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.

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

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

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.

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.