User reviews

This movie is good ! It wouldn't bored u and it's entertaining but a one time watch ! Same old ghost with dozens of makeups on their face lol. And the unnecessary sounds effects, and poor music ! Nonetheless it's a average movie.

Ram Gopal Varma creates more mysterious garbage! This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. It is so bizarre, repulsive, and stupid. Varma was right--this movie is very scary--so scary that it scared the audience out of the theaters! By the end of the movie, I was laughing my head off. That's not a good sign when you're watching a horror/thriller. The climax is so disgusting and utter nonsense! Do yourself a big favor and avoid this one! I must say, though, that the child artist was awesome! He really looked as if he just saw a ghost. He definitely deserves some awards for his performance. Sushmita also did a good job.

Overall this was a pretty good movie!(Definitely worth a watch)

Usually i never write comments for movies, but felt that the comments left by the others, were a bit to harsh on the movie.

Often before watching a movie i check out its rating on IMDb, to see whether its worth watching or not and i so with this movie too. After seeing the rating and reviews, i wasn't really looking forward to watching the movie but i had the movie on one of those 3 in 1 DVD's hence watched it anyway.

Well after watching it i was pretty surprised to find it was decent movie, hence this review and a recommendation to others to give the movie a chance. Don't get me wrong by any means, this is not a polished piece of cinema or even of the horror genre but its not as bad as others have made out either. Also i found that watching the movie on my PC alone in my room did the trick in terms of making the movie a little more scary (although that day i was jumping at shadows hence I'm not sure exactly how much credit to give to the movie for that:))

Summation:

Decent movie(with flaws as others have mentioned), but worth a watch and great acting from the child actor and Sushmita Sen always puts in a very solid performance. Also it nice to see Bollywood become more diverse, rather then sticking to a the love theme constantly, hence movie like this and directors such as RGV and Mani Ratnam are appreciated.

7/10

This Movie is a very good attempt by the director and it definitely stays with you after watching this movie for a quiet long time. Not a typical but a unique one to experience for horror lovers of Bollywood.

At this point I've seen more than a few Hindi horror movies and for the most part I usually find them amusing but certainly not scary. This one... well, "scary" might be taking it too far, but creepy it certainly was. I'm not sure that any Indian horror film has raised my neck hair as often as this one did. Predictable? Sure... but aren't they all? There are very few "original" story ideas left in the horror genre. But even with the best of story ideas, it's the execution that separates the good from the mediocre from the truly bad (see "Kaun?", 1999). And Vaastu Shastra is pretty much spot-on in the execution department. Staging and lighting worked well, even the makeup was better than the norm (especially for the creepy dead-things). And while some have pointed to other films as "inspirations" for "Vaastu Shastra", it's not the obvious Hollywood or Korean or Japanese (or Hong Kong, or...) ripoff that you might expect. Yes, there are elements of several previous films, but really... can't you say that about just about every horror movie released since "Night of the Living Dead"? Someday perhaps a writer somewhere in the world will come up with a story we've never seen before. But with the sheer number of films that have rolled out since the invention of the motion picture camera, it's nearly impossible to make a film in any genre -- especially the horror genre -- that doesn't include elements of those that have gone before. "Vaastu Shastra" is no exception, but the "borrowed" elements are more a salute to the films that came before it than they are blatant plagiarism. This is a well written, well-directed, well produced movie and one well worth watching.

Eerie settings, brilliant sound and creepy situations are bound to send a chill down your spine ! The child actor, is OUTSTANDING ! He has amazing expressions !! Sushmita Sen and Peeya Rai Chaudry are, as always, brilliant in their roles. Recommended !

His isn't a bad movie at all. Pretty gosh-darned enjoyable, in fact. Maybe a little dated as to the scares, but it wasn't common when it was made. The child actor, is OUTSTANDING ! It's a good and enjoyable.

This movie would be the second horror/mystery movie of Modern Bollywood.

Raaz was the first try, and it was "Romantic-Comic-Horror" never before seen in history of film.

I would rate this movie 9/10. Good acting by all, speacialy the KID who just steals the whole movie.

RGV's style of movie making is great too. He has a good and an artistic vision, but he needs to work little more when it comes to Horror.

Overall it includes some good chills, but little weak plot and unclear background.

Watch "Bhoot", then this and wait for "Kuch to Hai." Lets see where Bollywood goes with Horror

RGV continues with his ability to surprise the audience in this movie - sometimes a positive and sometimes a negative surprise. I found this movie positively surprising. A masterpiece in the genre of horror movies in India the movie carries on the legacy created by Bhoot and grips you slowly with fear. The eeriness quotient rises as the movie progresses and its not about the ghosts with funny caricature like faces but about something which you can feel. I would rate this in the league of Raat by Revathi. RGV has the ability to create an eerie atmosphere without usage of much of dialogues between the characters. The tempo of the movie is a bit slow initially but really speeds up in the end. The climax is apt for the theme.

Not sure what is wrong with these critics and some users, but they seem to have very bad taste. I agree that there are a few downsides to this film(I will explain them later in this review), but it is nowhere near as bad as these people have made it seem.

Like many other horror films, in this film too, a family moves into a haunted house. It may sound cliche, but it is not, because first of all, 'haunted house' here is not an accurate statement. It is not really the house that is haunted here. It is haunted "something else", that haunts the house. I don't want to reveal it here, because this is supposed to be a spoiler-less review you see. But the point is, it's not that cliche! And there are many other unique elements in this film too that drive it away from cliche. The most important part of this film that I personally felt, is the character of the little boy Rohan (played by Ehsaas Channa). This boy (played by a girl) steals the film. His innocence, honesty and sixth sense very strongly complement the other frightening aspects of this film. It is Ehsaas Channa's debut, and her acting is top-notch. By the way, I do say that Rohan does possess some sixth sense in a way! There is a very slight resemblance in this boy with Haley Joel Osment's character in 'Sixth sense'. But of course, there are a lot of differences between Cole and Rohan too. And Rohan is a unique character in his own right, and almost the soul of this film!

Now coming to the others, Sushmita Sen has done a great job too! This film reveals some of her great acting skills I would say. Rasika Joshi does a brilliant job. Her role is short-lived, but even in that short span of time, she shows how talented an actress she is. Btw, may she rest in peace. A talented actress gone too soon.

So not just the acting, the screenplay is also very good, and so is the background music and sound effects. This film will give you many of those jolts of fear. The fright inducing scenes are not predictable at all, showing that the script is cleverly written, except the ending (I'll talk about it later). The director does a great job in playing with our minds. By the way, the director is Sourabh Usha Narang, and he died of cancer in 2010. Gone too soon! Rest in peace buddy! You've given us something to cherish. Anyways, coming back to the sound effects, there is just one sound effect I did not like in this film - the sound of a cackling voice that appears once in while. It sounded too obvious and silly. It was unnecessary. Other than that, the rest are superb.

Now coming to the other downsides of this film. Whatever causes the horror - the film does not provide enough depth on it. The film should have provided us some more background on this. It would have added more depth & weight to the film. The other drawback is the ending. They rightly say "All's well that ends well". The director seemed to be in a hurry to end the film. And it did not do justice to the rest of the film. The film builds up so much mystery & fear along with high expectations, but loses its way in the end. That was disappointing. So basically these are the reasons why I have subtracted 2 stars from my rating.

That said, despite the bad ending, overall it is a very good film. I can even go as far as calling it a 'must watch'. The ending may disappoint you, but most of the film will not!

The film is available on Youtube. Watch the 1:43 hr version, as this is the least censored. The 1:26 hr version does not have some important horror elements in it. I don't understand the point of censoring horror in a horror film. Stupid people. Btw, we should actually be paying and watching it. It deserves that!

So go ahead, watch this film alone, or with a few friends or family members in the middle of the night, with the lights off. Perhaps you'll be a little disappointed with the ending, but I assure you that overall, the film won't disappoint at all!