KHAUF (2025)--My Take On The TV Show With Ending Spoilers!
Amazon Prime Video’s latest horror offering Khauf (Fear) is an interesting surprise. The horror TV series is set in the city of Delhi, India and focuses on the lives of six women who come to stay at a hostel for working women.
The show had a promising trailer and has an impressive star cast who capably carry the story right to the very last episode of the season.
The writer has an interesting take on fear, and even manages to instill the idealogy in its narrative. Fear isn’t necessarily a weakness. Being scared makes you careful and alert.
Khauf is a well-written show that manages to tie up different strings of stories neatly at the very end.
We have the story of Anu, a young woman who wanted to be closer to her boyfriend, only to be betrayed. Svetlana, who was keen to move on with her life with her friend because she was the only one who saw her for what she could be. Komal, who wanted a new beginning after her murky past. Rima, who was hiding away from her husband and in-laws who were expecting a boy from her pregnancy, and Nikki, who although has a stutter and comes from a wealthy family, wants to make it on her own.
But the story is told through Madhu’s perspective. She’s the new woman in town who is trying to move on after a sexual assault incident. Her boyfriend Arun is also unable to move on because of his inability to help his girlfriend from her attackers.
Then there is the Hakim, who is desperate for longevity and is prepared to sacrifice as many women as it takes to get what he wants. Last but not the least, is the police officer, Ilu Mishra who is looking for her son Jeeva.
It is Jeeva who is the connection to everyone’s stories.
Khauf starts off innocently enough but as it nears the ending, it gains enough momentum to make you want to watch the next episode immediately. There is an eagerness to the story that compels you to stay hooked on the journey of every character in this story.
KHAUF Plot Summary
The story begins with Anu announcing to her friends at the hostel that she is moving out. Svetlana, aka Lana, is joyous because she will be joining her best friend in the move. Rima is pregnant and makes remarks about Anu’s boyfriend and how she should leave him. Nikki and Komal change the topic so that Anu’s last day isn’t marred with arguments.
At the terrace, Anu and Lana are talking, and Anu reveals how she is tired of the stalker who keeps lurking outside the hostel.
Cut to six months later, and we meet Madhu. She has just come to Delhi and joins her boyfriend Arun at his flat which he shares with roommates. His roommates are kind enough to give up their bed space to her.
Arun drops her at a job interview where she is asked to produce her college degree but she lies about leaving it at home. She goes downstairs to speak to her friend Bela who assures her that she will get the job. She also tells her that her fiance Nakul has found a room for her at a hostel.
Madhu is relieved and catches only a glimpse of Nakul whom she finds familiar.
Arun takes her to see the hostel and of course it is in bad shape. There are cracks on the wall and chipped paint. The entire building has a leakage issue which has caused dampness in the walls and ceilings. But for Madhu this is a new start and so she welcomes all of this. As she said in her interview, she now has the freedom to be her.
Later, while Arun and Madhu are getting intimate, she screams because she sees masked men and gets frightened. This alludes to an attack on her when she was in Gwalior.
Arun drops her to the hostel the next day and isn’t allowed inside. Madhu sets up her room and then goes to say hello to her neighbors. Her neighbors are Rima, Lana, Komal, and Nikki. They are hostile towards her and pretty much advise her to return to Gwalior.
Madhu returns to her room and decides that is enough socializing for one day.
Officer Ilu Mishra and the Hostel Warden, Gracie, are friends. Ilu is looking for her son Jeeva who has disappeared after the argument that they had at New Year’s. She thinks her son is up to no good again, considering he has a previous criminal record.
At the office, Madhu catches Bela making out with someone in the meeting room. She rushes out and Bela makes excuses about Nakul being too shy. Madhu isn’t sure that the man she saw with her friend was Nakul. Madhu is settling at her new job and new life at the hostel. She also gets to work as an assistant to Dr Shohini who has a daughter called Kiara.
Everything is going well for her, however, she can’t escape her nightmares which are about her assault in Gwalior. In her dreams, she recalls one of the attackers call another ‘Nakul Bhaiya’. When she wakes up, Madhu realizes to her horror that Bela’s fiance may be her rapist.
The next day, Gracie is trying to get the four friends to leave, especially Rima since she is heavily pregnant now. However, the girls refuse to leave and insist there is something in room 333 that was previously occupied by Anu.
Gracie is sick of the girls’ superstitions and decides to call the Hakim to check out the room. He takes one look at the room and insists there is a dark energy here. The four friends don’t believe him but he assures them that he can help them. Before leaving, he looks at his reflection and sees a burnt figure behind him. He also looks at Madhu’s photo and points out that she is deeply troubled.
Gracie gets rid of him but the four friends realize that they may need to rely on his help if they have any chance of leaving.
Madhu isn’t having a good time travelling in public transport and having men bump into her. Dr Shohini is also giving her hard time by making her reschedule appointments over and over again. However, Kiara takes pity on her and befriends her.
Later, Madhu wants to follow her instincts about Nakul and heads to his office. She is told that Nakul arrives late in the office so she takes advantage of this information by pretending that he is one of her insurance clients and needs his Gwalior address.
The receptionist denies of any knowledge of Nakul of ever being in Gwalior. She is then informed that Nakul is in the office today. Nakul is called, and Madhu immediately makes her escape.
However, later Nakul finds her and demands to know why she’s looking for him.
Madhu straight away accuses him of being the man behind her assault. Nakul denies it and then to gain sympathy, tells her about her father who suffers from dementia.
He assures Madhu by telling her that she is disturbed by her attack which is why she is imagining things. After he continues to deny the allegations, Madhu begins to doubt herself and apologizes.
We learn a little more about the Hakim’s past and how Jeeva, Ilu Mishra’s son, used to lure young women to him so that he could drain their blood and extract their life force. However, he claims that none were wounded enough for him to complete his ritual.
In the present, he approaches Lana and invites her outside. She takes a few steps put when an invisible force strangles her, leaving a mark around her neck. Lana rushes back inside but the Hakim assures her that he will help her leave. In return, he wants her to poison Madhu so that she will come to him.
Lana isn’t sure but she is too desperate to leave and to get Rima out before the baby arrives.
Madhu befriends the other women in the hostel, one who works as a nurse too. However, when one of the women enters her room to turn on the mixer, a short circuit causes the gadget to malfunction, leading the woman to lose her fingers.
Madhu is alone in her room when Rima approaches her, bringing along the soiled shirt Madhu had left because of the way a stranger had rubbed on her. Komal brings an extra cup of tea which Madhu happily takes and drinks.
Madhu begins to get enraged for no reason, gets into a fight with Arun because he can’t get intimate with her without thinking about the past. At one point, Arun confesses that on the night she was attacked, he had sent the photo she had sent to him, to a friend who had forwarded it to other men in the group. Arun suspects that because of his one mistake, the attacker knew exactly where to find her.
Madhu suspects her stalker in Gwalior whom she had never met but had talked to once on the phone. Apparently, he had begun writing letters to her with his blood and left her gifts all the time. She thinks that the day she rejected him was when he must have decided to attack her.
Shocked by Arun’s confession, Madhu leaves him and returns to her room. She is bitten by a scorpion and feels off.
Rima and Komal try to get her to drink more tea but this time she doesn’t.
On the bus, when a man keeps bumping into her, she elbows him on the groin.
Seeing her upset, Komal and Rima get Madhu to drink soup which has the poison in it.
Nikki insists that they don’t go ahead with this as it could hurt Madhu but the others are adamant to leave.
Nikki’s sister and mother come to take her but she refuses to go with them. They insist on talking to her in the car but when they drive away from the hostel, Nikki gets a nosebleed and throws a fuss until she is dropped back at the hostel.
Nikki too realizes that she cannot leave the hostel because of whatever is in that room.
Madhu is invited by Nakul to a club and she goes but senses that Bela isn’t too happy to see her there. Nakul and Madhu share a moment where they both kiss. Bela arrives but doesn’t seem them together. Madhu makes a quick escape, guilt-ridden by what she has done but runs into Nakul’s friends who call out his name, and also look scared when they see her.
Meanwhile, the Hakim has killed yet another man who is threatening to reveal his secrets about sacrificing women. The man is the MLA’s brother.
At the hostel, Madhu can’t sleep and decides to take a sleeping pill. She has a vision of a burnt figure and freaks out. The four friends come to see her and pretend to feel sorry for her. They order soup, mix the venom that the Hakim have given her and feed it to her.
Later, Nikki and Komal are in the bathroom when they hear strange noises and banging on the door. They peek out, and Lana and Rima emerge from their rooms as well.
Madhu comes out and starts scolding them for trying to scare her. But just then she feels a presnce behind her and is dragged back into the room.
A flashback shows that Anu was growing paranoid and showed signs of possession. In the present, Dr Shohini talks to the warden regarding the girls and them troubling Madhu.
Gracie tells the doctor about how Anu’s death has affected the girls and that they may benefit from therapy. Madhu leaves with Dr Shohini and decides to stay one night away from the hostel.
At night, Madhu acts strangely which Kiara notices. Madhu is standing in the dark, in an awkward position, and commands Kiara to leave. Kiara runs away scared and sleeps in her mother’s room.
The next morning, Madhu wakes up Kiara and seems to be in a good mood. Kiara is shocked but doesn’t say anything. We don’t see Kiara after this and neither do we see Madhu going to her call center job.
She does go visit Arun and even though they realize they cannot move on from the past, they also cannot stay apart from each other. They have an intimate moment and Madhu leaves afterwards.
In the meantime, Dr Shohini talks to the four friends separately and their story about Anu matches. Nikki’s family wants to take her back and so Dr Shohini convinces the others to walk out of the hostel.
Komal tries to leave through the back with Dr Shohini, but a strange voice and a gust, distracts the doctor. Komal screams as scratches appear on her face. She returns to the hostel.
Dr Shohini suspects that the girls are too traumatized and may be hurting themselves rather than leave the hostel where their friend used to live. Before she leaves, Nikki begs the doctor to help her escape. The doctor promises she will.
Madhu is taking the subway when Nakul drives by and offers her a list. As they talk, Nakul suddenly gets agitated after Madhu shows no interest in him. He reveals that he was the one with his friends who had assaulted her. He was being bullied at his hostel and had fallen for her, leaving her gifts and expensive items with whatever pocket money he got.
When Madhu rejects his advances, he hits her and drives off to a jungle. She uses the pepper spray Kiara had given to her once, and exits the car only for Nakul’s friends to show up.
She is beaten unconscious and the three men decide to kill her when it begins to rain. Since they are distracted, they don’t notice Madhu has already made a run for it. Unfortunately, she is caught by one of the friends and beaten. When she comes to, she suddenly displays immense strength and bites off his neck.
Madhu is clearly possessed as she goes after the other friend and kills him by hoisting him and slamming him against the crane. Nakul appears and his shocked by his friends’ deaths. Madhu is nowhere to be seen.
KHAUF Ending Explained
She returns to the hostel to frighten the four women though.
Later, Ilu Mishra finds out that her son’s body had been found months ago but since he wasn’t identifiable because of the state he had been found in the river, and no one had come to claim him, he had been cremated.
She goes to talk to her friend Gracie who doesn’t have much sympathy for Jeeva considering he was sending innocent women to get killed. She also didn’t approve of him having an aggressive relationship with his mother. Ilu Mishra doesn’t take kindly to what Gracie says and leaves in anger after insulting her.
Madhu goes to Arun and reveals that Nakul and his friends were her rapist and that although she doesn’t remember everything, she suspects she killed them all. Arun tells her that Nakul called him this morning and so he is very much alive.
Madhu is confused and distarught. At the hostel, the four women tell her to seek out the Hakim who can help her. The Hakim has already told them to send Madhu his way and only then he will help them leave the hostel.
Nikki is ready to leave with her mother and sister. Dr Shohini sedates her and takes her in an ambulance. The three friends who are left behind, see hope after Nikki reaches the hospital safely.
But when Nikki is getting her MRI done, her head suddenly explodes and she dies. The three friends are devastated and lose hope of ever leaving the hospital again.
Madhu goes to see the Hakim and is rendered unconscious when he approaches her. Ilu Mishra, suspecting the Hakim is responsible for what happened to her son, enters his hideout.
Just as he was about to slit Madhu’s throat, the Hakim hears the police. At the same time, Madhu awakens and manages to escape. Ilu Mishra comes to the Hakim who tells her that her son is trapped in room 333 at the hostel and he can help her speak to him if she lets him go. She agrees and allows him to escape.
Madhu is at the hospital when Arun comes to see her. Bela comes to see her and Arun tells Madhu he had no idea who else to call. Madhu is shocked because she thinks Nakul might also be there.
Arun confronts Nakul at the staircase who manages to taunt him for not having proof about what he has done. Arun has seen the news reports about Nakul’s friends being found murdered and suspects Madhu may have something to do with it. He is concerned for her mental health.
Bela offers to give Madhu a ride back to the hospital which she and Arun accepts. During the drive, Madhu reveals that she has found out the identity of her rapist and it was none other than her stalker in Gwalior who she pities because he was pathetic. After she exits the car, she tells Bela it was Nakul and she is shocked.
We are afterwards shown a flashback of all the events that transpired on New Year’s Eve.
Rima did not want to go to Anu’s new house for the party because she’s in a bad mood about her in-laws and husband pressurizing her to give birth to a son.
Rima goes to Anu’s party and that’s when things go wrong. The landlord’s son comes to party with the girls. They send him and his friends away and he reveals that Anu only has the key not the agreement to move. The landlord comes and overhears that Komal used to be a woman of the night. He tells all the girls to leave.
Rima reminds Anu that she should have never moved close to her boyfriend’s apartment because he had a function at his house and never invited her to meet his family.
Anu stays behind while the other girls take a rickshaw back to the hospital. However, Nikki begins to smoke which angers the driver and he asks them to get out.
Anu meets with her boyfriend and finds out that the function was his engagement ceremony. Feeling cheated, she leaves in anger.
As she enters the hostel gates, she sees the laser light pointed at her. In the morning, the friends had learned that Jeeva, who was the handyman, had been harassing the girls after he accidentally dropped his laser point.
Anu calls out to him and taunts him, revealing that there are no guards on standby and if he has the guts to come after her.
Jeeva follows her inside, but halfway loses his nerve, causing Anu to insult him.
Anu joins her friend on the terrace who have a bonfire going on. Jeeva comes after Anu and forcefully kisses her. She smashes a bottle on his head and the friends begin to beat him up. Rima goes to call the security but stops when Jeeva makes a offhand remark about them being loose women.
She picks up a burning stick and hits him, causing him to be lit on fire. The girls put out the fire but he’s already dead. That’s when Gracie returns. The girls hide him in a trunk in Anu’s room. He had still been alive but with the box locked, he suffocates and dies.
The friends later take a car and dump Jeeva’s body in the river.
Gracie promises Ilu Mishra that she had no idea that Jeeva had been murdered by the women and she had given her car because they had made excuses about dumping some stuff.
The flashback also reveals that Anu had become paranoid and had decided to leave the hostel, but on the way, she is spooked by the burnt figure ghost and is flung backwards in the path of an oncoming truck.
On the other side, Madhu is slowly becoming possessed again. She confronts Arun about not being able to save her from being raped. Then she flings him out the door and a pool of blood forms beneath him.
She then heads to the hostel.
At the hostel, Rima goes into labor. The nurse who lives in the hostel goes to help but is attacked by a possessed Madhu.
Rima is struggling with labor, leaving Lana and Komal to help her. Madhu is subdued and tied up to a bed where she is given the venom again so that Jeeva can comepletly take over her.
Rima gives birth to a girl and the girls keep the door locked while Madhu deals with Jeeva’s ghost who is drowning her in black liquid. He promises to help her take revenge if she lets him take control of her. Madhu manages to fight back when Ilu Mishra comes along and demands to speak to her son. The soul erupts out of Madhu with force, causing more damage to the building.
When Madhu comes out of her possessed state, she finds Ilu Mishra has been stabbed by a wooden stick. She goes to check on the friends and they threaten her to leave or they will kill her. Madhu sees the Hakim and is hit. The Hakim decides to go after the girl baby and hits anyone who gets in his way.
Madhu awakens, takes an axe, and beheads the Hakim.
In the morning, Dr Shohini arrives and talks to the police about how the Hakim was a serial killer and how the women had no other choice but to kill him.
The women are finally able to leave the hostel.
Time passes and we see the three friends living happily. Rima has reunited with her daughter as well.
Nakul and Bela are having a wedding function, when Nakul is thrown out of the hotel window.
We see Madhu at the hospital, sleeping next to an unconscious Arun. In her mind, the voice seems to belong to Jeeva, showing that Madhu may be controlling his soul to exact revenge on those who had tormented her.
The show ends.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Khauf is a heart-pounding horror TV show that is worth a watch mainly for the strong performances and a story that will resonate with you long after you have switched off your device.
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