Kaun?

Ram Gopal Varma is definitley my favourite indian film director. His movies are now highly anticipated in India similar to a Spielberg or Kubrick flick.

Kaun is only 90 minutes long, has no songs, only three characters and takes place entirely in one house. All Indian movie conventions are thrown out the door. But, Kaun may be one of the best cult movies to come out of India. (RGV also directed the amazing modern gangster classic Company in 2002)

Kaun could easily be made into a Hollywood ala the recent horror flick The Ring. I will not give away the ending, but suffice to say it will catch you off guard, blow you away but still leave your head scratching.

If RGV had added a few songs, some additional characters and a love story into the mix, Kaun may have had better recognition. But it would have also been a film much weaker in narrative scope. RGV has said many times that, he will only place songs in his movies if the situation warrants it (thats the reason for almost 7 songs in his film Rangeela, a story about a girl making it as a star in Bollywood)

If you have not seen Kaun, do yourself a favour and rent it, then watch all of RGV's films and see a true talented Indian filmaker, trying to elevate Bollywood commercial cinema to a new level

This is quite a good thriller starring Urmila (who plays a scared girl alone at home) and how she confronts the 2 intruders into her home (manoj Bajpai and Sushant). Background music is chilling. Overall a very good movie and quite short with no songs. Like most RGV movies the other characters are completely overshadowed by Urmila who is the cynosure of the film and has come up with a knock-out performance.

"Kaun" is the classic "Who is the murderer?" Urmila is alone in her house on a rainy night. The TV news warns that a serial killer is on the prowl. Suddenly Manoj Bajpai knocks on the door . She is scared but he manages to convince her to let him in. After entering the house he behaves weirdly. He has a sinister look and she senses that Bajpai is the psychopath. Horrified she tries to escape but then Sushant appears. He too enters the house. The terrified Urmila with two strangers in her home does not know whom to trust while Sushant & Bajpai assumes the other as the serial killer. The shocked Urmila, now a prisoner in her own house waits for a brutal death,. It's the ending which truly astounds the viewer - the hallmark of a true classic. There are two corpses and one murderer (the serial killer).

"Kaun" is without doubt the best suspense film that has originated from Bollywood. Credit should be shared equally by the Director, Ram Gopal Verma and the script writer Anurag Kashyap. Urmila as the meek & terrified Ms Malhotra, and the menacing Manoj Bajpai are brilliant.

A must see, my rating is 9.5/10

I am posting this review 6 years after watching this movie at Chennai's second rate theatre. Though I did watch this movie recently on DVD. I went to watch this movie just sheer out of ignorance as this movie did not have any publicity. I went to kill my time and was surprised by the movie. It is a great movie because of Urmila and Manoj Bajpai (Bhiku Matre of Satya). Both have acted well, and the Verma has build the errii atmosphere very well. Background score keeps you at the edge of your seat. This movie deviates from Ramsay world of horror movies and makes you feel as if you are watching best of bollywood horror movies. I must say Verma deserves kudos for making a brilliant movie. There will be very few who are not aware of the climax of the movie, but even then this movie deserves a watch. If otherwise, you are in for a surprise.

I have seen many RGV films and this one could be put as one of his best movies other than classic COmpany. If you haven't seen this movie, i will recommend this movie. This movie has no songs and running time of about 100 minutes. The first 20 or 30 minute of the film is kind of slow, so if you can make it through it you will be up for a plesant surprise. Great acting by Urmila and Manoj Bajpai.

4/5