A horror that kills
Jul 17, 2003
Director Ram Gopal Varma’s Bhoot, atmospheric, spooky, bloodless movie is finally showing at Plaza Cinema this weekend
Film: Bhoot
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Umila Matondkar
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Running time: 120 mins
Showing at: Plaza Cinema
Rating: R18
Preview: Sebidde Kiryowa
Director Ram Gopal Varma’s Bhoot, atmospheric, spooky, bloodless movie is finally showing at Plaza Cinema this weekend.
Tremble and fear. Be very afraid! The last time this movie was slated to show at the movie house, Nairobi snatched it up.
Caution: This movie has already claimed the life of an elderly Indian man in a Delhi cinema. This has ironically been Bhoot’s claim to fame.
But can you blame anyone? The director clearly warns us at the beginning of the film that anyone with a heart condition should keep off. The old man did not. So will yout dare the director?
The film is an urban supernatural thriller set in Mumbai City. Vishal (Ajay Devgan), a stock analyst, is in search of a flat for his wife Swati (Urmila Matondkar) and himself. He finds the perfect place on the twelfth floor of a tall apartment building. The problem is, the previous occupant, a young lady, plunged to her death from the flat’s balcony.
But Vishal does not let this deter him, although he says nothing about this to Swati. When Swati finds out she gets distressed and starts seeing things.
What Vishal thought was a psychological anomaly begins to unfold into a mystery. In a fight to save Swati, Vishal reaches out into the horrifying supernatural and the whole truth starts to unravel.
Bhoot has been hailed for treading the path less trodden. Gopal breaks all the rules of Hindi cinema. “Varma does away with the mandatory song-dance sequences. In fact, the film has no songs at all and one does not miss songs in an enterprise like this,†observed one critic.
Most Hindi film makers intersperse comedy with the intense parts to balance the film and provide “relief†to the viewer. There are no “light moments†or “relief factors†in this film however. In fact, the film is so content-driven that one hardly longs for any light moments.
Varma also defies the norm of the hero having to romance the heroine. Although the lead actor and actress are spouses, their relationship is so intense that it is hard to recognise a spark of romance there. This film also lacks out on exotic locations and grand sets characteristic of the genre.
Yet, critics were full of praise for Varma’s work with some short of calling it a masterpiece. “Varma is in complete form this time around. Undoubtedly one of the best makers in India today. Awe-inspiringly stuff,†writes film critic Taran Adarsh.
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Umila Matondkar
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Running time: 120 mins
Showing at: Plaza Cinema
Rating: R18
Preview: Sebidde Kiryowa
Director Ram Gopal Varma’s Bhoot, atmospheric, spooky, bloodless movie is finally showing at Plaza Cinema this weekend.
Tremble and fear. Be very afraid! The last time this movie was slated to show at the movie house, Nairobi snatched it up.
Caution: This movie has already claimed the life of an elderly Indian man in a Delhi cinema. This has ironically been Bhoot’s claim to fame.
But can you blame anyone? The director clearly warns us at the beginning of the film that anyone with a heart condition should keep off. The old man did not. So will yout dare the director?
The film is an urban supernatural thriller set in Mumbai City. Vishal (Ajay Devgan), a stock analyst, is in search of a flat for his wife Swati (Urmila Matondkar) and himself. He finds the perfect place on the twelfth floor of a tall apartment building. The problem is, the previous occupant, a young lady, plunged to her death from the flat’s balcony.
But Vishal does not let this deter him, although he says nothing about this to Swati. When Swati finds out she gets distressed and starts seeing things.
What Vishal thought was a psychological anomaly begins to unfold into a mystery. In a fight to save Swati, Vishal reaches out into the horrifying supernatural and the whole truth starts to unravel.
Bhoot has been hailed for treading the path less trodden. Gopal breaks all the rules of Hindi cinema. “Varma does away with the mandatory song-dance sequences. In fact, the film has no songs at all and one does not miss songs in an enterprise like this,†observed one critic.
Most Hindi film makers intersperse comedy with the intense parts to balance the film and provide “relief†to the viewer. There are no “light moments†or “relief factors†in this film however. In fact, the film is so content-driven that one hardly longs for any light moments.
Varma also defies the norm of the hero having to romance the heroine. Although the lead actor and actress are spouses, their relationship is so intense that it is hard to recognise a spark of romance there. This film also lacks out on exotic locations and grand sets characteristic of the genre.
Yet, critics were full of praise for Varma’s work with some short of calling it a masterpiece. “Varma is in complete form this time around. Undoubtedly one of the best makers in India today. Awe-inspiringly stuff,†writes film critic Taran Adarsh.