Raaz 3: The Third Dimension

For Emraan lovers, there's plenty of what he does the best, this time he does it with two opposite actors in one single movie. However these acts are the only isolated events where Emraan maintains his sheen. Rest of the movie, he doesn't seem to put an effort to do more than being bossed around by two strong characters. Bipasha carries on with her typically conventional approach of acting, with plenty of leg room in her dresses wherever possible. Esha, being a new comer, has a few places where she seems to have been allowed to be herself and those are the only moments where she delivers. She has put extra conscious effort on shouting and cribbing scenes. Sorry but this is sales biz lady! if it doesn't show, its not called effort!

The viewer is assured that this is a horror movie by way of iconic sadistic horror vocals in feminine voice and in dark scenes it is the morphed sound of toads. And there are some scenes where you confuse Atma (Spirits) with Aliens, particularly where the Pret Atma (unholy spirit) enters the hospital room door in the form of a thick centipede and suddenly starts piling up upon itself into a human form. Another instance where the Atma sends virus into Sanjana's body through a centipede which crawls into her ear. Din't spirits use to enter human body just like that? since when did they start using transport? Thats unconventional horror!

The sets are sprawling rich. Music is bearable and slightly hummable too. While entering the hall, take tub full of pop-corns for munching in free time and do order a mid-movie snack.

7/10 I liked the movie, The story is somewhat like an actress who is losing her fame now wants to take revenge with a new shining actress using black magic. Bipasha was brilliant, Emraan was good too but over shadowed by Bipss and Esha Gupta was OK OK. Story was good, Though the amount of horror scenes were a little less than i expected, but still those scenes that the movie has were really good.... Especially the scene where esha is surrounded by cockroaches, and a scene where her maid kills her self, these all scenes are really good... Vikram Bhatt has mastered this genre... The movie is worth a watch and better for 3D.

"Raaz 3" cleverly utilises the success of the franchise and ropes in from the original the director Vikram Bhatt and actress Bipasha Basu (thank God, Dino Morea was permitted to stay away!).

Writer Shagufta Ali fences the plot quite well - a waning actress who can go any lengths to retain the crowning glory and succumbs to making use of black magic as a weapon of destruction.

Bipasha gives her best shot however appears she was over-doing it and if I may dare say flaunting her body she has toned over the unemployment years. Emraan Hashmi's character is not well etched out. Eesha Gupta manages a decent performance considering she is a newbie in comparison. And yes, Bipasha & Shagufta as half-sisters - bad writing.

Songs are OK carrying the signature Mahesh Bhatt feel. Director Vikram Bhatt who has developed core competence in the genre of horror does a decent job. On that note, the writer could have polished the edges to give that sheen it warranted.

Raaj 3 has nothing to offer to viewers who are looking for some descent horror stuff. The movie is similar to any spooky Hindi TV serial being aired now days with the exception of 2 love making scenes in the movie.

The movie fails primarily because the basic root on which the movie is based i.e Black Magic is not at all exploited in the movie and the viewers are left wondering as usage of a potion of water being depicted in the movie is black magic all about..The Ramsay's have shown the usage of black magic much better in their movies. Raaj 3 does not scare you a bit and gives you a feel of a TV serial. Also,this movie is a let down compared to bhatt's earlier ventures 1920, Shaapit or Haunted.

If we talk about acting Bipasha is the only saving grace, Imran is pathetic, Esha looks good, forget about acting.

Storyline is poor music is forgettable which usually is high point of bhatt movies. So guys watch at your own risk!

Vishesh Films have recently found a new formula of success apart from their earlier fixed patterns of film-making, which is en-cashing the brand name of their previous hits through their so called sequels. The audiences easily relate to the 'Title' with their fond memories of the original and then opt for its sequel, expecting a similar kind of output from the same. And the Bhatts have easily managed to make some money from their last such ventures, even though they were all pretty weak films as per their subject and execution. But here in RAAZ 3 they surprisingly come up with at least something to watch, despite of having its usual flaws and drawbacks.

Beginning with its weaker points, the film strictly follows the decades old rule of Hindi Cinema wherein Horror Films must have some unwanted sex and songs too to provide the required relief to the viewers. So, RAAZ 3 also has many similar sequences wherein the camera starts from the legs itself, the heroine seduces the hero to commit a serious crime and the couple suddenly decides to lock their lips just after a terrifying moment, making you laugh instead of getting frightened. But what pinches you even more than these forced sex scenes are the songs which hinder the pace of the film hugely and don't really have some listening value too, which is usually not a feature of Vishesh Films. Background score also remains screechy and loud which fails to create any kind of terror needed before all those horrifying moments on the screen. In fact, while watching it I fondly remembered the subtle and intelligent use of minimum background score by the South Asian film- makers in their brilliant Horror films such as RINGU,SHUTTER, JU-ON and many more.

In short if you edit out that one funny kissing scene and all the songs from the film, replacing its routine background score with an experimental one, then RAAZ 3 does become a watchable movie (better than many recent trashy projects) having few positive points as mentioned below.

As its very first plus point, though not anything fresh but thankfully it does have a believable storyline written around the subject of love, jealousy and competition involved in the film business itself. One may call it completely imaginary and superstitious but there have been real life unconfirmed stories of allegations made by actors on each other of using Black Magic in the past. And that only becomes the basic premise of the storyline in RAAZ 3 which was also earlier used in HO SAKTA HAI (2004) and PHOONK (2008).

Secondly, the film cannot be called only a Horror movie as it does have some human relationship angles incorporated in its script which actually help in converting it into a one- time watch. So its not the same old, ugly looking Ghost following the whole cast and killing them one by one to take his revenge. R3 has got the elements of sibling jealousy, love and hatred along with an undercurrent of GUILT running throughout the film, felt by its lead hero Emraan Hashmi. Though I wished that this guilt factor could have been used more brightly in its second half but still the director doesn't waste it completely.

Thirdly RAAZ 3 also has few appreciable scenes like the one where Bipasha meets the Black Magic man for the first time, the climax confronting the Ghost and the Cockroach attack sequence post intermission which can easily be rated as one of the boldest suggestive scenes filmed on a lead actress in the recent times.

Regarding the performances, honestly there is nothing exceptional but still Bipashaemotes well caught in the rage of jealousy against her rival actress. However I really didn't find her enjoying her dances at all. Esha does much better than her previous films in the role of the victimized lady and Emraan Hashmi surprisingly plays it real cool in a controlled manner which works at times. Manish Chaudhari as the Evil Spirit doesn't get much scope but he still excels in his few scenes. The film's cinematography together with a fine art direction (Indoor Sets) manages to take you in and out of world of spirits successfully. Hence they all work together to a certain extent, majorly because the director remains focused on his story- telling too along with the Horror genre of his film.

Moreover, unlike Vikram's last venture (DANGEROUS ISHQ), he doesn't rely excessively on either the 3D factor or the Special Effects used, which eventually brings in a certain kind of balance in the film resulting in a better product. That is if you watch it in 3D then you are sure going to get many things coming on to you as expected. But if you prefer watching it in 2D then also the film remains the same as it is not hugely dependent upon the technology to generate any bigger impact.

In all, RAAZ 3 may not be anything great or path-breaking but it still has its moments which might work more in the smaller centers where the sex-horror genre has certainly got a mass appeal.