The much awaited Ragini MMS, is the latest Bollywood release, a movie of the thriller-horror genre and also of the Ekta Kapoor genre it must be said. Producer Ekta Kapoor seems to have mastered the art of making bold new cinema on shoestring budgets, that shock and entertain in equal measure taking lesser known actors and making the world sit up and take notice.
After the path breaking Love Sex aur Dhokha and critically acclaimed Shor in the City, Ekta and Shobha Kapoor give us Ragini MMS, a film shot in 25 days on a budget of just 1.3 crores. Directed by Pawan Kriplani, the film’s story and screenplay are by Pawan Kripalani and Vaspar Dandiwala. The film stars Raj Kumar Yadav as Uday and Kainaz Motivala as Ragini and is based on certain true events and also, it is alleged, the cult Hollywood film Paranormal Activity (the grainy camera work is one indication).
This ‘Sensuous Paranormal’ film bears the tagline – “They don’t know it yet. It’s a Threesome” and it is significant that the film releases today; on Friday the 13th. The story is about a young couple, who go away for a dirty weekend in the woods at a deserted bungalow on the outskirts of Mumbai. The young man wants to make a sex tape of the intimacy that they will indulge in and then sell it off but finds that the whole place is rigged with cameras. Soon the intrusive cameras become the least of the problems of the young couple when horror element makes itself evident. As the young couple gets intimate, the spooky element decides to join in the fun by pulling hair, wounding and flinging the two around.
The controversy surrounding the film is about Deepika, who’s paranormal experiences the film is based on but who has been crying herself hoarse and threatening legal action against Ekta Kapoor as well, that the intimacy shown in the film has nothing to do with her. There is also of course the other matter that the censor board found some bits of the film too raunchy and there were some cuts and snips made before being given the Adult certificate.
The film review by Nikaht Kazmi of Times of India gives the film three and a half stars for “horror that works” and very good performances by the lead pair – a film that is a cocktail of horror, sex and very much not run of the mill Bollywood.
Taran Adarsh gives the film 4 stars for scaring and titillating, but also, most importantly telling a great story – daunting, imaginative and unconventional all at once.
The negatives of the film seem to be the grainy, hand held camera look to the film which can get irritating after a bit, and then there is a small portion post interval that tends to pall a bit.
However this, clearly is the film to head to this weekend, though the other options for this weekend’s new releases are Stanley ka dabba, Amole Gupte’s sensitive film about a school boy, the Tusshar Kapoor and Amrita Rao starrer Love U… Mr. Kalakar and Nana Patekar’s Shagird.
Trailer of Ragini MMS
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0570q7nNxHc[/youtube]
Balaji has been belting out some very interesting and watchable movies lately. However, do you know why Ekta this change of genre (or at least, style)? Her numerologist and friend (Sunita Menon) advised her to do small budget films .. but I’d hand this to her – she has chosen a very different kind of “small budget films” (check out my small article abt this :)). I guess she has enough money for experimenting, still I like this new genre..This kind of thriller/supernatural movie is better than the Vikram Bhatt/RGV brand where the bhoots can easily be distinguished thanks to their powdered faces and can easily be shooed away by some tantrik mumbo jumbo. Even if Ragini MMS has its story picked up from somewhere else, yet the grainy screen and hand held camera effects (more pronounced in Love, Sex aur Dhoka) works for me.