Fear Files 26th August 2012 Written Update

Today’s story is about the Mehta family from Gorai, Mumbai. It starts with the wife, Payal, talking to her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law can no longer take care of her grandson as she is going to Shimla to look after her sick husband. While they are talking the grandson, Aryan, who was playing wanders onto the road. A vehicle is approaching at full speed and the two women are unable to do anything to save him. At the last moment Aryan is pulled out of the way by a woman.

Next scene: Rahul is getting ready to leave for work and Payal is cribbing that she has to make the sacrifice of quitting her job. Just then the door bell rings. It is the watchman; he found a nanny to take care of Aryan. It is the same woman who saved Aryan. She tells them that she is a nanny (“ayah”) and she will take good care of their son. When asked she hesitantly tells them her name is Sonabai. She is very attentive towards Aryan and cuddles him saying, “my son!”

The real Payal Mehta tells us that both her husband and she used to work in a multinational company and because of their busy schedule they couldn’t spend a lot of time with their son. They needed a nanny and so it was a relief when they found Sonabai. Sonabai slowly started to take care of Aryan as well as the house so the couple got full freedom to pursue their careers. At first Aryan used to be a little scared to go near Sonabai but after a few months he got so used to her it seemed as if he couldn’t live without her. Everything was going smoothly but after some time strange things started to happen.

We see the family sleeping when Payal is awoken by the sound of crying. Aryan, who was right there is not there anymore so she goes to look for him. She reaches the living room all the while hearing eerie sounds. A hand holds her shoulder’it is Rahul. He asks her why she is so scared and she tells him she heard the sound of Aryan crying. He asks her if she is sleep-walking and she tries to convince him. He says Aryan is sleeping peacefully in their room. The go back to their room and find Aryan sleeping in the spot he was before. Rahul tells Payal she must have been dreaming. Sonabai is shown looking at them.

Sonabai is feeding Aryan kheer. Payal says she knows what her son likes and what he does not. She says he will not eat kheer and goes to make corn flakes for him. Sonabai tells her he will not eat cornflakes’he likes kheer. Aryan happily eats the kheer and throws the bowl of cornflakes. Payal shouts at him and he looks at her very angrily. Sonabai is looking at all this with a smile. She then hides her expression and tells Payal, “I told you so!”

Payal goes to Rahul and asks him if she saw what just happened. She says Aryan never liked kheer and he retorts Aryan is fine; she is the one who hasn’t noticed when his likes have changed. She is so busy that she hardly spends any time with him and that’s why she didn’t know when he started to like kheer. They are leaving for work and Payal tells Sonabai to take Aryan to school by 9 and pick him up. Sonabai tells Aryan he won’t go to school’they will play at home.

It is nighttime, Payal comes home and while entering the house she sees a shadow of a boy playing with a ball. She gets scared and runs into the house. She bumps into Rahul who asks her why she’s so scared. She tells him what she saw and says this isn’t the first time. He does not believe her and goes back to his laptop. She goes with him and says that Aryan has changed, he keeps a distance from her and she feels hurt. Rahul tells her that Aryan has become close to Sonabai that’s why. She says she knows he is trying to console her but the mother in her doesn’t want to hear all this. She states that at least she gets to shower love on him while he sleeps. She kisses his forehead but Aryan turns away from her even in his sleep. She is disturbed by this.

Payal is once again awoken by the sound of Aryan crying and calling for her. She goes looking for him and sees he is trapped somewhere; someone is going to kill him. This turns out to be a dream. She panics not seeing Aryan on the bed and wakes up Rahul to look for him. They find him sleeping with Sonabai. Payal is angry and scolds Sonabai who says she was asleep and didn’t know when he came there. Payal takes Aryan with her. He wakes while she is taking him and calls for “Aai” while looking at Sonabai. He starts fighting with Payal to let him go. Payal scolds him and Sonabai gets angry at this’she clenches her fist and Aryan starts choking Payal.

Real Payal tells us she was very hurt when Aryan called Sonabai his mother; he hated his own mother. She thought of firing Sonabai but then said it wasn’t the nanny’s fault and dismissed the idea.

Next incident, Payal hears the shower running in the bathroom and goes to check it out. She again sees the shadow and screams for Rahul. When he checks everything is perfectly fine. He tells her it is all her imagination. She is deeply disturbed so Rahul suggests they go see a doctor.

The doctor tells the couple that all of this is because Payal feels guilty about not being able to take care of Aryan and this guilt has transformed into depression. She says maybe what he is saying is true but what she has seen and heard is true too; and if she was guilty then why does she feel as if Aryan is not even her son? She feels as if he is someone else.

They return home and Payal is still very angry. Rahul says they should think it over before firing Sonabai. She says she can’t stand it when her son calls another woman mother. She will quit her job if she has to. Rahul consoles her and says before quitting she should take leave from her office and spend some time with Aryan. Maybe things will change and they will decide what to do after that. Sonabai is listening to their convo and does not look happy at all.

Payal tells Sonabai to take a few days leave as she wants to spend time with Aryan. Sonabai says she doesn’t want any leave and asks where she will go. Payal says if she goes not go she will fire her. Sonabai gets tensed hearing this and agrees to go.

Payal climbs on a stool to take down a box. Aryan, who is riding his bike, rides right into her. She falls and sprains her foot. He keeps staring at Payal and smiles at Sonabai. Rahul is wrapping her foot in a bandage. She tells him it wasn’t an accident; Aryan did it on purpose. She relates everything that happened and tells him to send Sonabai away or else she will go mad. He agrees to do so’but only after she gets better.

Payal awakes from her sleep. She decides to go to Sonabai and send her away. She again sees the shadow and tells Rahul. Whilst trying to console her, the phone rings. It is his mother who says she saw a bad dream and asks if everything is ok. He tells her what is happening. Payal talks to her too and she consoles Payal saying she will talk to Guruji.

Guruji comes to their house. He inspects the house and sees the ghost. He tells them Payal was right’he has seen the ghost of a troubled child in the house. Payal requests him to drive away the spirit. He tells her if the spirit was evil it would have caused harm to her already. It is trapped there for a reason and is trying to tell her something. He says the spirit will leave on its own when its purpose is fulfilled. He then gives her a mala and tells her to chant God’s name. Payal tells him she wants him to bless her son. She goes to the roof to bring Aryan who is there with Sonabai. She takes a reluctant Aryan with her to see Guruji. Guruji is staring at Aryan who bites his mom’s hand and runs away. Guruji says that something is wrong with him. Sonabai gets tensed hearing this. Guruji gives Payal something to bathe Aryan with. He says if there is any evil influence on him it will go away. He leaves.

Rahul is trying to get Aryan to go bathe but he does not listen, he only listens to Sonabai. Payal gives her the stuff Guruji gave and tells her to mix it in the bath water. Sonabai takes it and goes to the bathroom. She throws the stuff into the sink saying they want to steal her son from her! Payal comes there and sees her. She fires her on the spot and Rahul also tells her to go away from there. She drags Aryan to bathe him and he resists. Frustrated, she raises her hand to hit him when Sonabai stops her. She says Aryan is a nave boy and Rahul states that Payal is his mother’who is she to interfere? She says she did it for the well being of their child. Rahul gives her her salary and tells her to go away. She begs them to let her stay. They don’t agree so she requests to hug the boy one last time. She hugs him tightly and tells them he is her son and no one can separate them. She runs away with him.
Real Payal says she never imagined something like this would happen. They found out her address by going to the police.

Sonabai’s friend gives them a place to hide as the police are after her. Everyone is searching and they finally find her. The friend, who is a hijra, runs away and some police chase her while Rahul, Payal and some other police stay with Sonabai & Aryan. Sonabai tells them that he is her son. Payal notices strange items like a skull, sindoor etc on a table. The hijra is caught and brought back to the kholi. After some beatings the hijra tells them the whole story.
Sonabai had a son named Dilip who was killed by a motorcycle while playing on the road. Sonabai was traumatized when she saw her son’s dead body. She gives the hijra all her jewels and begs him to bring back her son. The hijra tells her that her son’s body has decayed so she needs to bring a new body and he will transfer her son’s spirit into the body. Then she came across Aryan. Slowly she gained control over him and then took him to the hijra. With black magic, the hijra took our Aryan’s spirit from his body and transferred Dilip’s spirit to it.

Payal denies all this and says he is her son. When asked, Aryan says Sonabai is his mother. Payal then realizes that the spirit she sees in her house is really her son’s. The hijra says after the night passes the body will belong to Dilip forever. Rahul tells the hijra to reverse the spirits but he says he does not know how to do it. Payal says they have to go to Guruji.

Payal and Rahul are with Aryan at Guruji’s. They are trying the get back Aryan’s spirit into his body and it is nearing 12. With a few seconds to spare they finally succeed.

Real Payal says she thought she had lost her son but God heard her prayers. He took a while to come back to normal but she got him back. She says this was her punishment for leaving her son in the care of a nanny. She prays that no one else commits the same mistake she did.

The expert tells us this was a case of spirit transportation/ spirit substitution or change of spirits. This happens when one spirit replaces another in a body.