Naina

Okay, the Urmla Matondkar starer "NAINA" (directed by Ram Gopal Verma)is VERY similar to an Asian movie, entitled "THE EYE"...which, when is translated in Hindi, means "NAINA"...

Even the tag line is somewhat similar...and the story is EXACTLY the same! If you've seen THE EYE, don't bother NAINA...its the same...really, no difference.

Surprisingly, even the actress in the horror THE EYE, is looks and make-up wise very similar to Urmila Matondkar. Even though as usual, Urmila's acting is excellent (you should see BHOOT for appreciating her acting), the movie isn't...

3/10 stars for this flick...to bad Ramu...you're not getting away this time!

It's bad enough for a movie to be a remake of another. It's worse when two movies are remakes of the same flick and are released back-to-back. I'm talking about Nazar and Naina. I prefer the former. Nazar is a more thrilling and entertaining and has good songs. Naina, on the contrary, is quite intense--the type of movie that gives you a headache by the end. There are some repulsive scenes such as the operation. I must say, though, that Naina has better special effects. Although the movie is not too long compared to other Hindi movies, it feels like it goes on forever. Towards the end it becomes a complete drag and the climax is absolutely ridiculous.

So after all the hype... how good is Naina... the movie that's supposed to take Bollywood (The Indian version of Hollywood) Horror to the next level. To set the context, Bollywood horror is known for its 'icky' style -- relying more on ghoulish sets, and mindless plots -- and less on stuff that jolts the gray cells.

In the movie, Naina is a girl blinded since birth, who gets the chance of getting eyes from a donor. Jumping to the opportunity, the eyes are operated upon, and the surgery is a success. All seems to be going well - until, that is, she realizes that she can now see dead people!

The movie then progresses to give you truckloads heart stopping frames, many of which, though bearing the stamp of typical Bollywood horror flicks, are pulled off well.

At times, the plot seems to bear an uncanny resemblance to 'The Sixth Sense'. Also a bit of 'City of Angels' seems to come in. Further, the story line, though it has its strong points, tends to fall back to typical Bollywood type scripts with needless diversions and some overly sentimental spots.

All in all, if you're in for a horror movie, and don't mind the Bollywood styling... then this would be a good movie to watch!

No matter how much the Indian viewers/media try to hype "Bollywood", Naina proves that Bollywood is not capable for producing original ideas. I would highly recommend watching the original HK flick called Jian gui (aka "The Eye") rather that watching a "copied and pasted" laughable Indian version. Naina proves that Bollywood not only "frame to frame" copies foreign films but does a terrible job doing it! The producers did not even have a decency to change the name of the movie!

The plot, framing and in fact the lines are identical. When will the Indian producers realize that they cannot get away with crime. I am surprised that no one has sued the filmmakers for such a blatant copyright infringement. The performance of Urmila is laughable and the FX are very amateurish!

P

I wonder why this movie had three writers since all Shripal Morakhia did was rip-off almost every frame of the Pang Brothers' captivating movie 'Jian Gui'. Not only does it copy the aforementioned movie, but it does so terribly. Morakhia Bollywoodizes it by making the main character an NRI (non-residential Indian) based in England where everybody seems to speak Hindi. There are no songs but the romance between Naina and her psychiatrist looks rushed. The jump moments are laughably bad while the special effects are mostly adequate. Urmila Matondkar is competent. This is far from her best work but she is terrific in the non-'jump' scenes. What made her choose to do this? The rest of the actors are passable at best. I'm surprised the film was accepted at the Sitges Film Festival because I hardly see any appeal in it. It's a bad movie that has an Indian Hollywoodish B-grade feel to it.