Kaun?

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.

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

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.

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.