Azam Khan and Parvez Damania’s production under the banner One More Thought Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. ‘Phoonk’ is finally out to scare the audiences. The movie stars Sudeep, Amruta Khanvilkar, Ahsaas Channa, Keeny Desai, Ashvini Kalsaker, Ganesh Yadav and Zakir Hussain in the leading roles. Ram Gopal Verma, after the failure of ‘Contract’, comes up with his direction of this scary outing, ‘Phoonk’, which is a horror film and claims to be the scariest offering of Verma after ‘Bhoot’. But if you are going to compare this latest venture with Ramu’s earlier horror flick, ‘Bhoot’, then you will easily find the answer i.e. ‘Bhoot’ carried the scary elements in plenty than ‘Phoonk’. The movie in question is not that scary, as it was being claimed by the makers. But ‘yes’…it is well made and should be appreciated as far as the subject is concerned.
Ram Gopal Verma’s execution is fantastic that he grabs the viewer’s attention all through the film. The movie revolves around the theme of black magic and that is the actual hero of this enterprise.
An atheist, Rajeev (Sudeep) who is a successful construction engineer, lives happily with his wife and two kids. He looks fiercely at the people who have belief that the dark forces exist. But a day comes, when he has to face the dark forces. An evil comes to his happy home appearing as a threat of destruction of his family. This dark evil shakes his convictions and beliefs. Here the horror begins…
The makers did huge hype before the release that the movie will frighten you to the fullest and it would be impossible to watch it alone in the theater. Thus when you enter the cinema, the scary factor travels with you and once the reels unzip on screen, you expect to be scared. But unfortunately the scary element is not much there in the movie rather it is the subject matter and the adroitly done execution that bind you till the end. Ramu’s emphasis on the works of lights shows his class and that certainly sends shiver through the bodies (Yes, the light works truly frighten you). Ram Gopal Verma’s dexterity with the camera is much vivid in the film. The camera works deserves huge marks and has been done by Savita Singh. The sound effects are the real life of this venture. The crispy and sharp sounds scare you (undoubtedly). Kunal Mehta and Parikshit Lalwani have done brilliant on this front. The background score is fabulous also and that has been done by Bapi-Tutal. Milind Gadarkar’s screenplay is well-penned.
Ram Gopal Verma is the filmmaker, who always gives you shaky results at the box office, as a few times his movies appear to be the box office hits and most of the time emerge as the utter flops.
With this offering, you cannot predict it a blockbuster (initially … but the following days will decide its fate) but ‘Phoonk’ certainly has something, which can take you to the cinema halls and when you come out, you go home with some sort of satisfaction thinking your money has not gone waste. Ramu is always surrounded by the vinegary criticism by the critics. With ‘Phoonk’, he proves his mettle that he may hit the jackpot with his dexterous mind. Every sequence gets your eyes glued on the screen.
Talking about the performances, the names that ooze out for their brilliance are Sudeep (who enacts the role with aplomb), Amruta Khanvilkar (luminous job) and Baby Ahsaas (who loots the hearts with the excellent performance). Amongst others, Ashvini Kalsekar, Zakir Hussain and Ganesh attract hugely. The rest do well with their parts also.
In a nutshell, though not much scary (as claimed by the makers), ‘Phoonk’ nonetheless grabs the attention due to its brilliant subject matter of black magic and Ram Gopal Verma’s skillful execution. This is one of the best movies, RGV has made so far in his long career.
RS Rating: 3/5
- The reviewer is a popular and experienced Bollywood and Indian Television Analyst and is laced with a good rapport with both the swanky worlds of Hindi film industry and television fraternity. He is also swathed with good rapport with the celebs of these abodes. You may write to him at the e-mails: goher.punn@yahoo.com, goheriqbal@yahoo.co.uk and bollywood.tv.analyst@gmail.com
