Darna Mana Hai

It is a wonderment that a movie of this stature could be made in Bollywood!!! Kudos to Ramgopal Varma and The First Time Director Prawaal Raman. The Movie is totally bizarre and hence very engaging. The Premise of Six friends telling each other stories on a dark, wintry night at lonely spot, the stories that follow, all keep our attention riveted. The stories range from the horrifying to unbelievable. All of the cast have given a wonderful performance. the ones that deserve special mention are Boman Irani, Saif Ali Khan, Nana Patekar, Shilpa Shetty, Raghuvir Yadav and Vivek Oberoi. One remains involved with the happenings mainly due to taut direction, background music and absence of songs(thank the director for that for that). The flow and the pace is fast and smooth. The climax needed more explanation. Thats IT!!! NOW go and watch the movie!!! It is definitely worth your time and money!!

Now this was a true classic movie from Bollywood standards. I've had mix reactions about Ram Gopal Verma so far. Some of his classics include: Raat, Rangeela, and Road, whereas his major disappointments include Vaastu Shastra and Bhoot (foolish endings). However, "Darna Mana Hai" is a true classic! No songs, no wasting time. This is pure "edge of the seat" psycho thriller. Everyone played a great part from unknown people to Vivek, Nana, Saif and others. Antra mali played a good cameo in the first story that the group shares. Shilpa shetty and sanjay kapoor filled in pretty well as well. The Nana Patekar-Vivek Oberoi encounter was a true classic!!!!!!!!!! I would rate it as undoubtedly the best horror movie from Bollywood. 5/5

DARNA MANA HAI is the most refreshing movie of the year 2003.....and those who put it out as a crap are just a bunch of fools who have no idea of movie making.nor do they know the pulse of all the viewers. .

The only disappointment with this movie is that it has been advertised as horror...but is not much of it...its actually a fantasy thriller.

the movie is full of creative zests....something that few foul reviewers cant identify with....the BACKGROUND SOUNDTRACK and Camera-work are worth special mention.Though the film has many newcomers, they have delivered their parts very well, and the acting on the whole is quite good. also, the direction is slick and technically brilliant,although the screenplay needed some corrections. few of the stories were simply amusing and not scary at all....but they should be appreciated for their strange themes. Overall, a very good movie if you care for some really imaginative work. this one {supposed to be inspired from twilight zone, creep show...etc...} is much better than its Hollywood counterparts and cannot be ignored as a spin off..its nothing like it. A Truly GREAT AND CREATIVE MOVIE....WORTH WATCHING MANY TIMES.

P.S:--those who complain about the weird stories should be reminded that this is not a typical bollywood fare and is meant for those who like this subject, ONLY...the others can watch their own crap and need not post their stupid and idiotic comments.!!!

Bollywood tries something never before seen in a Hindi film. A horror film about people telling ghost stories to each other. The main plot of the film is predictable and a little boring. The six stories have some good parts. Story One was pretty exciting towards the end only with Sohail Khan. Story Two is one of the Best and has dark humour added, with Saif Ali Khan and Boman Irani in powerful roles. Story Three is the boring one out of the lot about a teacher. Story Four was a bit stupid but good in some parts, with Shilpa Shetty. Story Five is the Best out of he lot, with Vivek who offers a hitch hiker Nana Patekar a lift. Nana claims to be a ghost, which leads to a amazing twist. Story Six is quite Fun, less horror about a boy who can STOP time. This is Far better then the sequel Darna Zaroori Hai. A good attempt in something different. Not Bad, quite entertaining.

"Darna Mana Hai" comes as a refreshing change in the genre of thrillers. It shows how a horror flick can thrill without being gross. There is little show of blood and gore and thrills the viewer with twists in the tale. Ram Gopal Varma proves himself again as a producer who dares to try something different in each of his movies. This is the second in this series of thrillers following "Bhoot". He has promised to follow this up with a sequel called "Darna Zaroori Hai"!

The film starts with a set of seven friends on their way to Goa when their car breaks down in a desolate part of a jungle. They take refuge in a shelter and to pass the time, start telling each other scary tales. As each one of them gets scared and returns to their car, they get killed. The friends get entangled in a tale of their own. Who the killer is and how the tale of tales ends makes up the rest of the story. The movie is fast paced and leaves the viewers breathless though the ending could have probably been made a bit differently.

Each of the stories stars a plethora of bollywood heroes and heroines. Raghuvir Yadav, Vivek Oberio, Saif Ali Khan, Sohail Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Nana Patekar are just a few of them. Boman Irani and Raghuvir Yadav excel in their roles. Nana Patekar is his usual emotionless self. Vivek Oberios is a star now, what with his apperance on screen setting off hooting and whistles in the theatre.

This novel idea of narration deserves appreciation. I would give it 7/10 for the novel concept and treatment.