Saab ... Bhoot ... Review on Bhoot

Wankhede Stadium might soon be renamed. 'Chandan Cinema'. No, I haven't been frightened to insanity on seeing Ram Gopal Verma's 'Bhoot'. It's just that the entire audience was as loud as the Mumbai crowd was when India played the Aussies at Wankhede,Mumbai, two years ago. At first, I failed to fathom why. Chandan has never had a rowdy crowd, not oflate, atleast. I realised why, much later in the film. The crowd roared as loud as the Mumbai crowd welomes 'aapla Sachin' to the batting crease. And the movie hadn't even begun. Shah Rukh Khan was chasing Priety Zinta in a Santro (a commercial,silly) and everyone was giggling, shouting...

My mind raced back to an interview of Ram Gopal Verma I had read a few days ago. ''I want to scare the Indians out of their lives,'' he had said. I guess the viewers were so adamant on not feeling scared, that they thought that making a lively atmosphere would prevent any fear from creeping in. But fear is an emotion, that the more it is suppressed, the more it will intensify. As the ghost of a girl called Manjeet made its first appearance, there was pin-drop silence. As some one wisecracked, ''Itna sannata kyun hai bhai?'' everyone regained their composure and started giggling. Reminded me of RGV's next production, Darna Mana Hai's tagline - 'Giggle with fear'.

As I said, the ghost makes her first appearance just a few minutes into the movie. And that's where Bhoot's best point lies in. No Swiss locales, no songs with twenty dancers, no song and dance between the husband and the wife, proclaiming their love. In short, Bhoot just shoots!

In the first forty minutes of the movie, RGV throws in plenty of red herrings along with, obviously, the Bhoot. Urmila keeps seeing the Bhoot at night, and in the day, the dolby digital sound scares her! The story gets going when Urmila begins to sleep walk and a murder takes place. Enter Quereshi. Liyaqat Quereshi. Nana Patekar makes you squirm in your seats. ''Does he think that he is Bond, James Bond?'' an irritated viewer remarked. Although Patekar tries to provide the humor angle with a few really irritating mannerisms, he shows his true mettle as an actor, with his facial expressions, when he sees the murder site, for the first time. After the interval, characters rush in and out. Victor Bannerjee plays a psychatrist, Rekha is a exorcist, Tanuja plays Manjeet's mother, while Fardeen Khan plays the neighbour. After some exorcism, investigation, special effects and a confession, the spirit of Manjeet is liberated.

Before its release, their were plenty of SMSes and forwarded e-mails doing the rounds that the Bhoot is played by ABC, where ABC was one of the elite cast. One particular SMS even named Saif Ali Khan as a Bhoot! And no, don't worry, Saif will stick to being confused between all the lovely ladies of this world. He is not related to 'Bhoot' at all.

The only suspense in this movie is the circumstances which led to Manjeet's death. Did she commit suicide? If so, why? Was she murdered? And if so, by whom? The suspense of the movie is rather 'thanda' with an anti-climatic ending.

The background score and special sound effects are scary at times, and irritating at others. Although one will be disapoointed if one expects something like 'The Exorcist' or 'The Ring', Bhoot is a gripping, although not too scary, movie. RGV is in top form, as he executes a brilliant screenplay with his typical style.

And now on to the performances! Urmila looks the best she has ever done, and acts better than she must have ever imagined. She acts brilliantly when the sight of the ghost makes her speechless and numb with fear, as she cannot even call out to her husband, who is sleeping on the other side of the bed. Ajay Devgan, as the concerned husband, is the best among the rest. Victor Banerjee is a victor. His emotions, when his daughter is dying of cancer, and when he treats Urmila, are top-notch. Rekha is mystifying, and has brilliant dialogue-delivery. When she says, ''Sanjay'', you are instantly remembered of her yesteryears hit, Khoon Bhari Maang, as she says the name 'Sanjay' in the same tone, with the same conviction. This diva hasn't aged! Nana Patekar tries too hard to be funny. He doesn't need to, his face evokes laughter, without him trying. But, his expressions during his first scene are to be seen to be believed. Tanuja is fairly good in a short role. Fardeen makes a late entry, and has missed the bus, when it comes to acting. Seema Biswas, as the maid, evokes a few laughs.

All said and done, Bhoot is a well-directed movie, with outstanding performances. Although it won't scare you a lot, it is gripping almost throughout. Not a classic! But, you ought to see it once!