Evil Eye (2020 film)

Did You Know?

• On Metacritic, Evil Eye has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, indicating mixed or average reviews.
• The film is based on an Audible Original audio play of the same name by Madhuri Shekar.

Plot

Aspiring writer Pallavi is based in New Orleans, sharing a home with her mother Usha. Their bond is strong but often tense, largely because Usha, a believer in Vedic astrology, frets over her daughter being single and keeps trying to arrange meetings with suitable men. After one such blind date leaves her waiting alone, Pallavi crosses paths with Sandeep, and they start seeing each other. On the surface, Sandeep is everything a parent could want: handsome, well-off, and Indian. During a talk about past relationships, he mentions that an ex-girlfriend attempted suicide after their breakup. When Pallavi turns down a pair of earrings he offers, she notices his hands tighten into fists, but she dismisses it.

Usha, however, feels uneasy rather than happy about the new boyfriend. An astrologer tells her the couple has extraordinary compatibility, but a private investigator she hires uncovers a trail of former girlfriends who are unwilling to discuss Sandeep. When Pallavi declines his offer to move in together, Sandeep instead volunteers to cover her rent on a new place, letting her quit her job and write full-time. Pallavi accepts, but Usha sees this as Sandeep tightening his grip. When Pallavi defends him by saying he only wants what is best for her, the phrase triggers a memory for Usha: her own abusive ex-boyfriend used to say the same thing. She becomes convinced that this ex, who died the very night Pallavi was born, has been reborn as Sandeep. Usha tries to warn her daughter, but Pallavi and everyone around her dismiss it as madness.

Once Pallavi and Sandeep become engaged, Usha has a breakdown. At her husband’s urging, she agrees to give Sandeep a chance and finally opens up to Pallavi about her past. Before marrying, Usha had dated a controlling, abusive man. After she ended things and wed someone else, he stalked her. When she was eight months pregnant, he ambushed her on a bridge. During the struggle, she shoved him into the river. She went into labor that same night and gave birth to Pallavi. The ex-boyfriend’s death was never linked to her.