pace to unravel a mystery that is as much about the character's mind as it is about the external threat.

Movies about confronting a haunted past like Ek Thi Daayan

Characters are forced to face dark childhood secrets that define their monstrous present.Discover more films similar to Ek Thi Daayan where characters are consumed by a tragic past. These stories explore themes of family curses, childhood trauma, and sacrificial horrors, delivering a dark and emotionally heavy cinematic experience with often ambiguous endings.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves a protagonist, successful yet deeply scarred, whose life is disrupted by the resurgence of a malevolent force from their childhood. The investigation into this threat forces them to uncover repressed, tragic memories, culminating in a revelation that ties their own identity or survival to the original sin, offering no clean escape.

Why These Movies?

These films are connected by their central theme of a past that refuses to stay buried. They share a dark tone, high intensity, and a heavy emotional weight derived from themes like family tragedy and sacrifice. The pacing is often steady, building towards a climax that provides confrontation but not necessarily catharsis.

Unlock the Full Story of Ek Thi Daayan

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Ek Thi Daayan Summary

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Ek Thi Daayan Summary

Ek Thi Daayan Timeline

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Ek Thi Daayan Timeline

Ek Thi Daayan Spoiler-Free Summary

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Ek Thi Daayan Spoiler-Free Summary

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