Ragini MMS

To begin with, I am a little disappointed with Ragini MMS in terms of originality. The film has a little resemblance with paranormal activity (as it was seen in movie trailer).However makers have added the Desi spices to the movie by some Indianized dialogues (or say abuses) and strong story and sub-plots.

The genre of the movie is a winner itself.The combination of sex and horror (which was used indirectly in Bhatt's movies is the stream line here). Intentions of the film makers are very clear here.Just two elements horror and sex, no melodrama or Bollywood masala.

Rajpal is very influential on screen.His screen presence and comic timing is bang on!Kainaz has improved a lot after her bubbly role in Wake Up Sid.Explicit scenes are done comfortably by the lead and their chemistry is extra ordinary.

Story is straight without any twists and turns.Screenplay is tight and tangling.Dialouges are surprisingly fresh,witty and sultry.The dialogues (and slang) gives a good flavor to the horror movie.

Background score is a mile stone for horror movies considering the fact that high pitched digital sound and scorching guitars are used for score in an Indian horror movie.

Minus some originality and faulty editing, the movie is the scariest date movie of India till date.

Brings back memories of dirty weekends, for sure :-) At least that part of the movie seems authentic enough. The protagonists rock for their natural performances. The connection with MMS scandals (net blogs are full of such scandals), isolated farmhouses, spoilt brats on overdose of hormones and sleazy film-makers are genuine. The MNS chudail (ghoul) becomes repetitive, but is scary at times. In short, not a bad deal.

What jars are some of the horror sequences, the director's sudden realization that horror movies should have horrifying effects - and hence a surfeit of effects (sound and visual) at the end. The jarring music jars, and the movie ends, presumably to be continued in a sequel, which will explain some of the loose ends of the prequel. Good marketing strategy.

The house of Balaji Telefilms is not known for quality productions, whether for TV or for cinema. So it is useless to expect a Spielberg or Stephen King masterpiece here. The heroine is top-heavy and sensuous enough.. the hero is sufficiently rough and rugged. Both play their respective roles with aplomb.

If you take the proceedings with a pinch of salt, the movie is not a bad deal. I voted 6/10.

Although not as impressive as the 'Blair Witch Project' or 'Paranormal Activity' (most of the horror elements have been borrowed from these movies), Ragini MMS still delivers 90 minutes of entertainment. The sexual theme will keep the viewer mildly amused at the beginning and then gradually introduce the scares of the movie. The CGI will not leave you stunned but you definitely won't take your eyes off the screen. Good performances by both the stars and decent direction. This popcorn-flick could have been done much better. Don't watch this movie if you want to be on the edge of you seat because this movie is a little off that mark but it does give a good competition to the rest of the horror flicks in Hindi cinema. Might scare you or may make you hysterical but it will be fun nonetheless.

Enjoy it in the dark.

6/10

"Ragini MMS" made on a shoe-string budget coupled with the efforts of PR machinery to manufacture topics at regular intervals leading to talk of the town, and eventually resulting in a steep ROI curve.

Fans of "Blair Witch Project" & "Paranomal Activity" would certainly not be impressed with a plot that has been tweaked to incorporate the voyeuristic element of MMS/ Big Boss thereby nearly missing being stamped as a plagiarised product.

The script matches up nicely with the characters. The lead actors Kainaz & Raj Kumar I am sure would get noticed for their convincing and inhibited performance. Undoubtedly Rajkumar is a scene-stealer, you will instantly connect this sleazy "t**** master". The two "fly-in-the- ointment" to the dirty weekend characters could have been done away with.

The scares and chills are not impressive. Or probably the Big Boss format forces constraints to deliver the punch. The screenplay is good though dips for a while in the second half. Technically the product is brilliant. Pawan Kriplani shows immense promise holding directorial reigns. Sadly the sum of parts don't measure up to the whole.

Ragini MMS came and went away in a jiffy, and unfortunately couldn't make a ground for itself. I don't think it would be remembered in the next decade or might have been forgotten by now itself, who knows? The problem is, most of the Indians don't like when the ghosts show their gizmos in a ghastly style. So what's so special about this movie? The good thing is that it keeps the viewer's eye on the plot and holds his feet tightly to the ground. We must never forget that we are surrounded by these unknown entities, who are often enraged when their territory is intruded by humans. So don't look at the plot, the plot falters big time and what remains is the location, atmosphere and the fear of an unknown entity that may be very near to you, yet difficult to perceive. The plot promises itself to be a true story, where a girl was discovered unconscious after spending several days at a haunted house.

A young man Uday (Rajkumar) brings his girlfriend Ragini (Kainaz) at an abandoned and fairly spooky mansion. He wants to get intimate with her and holds a wicked intention to make an MMS of the moments of intimacy unbeknownst to the girl. For this he has made prior arrangements. He has planted several cameras in the room, which are away from sight but powerful enough to capture the moments of love. Uday is lousy and foul-mouthed, and bickers Ragini with his unholy and offending remarks. At the mansion, he spends time with Ragini, so as to persuade her to make love. However, his advances fail when their friends (another couple) drop in to say 'hi'. Frustrated, Uday insults them on their very face asking them to leave. They leave and Uday continues his advances to Ragini. Ragini finally discovers that she is a bait and reprimands Uday for his wicked motives. However, little do they know that the mansion is also the home to a witch, who was charged with the murders of her own children and died in the mansion itself. The witch doesn't like these trespassers and begins settling the scores by herself. Finally the couple finds that they are left on their own to fend off the enraged witch, who would not stay calm unless her wrath is inflicted upon.

There are some scenes that make you feel that you are on a trip to the country side and are spending a night or so in a haunted mansion. The mansion is a piece of hell, which by all means succeeds to qualify its virtue of being haunted and possessed. The actors are juvenile and have really nothing to do. They are more or less like guinea pigs who are simply the victims of witch. The real-time camera work adds good punch of surrealism and originality. The silhouette of witch in traditional Maharashtrian attire, gleaming in the semi-dark room assures and validates the presence of a fearful entity in the mansion. The turning of food into grubs also adds a distasteful crunch to the synopsis. If you are looking for an action-packed horror film (like most of the Ramsay hits), Ragini MMS isn't for you. However, if you are a fan of dark rooms, spooky atmosphere, state-of-the-art presentation, and bizarre involuntary reflexes, please don't miss this.