Mohit Suri Lends Success To Bhatt - Raaz 2 Review

MOHIT SURI LENDS SUCCESS TO BHATTS

By Eye TV India Bureau

Critic's I-view

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The Bhatt camp is known for their romance and horror types of films. 'Raaz' of 2006 falls in this category and though denied by all and sundry, 'Raaz - The Mystery Continues' also belongs to the horror genre though not similar to its predecessor 'Raaz'. After all, 'Raaz - The Mystery Continues' is rich in horror though it has other positive plus points, too. Ram Gopal Verma's 'Bhoot' may be a bit more horror-specific, but 'Phoonk' and '1920' have been equally frightening. Significantly, this is one of the most successful movies of the Bhatts inasmuch it has the best of the performances by its cast, the director as well as the music director. Mohit Suri has proved his competence without any doubt. We wish he had paid as much attention to its climax as he has devoted towards the beginning and the middle parts of the movie.

In the movie, Prithvi played by Emraan Hashmi is an artist who experiences mysterious thoughts about Nandita played by pretty Kangna Ranaut. Though Emraan has never met her yet he paints her on canvas, and also cautions her to guard against the accidents that are waiting to happen to her! Initially, Nandita dismisses Emraan as an eccentric stalker but later dares not ignore his warning. Incidentally, one of Prithvi's paintings reveals her as dead. The only way left for her is to unravel this mystery with Emraan's help! But the moot question is if she would believe Emraan and risk her love as well as her life to unravel this mystery?

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In any case, even the Bhatts start believing in ghosts/ spirits, as they had to face several real problems during the shooting of the movie. Mohit and his screenplay writer Shagufta diligently build the story by depicting Emraan and Kangna Ranaut's first encounter at a mall, then inside an elevator and yet later when the spirits attack her at the New Year bash coupled with her experiences in her bathtub and also when she looks at the mirror. All these as also when angry bulls attack Emraan and Kangna lead the latter to jump off a cliff.

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The credit for the success of the movie goes to Mohit Suri for his deft choice of the cast and the theme. Among its other strengths are Shagufta's tight screenplay, a spirit lilting musical score with two songs -- 'Soniyo' by Raju Singh and 'Maahi' by Sharib-Toshi -- and Ravi Walia's impressive cinematography. Most of all, the movie has an advantage of a 4-day long weekend with January 26 being a Republic Day holiday. The analysis will not be complete without admiring the excellent performances of the lead cast -- Emraan and Kangna earning laurels from the audience. Adhyayan Suman also leaves a huge impression especially towards the climax. Jackie Shroff isn't far behind and fully justifies his role though brief.

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This is to remember that Kangna Ranaut was signed after Bipasha Basu declined to do this film. Similarly, Mohit Suri directed it when Anurag Basu couldn't complete the project. While Emraan is a sure shot for a Mahesh Bhatt movie, Mohit picked up Adhyayan Suman as a second hero? In spite of these changes Mohit successfully shot the movie in Britain's Yorkshire and India's Mumbai, Pune and Shimla within three months.

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The love affair rumor between Adhyayan and Kangna and their hot scenes including a nude scene by Kangna, not only gave the movie a lot of publicity but also created a curiosity among the viewers. That's why the Censors gave it 'A' category certificate. It is said that the Bhatt camp may add one more movie to their Raaz brand. Incidentally, two more movies - 'Aasma' starring Hrishita Bhatt and a new face named Shubh, and Mandira Bedi's '42 kilometer' are also releasing today, though in the left over multiplexes of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

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