Darna Mana Hai

"Darna Mana Hai" comes as a refreshing change in the genre of thrillers. It shows how a horror flick can thrill without being gross. There is little show of blood and gore and thrills the viewer with twists in the tale. Ram Gopal Varma proves himself again as a producer who dares to try something different in each of his movies. This is the second in this series of thrillers following "Bhoot". He has promised to follow this up with a sequel called "Darna Zaroori Hai"!

The film starts with a set of seven friends on their way to Goa when their car breaks down in a desolate part of a jungle. They take refuge in a shelter and to pass the time, start telling each other scary tales. As each one of them gets scared and returns to their car, they get killed. The friends get entangled in a tale of their own. Who the killer is and how the tale of tales ends makes up the rest of the story. The movie is fast paced and leaves the viewers breathless though the ending could have probably been made a bit differently.

Each of the stories stars a plethora of bollywood heroes and heroines. Raghuvir Yadav, Vivek Oberio, Saif Ali Khan, Sohail Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Nana Patekar are just a few of them. Boman Irani and Raghuvir Yadav excel in their roles. Nana Patekar is his usual emotionless self. Vivek Oberios is a star now, what with his apperance on screen setting off hooting and whistles in the theatre.

This novel idea of narration deserves appreciation. I would give it 7/10 for the novel concept and treatment.

It's like reading a book of short stories from Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, or anyone like them. 6 stories bring to you the unimaginable, the unbelievable, something between fantasy and thriller. We learn about the consequences of bad choices we make in life and they are funny at times, and shocking as well. An earlier comment mentioned that the stories are weird, but that doesn't matter, it makes the movie well worth watching!!! The only minus in it all, is the reason we get for what is happening to our 7 friends who tell us their stories. That is indeed quite weird, but maybe YOU and I didn't even notice.....someone is missing at the end of the movie.......

Bollywood tries something never before seen in a Hindi film. A horror film about people telling ghost stories to each other. The main plot of the film is predictable and a little boring. The six stories have some good parts. Story One was pretty exciting towards the end only with Sohail Khan. Story Two is one of the Best and has dark humour added, with Saif Ali Khan and Boman Irani in powerful roles. Story Three is the boring one out of the lot about a teacher. Story Four was a bit stupid but good in some parts, with Shilpa Shetty. Story Five is the Best out of he lot, with Vivek who offers a hitch hiker Nana Patekar a lift. Nana claims to be a ghost, which leads to a amazing twist. Story Six is quite Fun, less horror about a boy who can STOP time. This is Far better then the sequel Darna Zaroori Hai. A good attempt in something different. Not Bad, quite entertaining.

I was excited to watch the movie because when i read the names of the actors being used in the movie, i'm a big fan of Vivek oberoi and Nana Patekar, i like Saif Ali Khan's spotanuity, so i thought it will be a great experience all of these actors act together, so i was disappointed as soon as the first story started, but i admire that an indian films are turning into Hollywood style flicks without songs and subject that could be different from other movies. This movie cannot be compared with any other indian horror or thriller film. it stands by its own, but some stories were hard to believe and very comical at points. You cannot scare somebody if the story looses its believable factor. Like the first story was alright, it was scary with a twist. So was the School teacher one, it was very good it had a mystery element to it. Vivek oberoi's and Nana Patekar's story was scary and funny at the same time. it was well written i was just upset with their story's length. I thought they would have more of a role in the movie. Other stories were just a joke, The apple one, The cigarrete one and the stupidest of all was the Aftab shivadasani with supernatural powers one. It was hilarious more then it was scary. Scary was the seventh story the real one, with the six friends. At the end the movie had an issue to address that only way to get rid of your fears is to die. The ultimate fear is the death. This point was addressed very nicely. The movie would have been nicer if the stories would have chosen carefully. It would have been bit more scary.

DARNA MANA HAI is the most refreshing movie of the year 2003.....and those who put it out as a crap are just a bunch of fools who have no idea of movie making.nor do they know the pulse of all the viewers. .

The only disappointment with this movie is that it has been advertised as horror...but is not much of it...its actually a fantasy thriller.

the movie is full of creative zests....something that few foul reviewers cant identify with....the BACKGROUND SOUNDTRACK and Camera-work are worth special mention.Though the film has many newcomers, they have delivered their parts very well, and the acting on the whole is quite good. also, the direction is slick and technically brilliant,although the screenplay needed some corrections. few of the stories were simply amusing and not scary at all....but they should be appreciated for their strange themes. Overall, a very good movie if you care for some really imaginative work. this one {supposed to be inspired from twilight zone, creep show...etc...} is much better than its Hollywood counterparts and cannot be ignored as a spin off..its nothing like it. A Truly GREAT AND CREATIVE MOVIE....WORTH WATCHING MANY TIMES.

P.S:--those who complain about the weird stories should be reminded that this is not a typical bollywood fare and is meant for those who like this subject, ONLY...the others can watch their own crap and need not post their stupid and idiotic comments.!!!