movie review : Darna Mana Hai
movie: Darna Mana Hai
cast: Nana Patekar, Shilpa Shetty, Saif Ali Khan, Revathy, Vivek Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani, Sanjay Kapoor, Boman Irani, Raghuvir Yadav, Isha Koppikar, Antara Mali, Sohail Khan, and Rajpal Yadav.
dir: Prawaal Raman
pro: Varma Corp Ltd / K. Sera Sera production
by: Narendra Kusner
rating: 4/5
It’s story time, folks. When their vehicle breaks down near a jungle on a freezing night, six friends decide to leave one person behind, go to a nearby shack, light a bonfire and kill time by telling each other interesting tales. As the hours go by, the stories become weirder and zanier.
Darna Mana Hai, produced by Ramgopal Varma and directed by Prawaal Raman, may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But if you’re looking for something unusual and spookily funky, this film grips you with its brilliant execution and narrative smoothness.
The interesting bit is that though one regularly encounters ghosts and supernatural occurrences, this isn’t a scare-you-forever horror film in the Bhoot mould.
A few scenes do give you a sudden jolt, but more than being frightened by their impact, you simply marvel at the thoughts behind them.
Of the friends, Shruti (Sameera Reddy) and Romi (Gaurav Kapur) have the most stories to tell. One talks about how a couple’s car breaks down, and the man (Sohail Khan) suddenly disappears when he’s repairing it.
Another describes how a psychopathic hotel owner (Boman Irani) prevents a visitor (Saif Ali Khan) from smoking. A third is about a perplexed teacher (Raghuvir Yadav) who equates a student's behaviour with a tragic childhood incident.
Each tale is interspersed with developments showing how the destinies of the friends are actually affected. Some of them venture out on their own, and in quick succession, they are killed.
Oblivious of the deaths, the survivors continue their stories. One is about how housewife Gayatri (Shilpa Shetty) buys apples from a seedy-looking vendor, only to see those eating them turning into apples.
Another talks about what happens when John Rodrigues (Nana Patekar) takes a lift from Amar (Vivek Oberoi), and tries to surprise him by saying he’s a ghost. Finally, there's one about a loser Purab (Aftab Shivdasani) who suddenly gets superhuman powers.
Though the climax is rather morbid, the film’s highlight is the way it blends a series of gruesome murders with short stories based on pure fantasy. While the first tale is predictable and the third long-winding, the others are charming on their own.
Technically, the highlights include the tight writing (Atul Sabharwal, Rajnish Thakur, Abbas Tyrewala), crisp editing (Amit Parmar, Nipun Gupta), moving background score (Salim-Sulaiman, with sound design by Arun Nambiar) and outstanding cinematography (Vishal Sinha).
Though there’s a plethora of well-known names in the cast, Nana Patekar, Vivek Oberoi, Shilpa Shetty, Boman Irani and Aftab Shivdasani come up with the best performances. Sameera Reddy and Gaurav Kapur show good screen presence, and Sushant Singh chips in with a neat cameo.
Unlike Varma’s Bhoot, which lost steam after a superb first half, Darna Mana Hai keeps you riveted for most part. Of course, this is a somewhat niche film, and to find this yummy, you must have a taste for the bizarre.
• Planet Shilpa Shetty
Darna Mana Hai : movie review