Agyaat

I can usually stomach anything, and like even so-bad-its-good movies, but this was actually painful to watch. There's so many things wrong about this movie that it's tough to know where to start. Nothing happens for the first half of the movie except for some obnoxious characters either trying to be funny, or trying to be obnoxious. Awful camera shots...and when something finally does happen, we have to endure 10 character reaction shots. The visual effects are awful and the auditory effects are insanely hilarious...kind of like Curly of the Three Stooges in the jungle...what were they thinking ? And what is it about Bali movies and the singing at the most inappropriate times ? I gave it two stars for the simple fact that I liked the interactions in the beginning between the main protagonist and his assistant who was in love with him, and I've seen worse. But, I have never used this word in reviewing movies before... AVOID.

Irrespective of the fact that his last few films haven't really been great experiences, one still enters a Ram Gopal Varma movie with certain expectations in mind.

But Ramu nowadays it seems is hell bent on scaring even his most loyal fans away. Agyaat turns out to be one such experience wherein you go in expecting a thrill ride but come out absolutely unmoved rather irritated.

Agyaat tells the story of a film crew arriving in a dense forest to shoot their film. The team comprises of a tantrum throwing hero Sharman (Gautam), the heroine he badly lusts for – Aasha (Kothari), a South Indian producer Moorty (Ishrat Ali), an eccentric director JJ (Howard), a submissive spot boy Laxman (Ishtiyak Khan), the philosophical cameraman Shakky (Kali Prasad), a forever frustrated action director Rakka (Kale), Assistant Director Sujal (Nitin) and the simple script supervisor girl Sameera (Rasika Duggal) who has a secret crush on Sujal.

While Sameera pines for Sujal, he dreams of attaining the film's leading lady Aasha. Circumstances lead to a two day shoot break. Setu (Joy) the local jungle guide then suggests a small camping trip in the jungle. During night when everyone is enjoying the bonfire, following a strange sound Setu goes on to find out more about it but doesn't return. When the crew members go on to find him they find his dead body. Petrified, they all try to run out the jungle but their car meets with an accident.

Now trapped in the unknown terrain as they try to find their way out more crew members start dying under mysterious circumstances. With hardly any known faces amongst his cast members, Ramu manages to hold your attention to some extent by his gimmicky shot taking and effective use of background music.

Agreed in a thriller with a short running time of under two hours there is less time for character development but what about the screenplay Sir? Also, the placing of the annoying item song in the opening credit titles serves no purpose. Most of the actors too are a huge let down in the sense that they simply end up grating on your nerves and in fact you feel relieved that they have been bumped off.

Agyaat through its promos and Ramu's interviews appeared to be his ode to films like Predator, Blair Witch Project etc but in reality it appears an insult to them.

At the end by literally keeping the mysterious killer "Agyaat' (unknown) he seems to have already made a preparation for a sequel.

Telugu star Nitin Reddy making his Bollywood debut is earnest. Priyanka Kothari shows a bit of improvement in her acting. Gautam Rode fits the part. Amongst the rest cast, none really impress.

Agyaat is a disappointment. Enter this jungle at your own risk. Then don't complain we didn't warn you.

Next to no scares, annoyingly obnoxious characters, and just plain weird.. I'm being generous by giving this a 4

The film tried to be good and it was a bit different from your average Indian film. The concept of invisible unknown creature (Predator) hunting the crew one by one is very good on paper. I don't know if it was budget issue or something with the direction or just the cliches that they tried to put in it but the film didn't come out very good.

Ram Gopal Verma returns with a new spooky venture minus any publicity gimmick as used in his last movie "Phoonk". But the expectation level from an RGV film, still remains high as usual, with his fans waiting for something new, each time he returns to the screen. However, after his last few movies, RGV fans are now divided into two sections. One, who are the die-hard fans and would watch his movies irrespective of the content or subject. And second, who love RGV but still don't go for his new release at once and prefer waiting for the general response. "Agyaat" will be a disappointment to both these sections as the original Ram Gopal Verma is completely missing from the scene, this time.

The movie can be reviewed in just a few lines as it gives you nothing much to write about in details. First of all it is neither a scary horror movie nor a fast paced exciting thriller as shown in its publicity campaigns. It only revolves around an idea of merciless killings made by an unidentified power, roaming in the forests. The victims are the people of a film unit, shooting on location in the dense forest, led by a local villager, who knows the area in details. Now how they all meet with their deadly ends is the only theme for this new disappointing venture from Ram Gopal Verma.

"Agyaat" straight away starts off with a song, which was really surprising coming from the master film-maker. And then it tests your patience till the next 60 minutes since nothing happens on the screen as expected. It picks up in the second half but by then you already know what is going to happen till the end. Throughout the movie, you keep on feeling that there is something strange going on, not at par with the style and standards of the brand, Ram Gopal Verma. RGV only seems to be there in the experimental climax, where once again he surprises with a bizarre kind of ending, used so daringly. The climax makes you wonder, the level of confidence this man has, who doesn't even care about the success or failure of his projects.

The acting department has only one name you will remember after going through this so called horror thriller, and that is Priyanka Kothari. She shows great improvement with her controlled performance and sensual looks. But rest all, are just fine in their routine kind of roles having nothing great in store for any particular character.

The movie hugely depends upon the Sound Effects, Background score and Cinematography. But in my opinion it's high time we have to move ahead from only relying upon the Sound Design and Camera-work in a horror or thriller film. Along with these essential ingredients, the story and content also has to be looked upon as a major contributor in this genre. Sadly, the latest offering from "The Maestro" scores the minimum in this department and has only got the virgin locations showcasing the beautiful Sri Lankan forest as its best part.

In few words "Agyaat" is just another project from the RGV factory which even raises doubts on being directed by the Master himself. May be he looked after the project as the caretaker and only gave his inputs towards the climax. Anyway, Ram Gopal Verma once again disappoints in a big way and wastes our hard earned money and time. The low cost of the project may rope in some returns but RGV desperately needs to reinvent himself for the sake of all his fans.