404: Error Not Found

Famous psychologist William James said "Faith means belief in something concerning which doubt is theoretically possible". This line sums up 404, an intelligent psychological thriller that deals with a certain aspect of human psychology which explores the dilemma arising because of belief and disbelief resulting in many unsolved debate. This debate is the spinal cord of the narrative of 404 that brilliantly explores the psyche of both the sect of people. The films begins with a grainy video of a medical college focusing on a particular student who commits suicide in his room 404 and thus setting the mood for an edgy thriller but unlike loud desi horror films it comes across as a sensible story. Set in a medical college of high repute it explores the world of ragging and its side effect which results in psychological misbalance and drastic suicides. Abhimanyu (played by débutant Rajvvir Aurora) is a fresher stands against the seniors and dares to complain against them. A man with strong rational mind he chooses to stay in the forbidden "rumoured to be haunted" room 404. With help from rationalist medical psychology professor Aniruddha (brilliant acting by director Nishikant Kamath), Abhimanyu got the key to room number 404. Ragging went to the extent of psychological hammering by seniors led by Chris (played by Immaduddin Shah) which moulded Abhimanyu's mind to start hallucinating about Gaurav (the person who committed suicide in 404). With series of incidence Abhimanyu's rational soul is severely beaten as he starts experiencing the paranormal activities in the room. And there starts the fight between rational thinking and paranormal beliefs as Aniruddha sir becomes hell bound in saving a bright young mind like Abhimanyu getting drained down into irrationality. Following this the story is about the fight between rationalism and some undefined force which is beyond explanation of science. Whether Abhimanyu was really hallucinating or there is an existence of a/an atma (soul) in the room becomes the rest of the story in the second half. With two mediocre horror films in his kitty Prawal Raman take a complete u-turn by scripting the brilliant 404, something unseen in Indian cinema. Without playing it to the gallery the story moves at its own pace gradually involving and intoxicating the audience to the proceedings. The grainy starts to the blurred sequences there is a continuous swinging between belief and disbelief. Throughout the film director kept the debate open ended without supporting one extreme. Even camera (by Savita Singh) and lighting department helped to maintain balance between the two extremes. The jerks and sudden frame change sequences reflected the disturbances in the mind of Abhimanyu as well as Aniruddha sir and credit goes to Sarvesh Parab for the fine tuning. Prawal Raman has an eye for detailing and subtleties. Just after the opening credit, there was a sequence showing a TV channel airing a programme about the Nazi ruling by imposing fear which leads to forced belief and respect. In the similar manner the rational professor feels that the belief of god or evil are nothing but imposed fear which flows out of our subconscious mind thus our brain forcing the eyes to decipher. To keep the balance the costume and set designs are made with utmost detailing. The rational Abhimanyu is wearing a red string holy dhaga in hindu religion) in his hand. The posters in the room of Chris were all of spaghetti western which were in between the huge commercial films and low budget art-house ones. Every shot has an element of "somewhere in the middle" feeling attached to it. Raman scripted a non conclusive climax which has an element of belief and disbelief whereby two world of thinking collides with each having its own way of representation. Prawal Raman deserves a standing ovation for such an intelligent script and specially the camera angle in the climax scene which makes the scene non-conclusive, open to interpretation. Sameeruddin's back ground score with Singh's camera-work played the perfect duo in inducing an eerie feeling throughout the film. Coming to the acting department Nishikant Kamat (who made the critically acclaimed Mumbai Meri Jaan and Domvibli Fast) gives a stupendous performance as the famous careerist rational Professor Aniruddha who has a mysterious psychological past. He underplays his role beautifully in every sequence with special mention to the climax when he breaks down in fear and confusion when his own ideologies were challenged. Rajvvir Aurora makes a promising debut and is an actor to look for. The gradual transformation of a rationalist to believer in paranormal existence Rajvvir plays his role with striking acuteness. Tisca Chopra as Aniruddha's wife and a professor herself reflects elegance, charm and intelligence. She plays her role beautifully and even at this age she looks stunning without make-up and in regular dress. Satish Kaushik is always a great actor and here also excels in the role of a professor who is in dilemma about the existence of spirit. Imad Shah as Chris is a natural actor who plays the senior with a conscience perfectly. All the actors in the film underplay themselves brilliantly giving some believable performances. In 2009 a well crafted thriller "The stoneman murders" got released but went away unnoticed. I sincerely hope 404 gets its due credit as this is one of the rarest intelligent film on Indian celluloid that balances science and paranormal activities and breaks away from all the cliché of horror films that are made in India. 404 is a must watch for those who are craving for good cinema.

I don't care if it references "The Beautiful Mind" or "1408," because 404 is one example that Bollywood is treading somewhere good.

The cast performance is scintillating, so is the camera work. But I am disappointed with the editing & screenplay. The latter could've been more polished when telling a tale involving psychology & thrills. Talking about spirits & hallucinations, the plot is pure suspense till the last minute. With supports from huge social causes & rendering the actual situation of newbies in medicine colleges, drives the movie as a great entertainer.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended due to its absolute story-telling & spine- chilling climax. You might want to watch the ending twice to completely understand what the writers intend. Bravo!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Profanity/Nudity/Sex: No | Vulgarity: Very Mild | Smoking/Alcohol/Drugs: Mediocre | Violence: Mediocre | Gore: No | Porn: No

Firstly I want to give a standing applaud for the brave and bold experiment in Boolywood by Mr. Director "Praval Raman". Mostly the fate of these movies are pre judged and decided in our country, same happened with 404 too. Not many movie enthusiast even know about this. What a pity! The movie is for every sincere movie lover, for all the Hollybood maniacs who claim Indian film industry having no sense, generates no meaningful movie.

The movie is based on the Psyche of human mind, its vulnerability to so called unexisting objects and ghosts. The movie is plotted in a medical college where freshers are being ragged and a boy named Abhimanyu, kinda stand against it. Also he insists his warden and teacher (Satish Kaushik) to allot him room no. 404 where a student died 3 yrs ago and a rumor was in the air about Ghosts and spirits in the room. In the parallel Prof. Anirudh is immensely impressed with Abhimanyu and working on a thesis on Bipolar Disorder. As movie gradually picks the pace, a series of events unturns and enters a slightly dark mode. Last 15-20 minutes are nail biting as the mystery unfolds.

As a psyche senior Imad Shah and his friends did a decent job. None of the actors is a biggie yet has done a full justice to their characters. Background score is commendable and is fullon successful in creating the aroma of mystery, fear and suspense. Few scenes of ragging like one in the room with red light in the room is surprisingly esthetically shot. Also Ranjan deserves full points in creating the environment of a college, sketching each character with solidity.

Hats off to him for such a brave experiment. Kudos :)

saw 404.. most original script.. never saw such a brilliant film.. a film which is a philosophy in itself.. indeed a piece of art(subash k jha)it conveys a lot more than what appears.. it questions all in every way.. a true classic.. each view has a hidden meaning surfacing..and comparing it to other films is actually true horror..i pity the ignorance of the uneducated viewer.. i saw 1408.. a classic like 404 is way beyond compare with any world cinema..1408 is a regular horror film and other than the digital name nothing is common. 1408 is complete trash in front of 404..

i web searched and not a single film has ever been made on the subject 404 has dealt with... therefor the most original.. i pity those who couldn't understand such classics .. hats off to raman.. and to nishikant kamat and tisca chopra..looking forward for more such work Raman.. and congratulations.. 404 is this years most acclaimed film.. 14 four star ratings out of 23.. not a single film this year is rated so highly,.. congrats..hats off to you raman

Watched Prawaal's 404 and the only thing that I can say is this is an "intelligent" movie. Our fears are created by us and we give them names and forms. In a brilliant piece of work Prawaal sends this message clear to all. We came out of the movie wanting more. Great job Prawaal, want to see more of you.Best wishes to your endeavor of giving Indian cinema a different taste every time you create a movie.

The story is simple yet deep. Actors Imaad and Nishikant are brilliant and not to miss Tisca who plays her role to the T.

What amazes me more is that how can such a simple script be dealt with so much class? Every moment in the movie is gripping