Kaun?

After watching his film COMPANY, I thought I should check out another Ram Gopal Varma film. I found this obscure film of his, KAUN? With only three characters credited, I wasn't really sure what to expect. Boy was I surprised, in a somewhat typical plot that really doesn't go anywhere, there is humor, wit and solid character development. It's a small film that resonated even stronger with me than COMPANY. The woman Urmila is fantastic in the girl-woman role and she truly is quite remarkable. In a film like this, it shows how much the director has a part in shaping the project. This movie just on plot would have been nothing, but Varma's direction is first rate and it shows. An interesting Indian film for sure, without any songs, the film is still somewhat Bollywood with the forced elements.

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

"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

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.

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