Phoonk

Its not so scary. A lot of hype was given to this movie because of the contest in which the participant had to view the movie alone in the theater. A strictly one time watch on a DVD.

I'm not going to go much into the story as it is simply about a non- believer being haunted by the supernatural and his family.

Performances are good. Background Score, Visuals, camera angles etc were supposed to play a major role in a movie which was made to scare the audience. However, all of these were strictly OK.

Some Facts Related to the Movie: There was even another contest where participants were supposed to submit their real life experience horror story. This was all on the Phoonk website www.phoonk.in which is now non-existent. However the sad thing about the second contest was that the winners were intimidated over the email but never announced on the website and were also officially never given the price money. I'm one of them.

All in all a one time watch movie which doesn't completely fail to impress as a horror movie.

There seems to be only two genres which are penchant to RGV, underworld and horror. He redeems himself with an "underworld" outing for every mistake he commits in an "horror".

§ Sudeep:: The new protégé'. Quite promising – bears shades of Manoj Bajpai.

§ Amruta Khanvilkar:: From Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj to RGV camp, she has come a long way.

§ Ashish Channa:: The kids are watching too much horror programs and it clearly shows.

§ Ashwini Kalsekar:: Scary portrayal but at times over the top (and a bit amusing in few scenes!). Same for the actor who played her husband.

§ The lady who played the Mother's part was quite natural .

§ Lillette Dubey & KK Raina:: Characterization was a bit skewed, inadequately fleshed out.

§ Zakir Hussain:: The star performer and carries his role quite effectively.

Background score is not too loud – thankfully.

The movie bears RGV stamp all over… and the weird camera angles come as a part of the package.

Raat, Bhoot, Darling, Vaastushastra & the Darna series - reminds me of the story of the spider who refuses to give up. RGV is enamoured by Alfred Hitchcock/ Stanley Kubrick who merely used narration and background score as tools to play with the minds of the audience and create a horror sans blood and gore . Phoonk is yet another attempt to set a similar benchmark on the home ground.

What are you waiting for? Bring on Shabri too..... we have the gut to digest that as well.

I saw this movie and it seems completely absurd. Some concept taken from Hollywood movie exorcist, while main concept being a girl is under spell of black magic. And finally at the end of movie, Indian black magic women becomes some mutant from Hollywood movie X-men, throwing peoples in air by powers of her hand. This whole concept appears to be ridiculously crazy. To any horror movie fans, an advice, just completely avoid this movie.

Even in this modern age, renowned directors like this one makes movies that what we all consider superstitious and that only old and illiterate peoples in India believe. To make it worse, this movie gives justification in stupid way as to why we should believe in "Kaala Jadu" Black Magic. Although, I believe Black magic in scientific way, but this doesn't means all the rubbish beliefs among illiterates have some basis. In one shot the main actor is talking to a guy who cures peoples suffering from possession, He tell him "I don't believe in God" to which that guy gives a weird explanation as to why we should believe in black magic. He starts by telling him if he takes some medicine for headache,why does he believe in that headache pill.For this question our main actor has no answer. I was in complete disbelief while watching this as to how low this movie can go down further.

The Censor Board has lost it. Is this horror? I always get scared on watching horror films, so I generally avoid them. But this...... I literally laughed in the first half! Closing up on toys and dolls and what not.... that literally have no relevance to the plot. Even the end climax was not very thrilling. You keep on waiting.... now something will happen, now something will happen..... you keep waiting but nothing happens. As for the cast performance:

Sudeep: Good. He makes a good impact as the protective father and atheist. The voice dubbing and lipsyncing are also on point. He and the young Ahsaas share a good chemistry as father and daughter.

Ahsaas Channa: She is great. One of the good ones. Her imitation of the possession as well as the emotional scenes makes your heart ache for her. Good one.

Ashwini Kalsekar: Tries to look horrifying and scary, but ends up looking simply ridiculous, especially in the scene in the car where she cries and causes her kajal to smear on her face. Not her fault, attribute it to bad direction and writing.

The others, like Lilette Dubey, Amruta Khanvilkar, Kenny Desai, Shrey Bawa and other characters are good. Casting is great.

Verdict: Good movie, but if you are looking for a great horror movie, don't go for it.

Its a proved fact now that there is only one person in Indian Cinema who can give you much better "Horror movies" than the "Ramsay" kind of cinema made some decades back. Gone are the days when "Horror" meant just Ugly Faces & some Skin show incorporated deliberately. At present viewers are more interested in seeing genuine Horror movies based on original themes. Here RGV comes back with a topic he is best at other than his underworld plot.

More than 15 years ago, when I saw "Raat", I felt relieved that at least one person is there in Bollywood who knows his work and also understands the "Horror" genre. But then RGV took long time to make his second in the series, "Bhoot". And now he is back with same kind of sparks in "Phoonk". Though "Phoonk" is quite repetitive in treatment but it works due to its novel subject of "Black Magic" and brilliant performances from a new lead pair.

The movie has its moments to enjoy, but you may also feel less supplied to you in respect to info about the subject. The explanatory factor is missing in the script and it only stresses at showing the results of the Magic Spell on the victim. The climax where in a "Learned Person" comes to rescue the family is same as you have seen earlier in "Raat" & "Bhoot".

In "Raat" there was Om Puri, Rekha played the role in "Bhoot" and there is "Zakhir Hussain" in "Phoonk" giving the top most performance of his career. He plays the role of a crippled Tantrik and he has acted superbly. Not once the viewer can think that he is acting as he looks so real in his get up and act. Thats the reason he is seen in almost all RGV films and its time others in the industry also use this talented artist more often.

The lead pair, Sudeep & Amruta Khanvilkar both impress with their top rate performances. Sudeep is surely a great discovery. He has some resemblance to Javed Jaffery but has acted like an experienced performer. Baby Ahsaas Channa makes an impact as the main sufferer. Ashwini Kalsekar as the culprit manages to give you shocks but also crosses the border in certain scenes. The actress playing Sudeep's mother gives the required mystic touch to the movie. The project is a collective & commendable effort by the whole team.

One observation, I would sadly like to mention here. I think Indian Audiences come to see "Horror Movies" in the theater not to enjoy the theme and subject, but only to scream and shout intentionally. Moreover during the whole movie you can hear laughters and giggles in the cinema. May be this is another way of enjoying a "Horror Flick", but certainly not as it should be. I hope the subject of Horror needs a silent and intense watch and I fear "Horror" is not taken as another form of "Comedy" by our dear viewers.

Though you may feel similarities with RGVs earlier flicks at times but still the movie is worth a watch if you love this genre of cinema.