Bhoot

Which about sums it up. For all the talk of songless-ness and being different and reinventing the genre (if remaking it in the standard Hollywood mode can be called reinvention; perhaps 'rescuing it from the Ramseys and the white-sari-clad woman with a blood-streaked face' is more appropriate) - all of which were true - what mattered in the end was whether this film could sustain the tension and make you empathise with the characters. And it did. The background score is really effective; camerawork is creative; the leads act flawlessly; there's a liberal sprinkling of red herrings, the characters are believable, and we're spared the quasi-religious mumbo-jumbo that mars so many films in this genre. While making a horror film is inherently a derivative process, Bhoot manages to avoid seeming cliched, both by the standards of Hindi filmdom (okay, that's not hard - the absence of either a dak bangla or a kabristan, as well as the aforementioned white sari, pretty much ensures that) as well as, to a lesser extent, Hollywood (which it is closer to in 'spirit'). Not by any means a pathbreaking film, but a very well-made one nonetheless. Excellent! Go watch it!

Bhoot is one of the Ram Gopal Vermas milestone, and also the only good movie which is of genre horror and also a professional Bollywood film. Before Bhoot, the horror movies made in Bollywood were mostly will fit in comedy. Off course, other than Ramse movies, some serious tries were made like Ankahee and others. But they failed to get attention of the audience or to get good reviews and critics. Even Ramu's previous movies Raat and 'Darna Mana Hain' failed to get any attention.

So before watching Bhoot I have prepared for a movie which will scare you less and make you sleep more. But I was totally wrong. The movie doesn't have ghosts with painted faces, neither it has females wearing bare minimum clothes and throwing other people around like basketball, neither it has Mantriks with skull in their hands. It is a very simple low budget movie.

It is more comparable to Kaun than any other Bollywood horror movies you have seen. Most of the credit goes to the Director, and remaining to the actors, specially Urmila. Urmila is the main character and mostly the story revolves around her, and she fits there so well. Ajay and Nana were as usual at their best leaving us with nothing to curse for. Ajay a simple, middle class husband who is totally helpless and got no clue of what should be done, while Nana a 'Chakram' police inspector who has doubt that something weird is going on. These two characters too are plotted very well, and done with the same power by the actors.

Another good aspect is its short length. The movie starts quickly, without showing us any love story and song. A couple getting into a new apartment house, which is haunted, and the wife gets possessed by the ghost. Its just one line story.

The most important aspects of ghost stories is the environment making, and thats the most positive part of this movie. Just the sound of lift coming up and down makes so much of impact. I will recommend this movie to everyone, who enjoys Bollywood movies, and also to those who enjoys horror movies. In my opinion, this movies should go in "101 must watch Bollywood movies" as it is the only good horror movie made in Bollywood till date.

I went to see this movie expecting to find another dumb "chaitan" story. But found that this one is actually pretty darn good, even without qualifying it as a Hindi horror film.

Hindi horror films are awful. I am yet to see one that is really scary, and most of the time, when the *scary* part comes, my friends and I burst out in laughter. The make up leaves much to be desired and the story is always the same.

The story part is pretty much the same here too. This is not exactly a never-seen-before sort of storyline. However, other things make up for it. The movie completely belongs to the actors and the technicians, mainly the sound editor and the cinematographer. They have done away with grotesque make up and stuck to minimalistic approach, which is actually scarier.

The actors are brilliant. The have not given in to the urge that many Bollywood stars have, of going into the rhetoric by making loooong speeches and show extreme expressions. All the parts, except Urmila's and Rekha's have been portrayed very subtly. Urmila is pretty good, Ajay Devgan is very believable. Tanuja gives an excellent understated performance. Rekha is truly amazing. She manages to creep you out even more than the ghost in some scenes.

The one complaint I have, is that the movie loses some of its fear factor after the intermission. It just isn't that scary anymore. Also, there isn't any particular twist. However, there is one part which could have been the twist, but was downplayed. But on the whole, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a good scare. The movie is not for people who see the same for stories.

Overall - 8 / 10

This movie definitely has a very creepy setting. What works on you is that its not a haunted mansion setting, but a local apartment in Mumbai, one which you could be renting right now. Add some creepy looking doll and eerie music, you're most likely going to grab the next person sitting next to you and cry to be released. But! this intense thriller, horror remains only in the first half of the movie. The second half, although I'm not going to make any specific remarks, ( want you to find out for yourself) tries to remake some of the earlier Hollywood movies and it sort of takes your attention off of the whole movie. That's when the movie's originality begins to slide and fail.

They should have done something different, but most horror genres have this habit of screwing up some portion of the movie. But let me warn you, this movie is certainly NOT for kids. If you cannot withstand watching supernatural horror, please don't watch this one, it might really grip you tight for a few weeks, or even months maybe!

Ram Gopal Varma's Bhoot steps away from conventional Hindi cinema and stands as an outstanding piece of work.

All the actors perform perfectly, the camera work remains consistent and the music as well as the long silences hold the tension. With a quick ending that in context is perfect if a little rushed, the film remains a entertaining fantasy right till the end. Go watch this film and every other Ram Gopal Varma film as well... you wont regret it.