5

Maverick movie maker Ram Gopal Varma is a past master of horror thrillers. ‘Bhoot’, which released in 2003, was a good hit and he has now come with ‘Bhoot Returns’, a.k.a. ‘Boochi’ in Telugu. And this time, he has 3D to add to the effect. The movie has released today all over, so let us see how it is. (Note – We watched the 3D version of Bhoot Returns and not Boochi)

Story :

An attractive house is up for grabs for a very low rent, a prospect that is immensely appealing to Tarun Awasthi (J.D. Chakravarthy) and family. His wife Namrata (Manisha Koirala), and kids Tapan and Nimmi are excited about the new house. But as in all RGV ‘horror’ flicks, the building has a past, a quite mysterious one at that.

As the new tenants settle down, strange sounds and bizarre happenings start being noticed by the family. The young kid Nimmi (Alayana Sharma) claims that Shabbu (the ghost?) is creating all these disturbances. Her claims are not taken seriously by Tarun until he personally comes across certain strange apparitions.

Nimmi starts behaving in a weird and unpredictable manner and people keep disappearing around the house. What is the cause of these events? Who or what is Shabbu? That forms the story

Plus Points :

Some of the 3D shots and camera angles work well when coupled with the clever use of background score. The kid Alayana Sharma is good. Chakravarthy is decent.

The unexpected twist is good. The first half has a few decently scary moments. The crisp 88 minutes runtime is a blessing in disguise. We must thank RGV for letting us off so quickly.

I can’t think of any more positive points no matter how hard I rack my brain.

Minus Points :

Manisha Koirala looks like a very tired old lady in this movie. And she goes a bit overboard when the scene definitely does not demand it. Madhu Shalini is downright cheap.

The biggest problem with this film is the lack of a script, or more appropriately, a plan. It is almost as if RGV ran out of ideas after coming up with a few genuinely good scenes. The same scenes and scary moments are repeated quite monotonously, multiple times, and this spoils the show completely. And this movie is not a patch on ‘Bhoot’.

And coming to the ‘influences’ part. This movie can act as a visual quiz of sorts for horror movie buffs. Go with your gang of friends and you can start playing a guessing game Q. “Hey, which film is this scene from?”. Ans ” Paranormal dude.”

The climax, if you can call it that, is very abrupt and unconvincing. Perhaps, we are being given a very intelligent hint about ‘Bhoot 3’.

Technical Aspects :

As I said before, Cinematography is good and is one of the very few areas where RGV’s talent can still be seen or felt tangibly. The 3D effects are good. Sandeep Chowtha’s music is good and appropriate for the setting. Editing is neat.

As for RGV’s direction, I have been waiting for years to see if he can say ‘I am back’, you know, in an Arnold Schwarzenegger kind of way. But looks like he has gone beyond a point of no return.

Verdict :

The same old RGV horror tricks bag (comprising of weird doll,unconventional visual shots, shadows and horror stricken expressions) has been been opened and RGV tries to catch you by surprise and say ‘Booo’. But instead of scaring you, he actually succeeds in making you scratch your head or snigger (choice is yours). The cinematography and good 3D effects are the sole redeeming factors. As a dormant RGV fan, I am still waiting. But for now, he disappoints yet again.

123telugu.com Rating – 2 / 5

Reviewed by Mahesh S Koneru

Click Here For ‘Boochi’ Telugu Review

Legend:

5 – Flawless
4 – Must Watch
3 – One Time Watch
2 – Wait for the DVD
1 – Stay Away