Et Tu Bhoot !!. Review on Bhoot

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the scariest of them all ? As Swati casually watches television, she gets a million-volt jolt when a scary fairy stands in her mirror. Her sudden scream is accompanied by a burst of background music. Ghosssttttt !!! ''Mouthshutdotcom'' has earlier written a wonderful and detailed review on the movie. However, I wish to maintain the suspense that the movie creates, and wish to just generally comment on the flick, without giving away any of the suspense and thrill.

In his much-awaited Bhoot, Ram Gopal Varma aims to scare the daylights out of everyone. To his credit, he does succeed a few times while unravelling the plot. He also extracts some crisp performances, with Urmila Matondkar excelling. But by unnecessarily over-dramatising so many sequences, his attempt goes quite haywire. Add to that, a weird second half, and what you have is a film that leaves you as mixed up as a cocktail spirit.

So get a taste of the life of Vishal (Ajay Devgan) and Swati (Urmila Matondkar), who've just shifted into a 12th floor Mumbai flat. Though Vishal is aware that the previous tenant Manjeet had died after jumping from the balcony, he doesn't tell his wife.

The problems begin when Swati starts hallucinating. Whether she's watching television, standing in the kitchen or even sitting on the seaside, she's tormented by Manjeet's ghost. And since she begins sleepwalking, a doctor diagnoses her problem as somnambulism.

Till then intermission, a few portions definitely make you shiver. Manjeet's first entry, shots of a spooky doll in a red T-shirt and a beach scene are vividly picturised. Unfortunately, Varma tries to be too obviously scary. He repeatedly shows a lift in motion, unnecessarily captures the same high-rise images, keeps sounding a ghastly doorbell, and uses background music in such a way that you know something is coming. Instead of creating so much drama and noise, it would have been more effective and hard-hitting if he'd just taken you by complete surprise.

Yet, if the first half has its strong moments, the film goes off on another tangent later. In quick succession, we're ping-ponging between a nosey cop (Nana Patekar), a gentlemanly psychiatrist (Victor Banerjee), a tantra-mantra diva (Rekha), the dead woman's mother (Tanuja) and a dynamic neighbour (Fardeen Khan). While the psychiatrist concludes that Swati has a multiple personality disorder (MPD) and the cop is convinced she has become extra-violent, the diva figures out her actual problem so effortlessly that you wish she'd joined a detective squad. Worse, the climax is neither chilling nor authentic.

Despite many shortcomings, Bhoot scores in terms of its sincere directorial effort, the unusual script (Sameer Sharma and Lalit Marathe), the sharp photography (Vishal Sinha), the absence of unwanted songs and some commendable displays of acting prowess.

Of the cast, Ajay Devgan is spontaneous, especially when he's baffled by his wife's behaviour. Nana is superb, lending a dash of humour. Though they have important roles, Rekha and Fardeen get lost in the chaos. In the end, it's Matondkar's film, all the way. Her transformation from a simple woman to a possessed spirit is smooth, and she emotes fear very naturally.

The heartening thing is that unlike most Hindi horror films which end up being comedies, Bhoot actually remains a horror film. But then, one wishes Varma had maintained the flow and suspense, instead of getting haunted by too many cinematic cliches.

All in all, a good entertaining thriller. Strictly for adults though. Happy Viewing .... :)