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Kaun?

  • 1999
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
5.8K
YOUR RATING
Kaun? (1999)
Psychological HorrorSuspense MysteryHorrorMysteryThriller

While alone in the house, a woman hears news of serial killer on the loose. And then a stranger rings the doorbell...While alone in the house, a woman hears news of serial killer on the loose. And then a stranger rings the doorbell...While alone in the house, a woman hears news of serial killer on the loose. And then a stranger rings the doorbell...

  • Director
    • Ram Gopal Varma
  • Writer
    • Anurag Kashyap
  • Stars
    • Urmila Matondkar
    • Manoj Bajpayee
    • Sushant Singh
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    5.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ram Gopal Varma
    • Writer
      • Anurag Kashyap
    • Stars
      • Urmila Matondkar
      • Manoj Bajpayee
      • Sushant Singh
    • 58User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos13

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    Top cast3

    Edit
    Urmila Matondkar
    Urmila Matondkar
    • Ma'am
    Manoj Bajpayee
    Manoj Bajpayee
    • Sameer A. Purnavale
    • (as Manoj Bajpai)
    Sushant Singh
    Sushant Singh
    • Qureshi
    • Director
      • Ram Gopal Varma
    • Writer
      • Anurag Kashyap
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews58

    7.85.7K
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    Featured reviews

    8Peter_Young

    It happened one night... when RGV's brilliance sparkled!

    Ram Gopal Varma is according to me one of the finest filmmakers India has seen. The artistic excellence of his works, the originality of his scripts, and the general unique finesse of his style are extraordinary. "Kaun?" is one of his better works. It is a very unconventional Hindi film for its time (or even today). It is a small, relatively short thriller, and as a thriller, it is simply superb.

    It is atypical in that it is only one hour-and-a-half long, it has no songs, there are only three characters, and the entire story takes place in one house during one rainy night. This may resemble in many ways Yash Chopra's classic Ittefaq, and Varma might have taken some inspiration from Chopra's classic, but mind you, just inspiration; "Kaun?" is very much a film of its own.

    The story develops at a steady pace and focuses the viewer's attention on every tiny detail. The background score, the taut, unpredictable script, the fairly peculiar characters, all contribute to the film's suspenseful mood. Every scene in the film is relevant, interesting and thrilling, never letting the viewer get distracted for even one minute right until the rather shocking end.

    The film's main protagonist is played by the absolutely fantastic Urmila Matondkar, who displays fear, confusion and total madness through her ever so intense facial expressions and body language to create a memorably ambiguous and freaky lady. The two co-actors support well, and it's rather unusual to see the wonderful Manoj Bajpai playing the typical moronic fellow.

    "Kaun?" is an honest attempt by Varma which works very well for various reasons. The film provides chilling entertainment, and its intensely dark proceedings as well as its surprising ending make it one of the greatest thrillers made in Hindi cinema in recent times. Sadly, not enough films of this sort are being made in India, and when they are, they get little notice. A must-watch.
    dhruvdude

    This movie haunted me

    I was 16 years old when I went to see kaun in theatre and because the movie was rate adult I had to buy the ticket in black but even then the theatre owner wouldn't let me go in and so I had to request him to let me go in and so he let me. All the trouble I took for watching kaun was worth it. The ending was so surprising that after watching kaun I couldn't sleep at night. What haunted me was Urmila's performance. She was absoloutely brilliant. This one of RGV's best movie and is a must watch for anyone who likes thriller movies. My rating - 10/10
    10anjshaik

    value thy scriptwriter and director

    Ram Gopal Varma and Anurag Kashyap make a good team when Ramu is the director and Anurag the writer this was was really a great movie a simple movie with a surprising ending that knocks you off the chair it's about a girl home alone and how she confronts the 2 intruders that come into the house Manoj Bajpai is a great actor provides humor and frightens us it's superior dumb fun at it's best Ramu is a good director and will always be the " WHO'S THAT" song at the beginning is very nice and fits the theme perfectly really a great movie with actors that have a hidden talent to act you just have to bring it out and the director and scriptwriter are just the people needed to bring out the hidden talent thumbs up to the writer and director hope you continue to entertain us the way you have
    9ajugeorge2001

    Simply Superb, mind blowing

    "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
    10utpal_das

    A Lonely women.... A Killer... One Rainy Day.... One Empty House

    In one line.. The best Thriller from Bolly/ Hollywood. Yes! You have read it right. Not even Hollywood has ever done a movie with such a superb script. I am sure no one from Hollywood has seen the movie, coz if I was a producer, that would be the first thing I would do. Without giving anything away, just let me tell you, how much can you do with a real time movie, with just two characters inside a house and a radio which says that a killer is running free in the city. JUST WATCH IT! I saw it back in 1999-2000, and I saw it yesterday and though you know the ending, you just cant get out of the movie, its so gripping. Ram Gopal Verma is undoubtedly the best director India has right now (Shekhar Kapoor doesn't make Hindi movies). Its not your "keep your brains out" typical 'Mass' movie directed by the Johars & Chopras with the Khans running around the Zintas and Mukherjees, its a thinking man's movie. No matter who you are, if you are reading this which means you KNOW MOVIES, you will enjoy this movie.

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    Related interests

    Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out (2017)
    Psychological Horror
    James Stewart in Rear Window (1954)
    Suspense Mystery
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Urmila's character doesn't have a name.In the whole film she is referred as Mam.
    • Connections
      Referenced in The Creative Indians: Anurag Kashyap (2018)

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    FAQ13

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 26, 1999 (India)
    • Country of origin
      • India
    • Language
      • Hindi
    • Also known as
      • Кто ты?
    • Filming locations
      • Swapnanagari Holiday Resort, Panvel, Maharashtra, India
    • Production company
      • Kshitij Production Combines
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 30m(90 min)
    • Color
      • Color

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