1920 is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language supernatural horror film written and directed by Vikram Bhatt. Filmed in Hindi, the plot revolves around the events surrounding a married couple living in a haunted house in the year 1920. The film stars debutant actors Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma as the married couple, along with Indraneil Sengupta in a special role. Loosely inspired by the 1973 horror film The Exorcist, it is the first installment of the 1920 film series, which was a commercial success. The film was also dubbed into Telugu and Tamil, under the title 1920 Gayathri. A sequel, 1920: The Evil Returns, was released in 2012 to mixed reviews and commercial success.
Plot
In 1920 India, Arjun Singh Rathod is a well-known architect who has gone against his wealthy Hindu family's wishes to marry a half caste British Indian girl – Lisa. His family ambush his car en route to Bombay, assaulting him badly and setting the car on fire in an attempt to kill Lisa. Due to this, Arjun, once a deeply religious and devout Hindu, shuns his beliefs and abandons his family for his wife.
Meanwhile, in Palampur, a rich businessman has acquired a stately old manor home and plans to turn it into a boutique hotel. However, his estate manager MK, has difficulty in retaining an architect for the place as the two prior men both died under mysterious circumstances. Arjun wins the contract, so he and Lisa move into the manor as he begins his survey of the property.
Lisa begins experiencing strange noises and feels afraid, upon questioning Balwant, the caretaker, to confirm her suspicions, he rebuffs her and hints that she may have imagined it. Arjun attributes her experiences to anxiety from their recent escape and the fact that the countryside is quieter than the city. When he visits MK, he points out there is a sealed room at the back of the manor he will need access to as he needs to survey every part of the house. The manager readily agrees and tells him he has full authority to do as he wishes within the house as the owner was wanting to start the business as soon as possible. Lisa in the meantime, explores the house and finds the sealed room but the door is now open – inside she discovers a library with a beautiful piano and a portrait of a beautiful woman in Indian royal dress. She plays the piano however is disturbed by the feeling of someone watching – later that evening she and Arjun argue when she finds the room is sealed again and he refuses to believe her description of the room.
Balwant feels it is dangerous to allow people into the manor due to prior deaths, he accuses MK of being aware of the manor's dark secrets as he refuses to visit the house due to his own fears, but MK threatens to fire him and gives him money to buy his silence.
Lisa, in an attempt to gain solace, visits the village church where she befriends Father Thomas. Confiding her worries and fears to him, Father Thomas reassures her that he will come by the house to bless it. Meanwhile, Arjun has workers remove the doors of the library and is amazed that Lisa's description of the room was correct. Later that night, Lisa is tormented by an unknown spirit into the library where she sees the portrait has a name on the bottom – ‘Gayatri’. The next day, Arjun leaves to survey the vast property for a few hours and Lisa has Father Thomas bless the house, during which he discovers the manor is cursed and has held onto its dark past – later that night, Father Thomas is tormented by a spirit whispering in Latin. He rushes to the church archives where his colleague discovers the phrase means the house and its spirit are warning the church away.
The next day, he rushes to the manor to warn the occupants but discovers Arjun has taken Lisa to Delhi for a few weeks for a high-profile meeting with the project suppliers. Father Thomas begs Balwant to pass on a message to Lisa and Arjun that it is dangerous for them to stay in the house, and he promises to do so. On the road to Delhi, Arjun's carriage is stopped by soldiers who inform them the roads are dangerous due to rebel fighting further down the roads. As Arjun cannot afford to waste time, he leaves Lisa at home and proceeds on with his trip with armed guards. Balwant refuses to pass on Father Thomas’ message when Lisa comes home, and she falls badly sick after a night of terrors. The church windows begin to bleed and Father Thomas fears Lisa is at great risk.