PHOONK
BEWARE – RGV IS BACK WITH A BANG.
by Vishal Verma

Banner: One More Thought Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Genre: Horror
Producer: Azam Khan & Parvez Damania
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Star Cast: Sudeep, Amruta Khanvilkar, Ahsaas Channa, Kenny Desai, Ashwini Kalsekar, Ganesh Yadav, Anu Ansari, K K Raina, Lilette Dubey, Zakir Hussain & Jyothi Subhash.
Cinematography: Savita Singh
Art: Aparna Sud
Editors: Amit Parmar & Nipun Gupta
Screenplay: Milind Gadagkar
Sound: Kunal Mehta& Parikshit Lalwani
Story / Writer: Milind Gadagkar
Publicity Designs: Sachin Suresh Gurav
Media Promotion: Queens PR

 
Technical Analysis
RGV is back and with a bang!!. The prolific maker finds his Midas touch with ‘Phoonk’. One More Thought has a winner in their hands cause ‘Phoonk’ has the technical wizardy that the audience had missed in his recent offerings. Like his previous ‘Kaun’ & ‘Bhoot’, this one also has props, sound & brilliant camerawork as one of its star performers.

Brilliant work by the whole team – crisp editing by Amit Parmar & Nipun Gupta, excellent camerawork by Savita Singh & of perfect sound mixing by Kunal Mehta& Parikshit Lalwani.

The subject of black magic and jadoo tona is a rare phenomenon and any significant film that comes to my mind is Jadu Tona (1977) directed by Ravikant Nagaich starring Feroz Khan,  Reena Roy &  Baby Pinky.

After 31 years, RGV triggers the debate between science and superstition in his trade mark panache and succeeds. Though it may not be as eerie as ‘bhoot’ in the fear quotient but it certainly provides some eerie moments here and there. The film also scores high points in the acting department, obiviously the best coming from Ahsaas Channa. The role of the troubled parents is well portrayed by Sudeep & Amruta Khanvilkar. Ashwini Kalsekar is outstanding & Zakir Hussain is simply superb. Not to forget, K K Raina & Lilette Dubey as the doctors and Jyothi Subhash as the Grandma also chip in with valuable support.

The flipside: The climax may not be accepted by some.

The Story
It continues the debate whether we have very little knowledge and understanding of the life and its various mysteries and what happens when someone who claims to know all struggles to stand by his conviction especially when his loved one is seemingly being threshed by demonic force whose very existence your rational mind refuses to accept?

The same dilemma the protagonist Rajeev (Sudeep) undergoes. Rajeev is a successful Construction Engineer with a loving wife (Amruta Khanvilkar), who scowls at God and even more at people who believe in the dark forces till one day his beloved daughter - Ahsaas Channa falls prey to the evil of black magic and everything goes haywire in his happy home threatening to destroy his family and shake up the very foundations of his convictions and belief system.

Promotion
It needed gimmicks and it has had it share of it. The reward for the watching the flick alone and all. Outdoor publicity by Sachin Suresh Gurav has keptr the fear quotient intact. The promos are well targeted.
Media awareness by Queens had complimented the producers cause. 

Business Analysis
Even the rubbing of some critics and competition from other releases, will not affect the prospects of this film and will definitely grow on its merit with the word of mouth. This fear factor will definitely lift the ‘spirit’ of RGV as a maker and his standing at the B.O, and will end up as a winner for One more Thought.