Ram Gopal Varma(RGV) asked the whole nation,''who wants to be scared?'' and the whole nation replied,''me,me,me!!''.Or so it seemed,seeing the crowd at the movie hall.Judging from the number of people there for the first day second show it is well evident that the latest genre of movies thats pulling crowds and helping box office sales these days is horror flicks.And 'Darna Mana hai'(DMH),the latest entrant seems like its here to stay.Or so I think.
The caption of DMH says,'Six Stories,One Ending'.Unheard of,ain't it?RGV is not the director of the movie(I discovered that only during the movie,he's the producer) but DMH is his second foray into horror flicks,after Bhoot.DMH doesn't fall into the category of I'm-inspired-from-Hollywood movies( Thank God for not-so-small mercies)
To say the least,DMH is one of the freakiest,weirdest and silliest movies I've every seen.Here's a glimpse why.
The Story
The movies is about a group of seven friends(Sameera Reddy,Peeya Rai Chowdhry,Gavurav Kapoor and 4 others) on the way to Goa in a four wheel drive.In the middle of a dark night,amidst playful friendly chatter the vehicle breaks down.The road is lonely,spooky,but the super seven catch a glimpse of some light emanating from a distant place in the woods.One of the seven refrains from going with the remaining to the woods,towards the source of light.The place turns out to be something of creepy looking ruins with a lantern as the source.
They decide to spend the night there and start whiling away time around a bon fire,telling spooky stories.What they don't realise is that they are soon to be a part of a scary story themselves.One by one, as they go out of the ruins toward their car(to get blankets,food etc.) they mysteriously disappear until only two of them remain in the climax.Is there someone out there in the woods who is behind the mysterious disappearances?Is there a common link in the six stories?Does the title of the movie signify something?
About the six stories
1] The first story revolves around Sohail Khan and Antara Mali,a newly married couple on the way to their honeymoon spot,in an car,on an isolated dark road(again!).Sohail attempts numerous times to scare his wife just for the heck of it,but in vain.Till the car breaks down(again again!).What happens then leads Antara to the nearby woods and then back to the car,as they set off once again after the car is serviced.Sure,there's a spooky twist in the story.But you ain't gonna read about it here(ditto for all the stories).
2]The next one involves Saif Ali Khan and Boman Irani. The latter is the owner of a shady motel and is obsessed with trying to get people to quit smoking.Saif is a fashion photographer who comes to the motel for a night's stay(yeah,he's a smoker). What follows then is a shockingly scary tale.(this one's my favourite)
3]The next one is about a school teacher Dayashankar Pandey,played by Raghuvir Yadav.He's a strict teacher with a more than troubled schooling of his own,also obsessed with punishing his pupils.He comes across this female pupil in class2, someone that changes his life forever.She is connected to his past in a strange way.The South Indian actress Revati(remember Raat..also by RGV) plays the student's mother.
4]The fourth story is about Sanjay Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty,a married couple and Rajpal Yadav,a fruit seller..an apple seller to be precise.Apples are at the core of this story,with weird things happening to people who eat them.
5]The second last story is about Nana Patekar and Vivek Oberoi.The latter is driving down an isolated dark road(third time!) and gives Nana a lift,who's standing outside a graveyard.This story is particularly creepy amongst the lot,with one of the two characters as a ghost.
6]The last story is about Aftab Shivdasani and Isha Koppikar.Aftab is portrayed to be a love-sick,ignored loser who is a nobody in his college and has a crush on Isha who is with someone else.Out of frustration he tries to commit suicide,fails miserably there too,because of cowardice.He asks God to gift him with some powers that nobody else has..and the power he gets leads to his own destruction.
The Cast
Needless to say,the movie is packed with actors and actresses.Almost all of them are RGV's favourites,from Vivek to Antara to Raghuvir.A superb cast and brilliant acting.One of the best performances in the movie is by Boman Irani as the loony owner of a motel.Sure, no one is given a very meaty role,as there are 6 stories cramped in a movie.But justice is done to almost all of them in their short parts.Nana is brilliantly outstanding once again.Sameera Reddy shot to instant fame with the title song(and the only one at that).She's one of the central characters of the story and manages to look her part:bold and somewhat fiery.
Just a thought:Why is it that the women in horror movies are so dumb that the head in that very direction where they aren't supposed to go?
Pros and Cons
The stories are all weird,freakish,creepy n somewhat dumb too.There are times when you may shake your head in disbelief ,yet marvel at the twisted plot.Your mind may shout 'ridiculous' every now and then,or 'how dumb,thats not possible'. Even Bhoot,the big brother was more believable.But not this one.
A major plus is that DMH is not the typical boring song-n-dance, dipped-in-sugar type of a movie which is a pleasant change.The sequence of stories and the disappearance of characters is well intertwined.
The downside is the background sounds,they are too piercing and jarring to the ears,not to mention much louder than required.(I actually had to put my fingers in my ears to avoid damage).Also the ending is silly,unconvincing and unbelievable(But then,so is the whole movie)It leaves the public high and dry for sure.There's no trace of sensibility anywhere yet the movie manages to keep you glued to your seats ,both before and after the intermission(very rare in Bollywood).
An often repeated dialogue in the movie:Jo dar gaya,samjho mar gaya(The one who is scared,is as good as dead)
Finally
Darna Mana Hai may NOT appeal to lots of people like it did to me,but hey,I'm a self-confessed weirdo.But that apart,what's laudable is the attempt to make a movie on such unusual lines. Its the novelty in the script that will be the biggest attraction of DMH.It manages to provide the chills and thrills,shivers and shudders(and a few laughs too) without the usual props(actually,each story is a prop in itself).As far as I can see,RGV has another winner on his hands.Final two words from me:SEE IT.
And oh,before I forget,DO leave your brains at home while you venture out to watch this one..Sochna Mana Hai!
P.S.It it said that if you don't rate this review or comment on it,weird things will happen to you!
