Phoonk - Preview

NOT A REVIEW - Just getting all set to be scared and to question my beliefs...

I have not been a huge fan of horror movies. I can't handle the creeps given by a spooky background score, along with a camera following the character, to imply someone's following the said character. The tension gets too much. Over time though, I have grown some nerves and have come to handle gore, and remind myself that the characters are not going to jump out of the screen. Nevertheless, what the director Ram Gopal Varma says about Phoonk in his interview with Baradwaj Rangan, comes as a relief -

The interesting part for me is that it’s beyond a horror film, beyond the “scary” genre. It is very scary, because of the backdrop itself, but the more interesting part – which I think is novel in such a film – is that I’m hoping it will create a debate among both believers and non-believers.

Wow! The motivation is really intriguing. Any movie that bases its plot on a theological, philosophical or psychological debate is not only commendable in the current realm of Hindi cinema, but also can be extremely fascinating in absolute terms. The official site goes on to say -

"Phoonk" is the story of a confirmed atheist whose belief systems are shaken up when his loved ones are subjected to unspeakable horrors by forces whose very existence his rational mind refuses to accept. It is also the story of a fanatical devotee who is forced to turn her back on God in the face of traumatic experiences.

And on his blog -

In "Phoonk" I attempted to use the above aspects of human psychology to accentuate fear. I went to the extent of attempting to make people feel not safe even with idols of Gods around.

My beliefs lie somewhere in between. So, it will be very interesting to see how I react to the movie, and whether I'm able to identify with either of them.

Meanwhile, can't stop laughing at this one on RGV's blog

Comment: I think watching Aag will be scarier than Phoonk. RGV's Ans: Let’s make a deal. If you shut up about Aag, I swear on your mother that I won’t make another Aag.

Really? I mean, really, really!?

- meeta, a part of the audience

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Plot Summary

A family finds itself the target of a black magic practitioner.

What Worked

• The scenes in which Raksha is in her spells.
• The climax fight between good and evil

What did not

• Where does Raksha’s little brother vanish?
• I really felt bad for dear ol’ Jyoti Subhash (little girl’s grandmother) who shakes her head fervently. I wonder if she’s suffering, now in real life, with the problem in the neck that her character seems to have in the movie.
• Ashwini Kalsekar suddenly appearing from below the frame laughing a devilish laughter - sheesh! How cheesy an attempt at scaring was that!!
• What was Anshuman (Kenny Desai) doing with a scroll of paper and red ink?!
• The “ram ram ram ram” background score.
• How exactly does the psychiatrist get Raksha out of her spell by touching her left brow?
• The whole analogy between believing that crocin works and God exists! Any one who has had even the most frivolous discussion on theology would have come across this question. And the counter-argument is simple “we know there’s research supporting the said effects of crocin and no such research exists for the other!”