Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Raaz 3
All About Eeks
The Bhatts are simply recycling titles,
hoping the success of the first film rubs off on this one. However, unlike Murder or Jannat, Raaz was quite forgettable and anyone who
remembers Raaz 2 must be a total film junkie.
Vikram Bhatt’s Raaz 3 reworks all the
clichés of the horror genre, just amplified in 3D (he has been rather taken in
by 3D, this is his third using the technology).
But the production design is shoddy, what with diaphanous flying
curtains and old-fashioned over-stuffed sofas. The netherworld – “aatmaon ki
duniya” has been designed as a decrepit slum, and spookiness attempted with
barren trees and muddy water. Really,
the Ramsays did better without today’s sophisticated tech equipment.
Raaz 3 is
scary in the sense that bloodied faces, hanging bodies, sudden sounds from a
switched off TV, random screaming and a cockroach infestation (truly yucky) can
make you wince. But a real horror film
is one that keeps you awake at least for a night after watching it, jumping at
every sound and shadow. For that, the mumbo
jumbo built into the story and narration must be believable for the duration of
the film. Here, you know when something spooky will happen, because adequate
warning is given—like a needlessly long close-up of a wash basin drain, when
the cockroach attack happens. Also, the
character being spooked seems to be alone a lot, so that she can be ‘attacked’
by hallucinatory creatures, even when she is at a film shoot or a hotel loo
during a party where there are bound to be lots of people. It’s just lazy
horror-making.
Film star Shanaya (Bipasha Basu), who looks
quite stunning, is, you are told, on her way out, because a younger Sanjana
(Esha Gupta) has ousted her from her position, not only getting the coveted
films, but also the awards. Considering
both are seen shooting ‘item’ numbers in revealing clothes and Bipasha wins
hands down in the ‘hotness’ stakes, what are they talking about!
Still, stung at the loss of a much-desired
trophy, Shanaya is willing to make a pact with a creepy, pasty-faced, kohl-eyed
spirit, Tara Dutt (Manish Choudhary) who gives her a bottle of cursed water,
which must be given to her hated rival by a “reliable” person. Shanaya coaxes her lover, film director
Aditya (Emraan Hashmi) to do the deed, and a roll in bed is all that is needed
to convince him.
If Shanaya weren’t such a dimwit, she’d know
that a damsel in distress is a definite dude-magnet; sure enough Aditya falls
for the mentally wrecked Sanjana and guilt makes him her self-appointed
saviour.
By the already low horror film standards in
Bollywood, Raaz 3 delivers the chills, but no novelty. The music is
desultory, the actors do their parts earnestly, which is all that could have
been expected from them. They are not likely to win any trophies for this one. But then again, going by the current standards of Bollywood, who knows!
Labels: Cinemaah
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