RIFLE RANGE BOY: Diary

Diary (Tamil; 2022)
Director: Innasi Pandiyan

The story is based on an urban legend that arose in Beijing in November 1995. A local bus, no 375, left its station late one night to a remote destination. An old lady and a young man were travelling on it. Three people in traditional garb waved it down as the bus moved on. When the old lady saw these people, she started a quarrel with the young man she had come up with. She accused him of stealing her purse. Startled, the man fought back. They were both forced to get down by the bus conductor to sort it out at the local police station.

Once they were off the bus, the old lady apologised to the young man for creating a ruckus. She told him the three characters who boarded the bus had no feet, so she thought they were ghosts. She just wanted to get away from them. They both went to tell the police about their experiences, but their story was laughed off.

The next day, it was reported that the bus never reached its destination, and two days later, the bus was submerged in a reservoir. The driver, the bus conductor together, and three badly decomposed bodies were found. The level of decomposition of the bodies was not consistent with the alleged time of the accident. Nobody could give a rational explanation for these findings.

Bus No. 375

Stories like these are found in all cultures. The Chinese believe spirits roam the streets yearly during the Hungry Ghost Month in mid-August. Stories of scary ghosts, beautiful maidens, and lactating mothers luring and haunting people are abundant in every nook and corner of the world.

This Tamil movie is based on Beijing's Bus No. 375. Still, to whet the appetites of Indian viewers, the director, who also wrote the story, tries to stretch it to two hours with unrelated stories of runaway couples running from the disgruntled bride's father and his henchmen, a connection to a sub-inspector's case study, tribals performing a wedding for the runaway couple, robber's running their loot after a murder and the angle of time travel! It brings the story to the notorious Hairpin Bend no 13 in Ooty.

The plot could be clearer. Everything is rushed through towards the end. Before viewers could understand the loose ends, it was game over. 3/5.