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Raaz

Well I think that I have to admit that this is no doubt the best Indian horror movie I have ever seen. The story, acting, Music everything is good and in sequence. I think that those Hollywood fans who can understand Hindi even they will like this movie because director simply knows how to create suspense and thrill. Even the story is good no matter when it comes to romance or horror. It shows the true sub-continent value that how a girl loves her husband no matter what he has done in past before marriage. Although its runtime is a bit long but you will not feel boring. This is what you can expect from bollywood movies. Overall I will give it 9/10 and it is 'a must see' movie.

I watched this in 2013 after I heard a lot of positive reviews about it. At the end, I was kind of surprised the film did not flop at the box office. Story is about a couple in a troubled marriage who visit Ooty to revive old memories of their love and try to rebuild their braking marriage, but something evil is waiting for both of them with a purpose. The good: The storyline, the locales where it is shot, some dialogues and best of all, the music. The bad: Vulgarity, silly acting,silly scenes at many a time, like someone being thrown off a cliff and still not dying,trying to argue with and fight ghosts, somewhat "phattu". In the Vikram Bhatt horror series, perhaps 1920 is the best. I am sure if Raaz had released later in the last decade, it would not have run.

Raaz is a very average film in terms of film-making. It's a very funny mixture of thriller and romance. While films like Bhoot use music which contributes to the film's genre perfectly, the songs in Raaz are very melodious and romantic, which makes them odd and unsuitable for a thriller like Raaz. Anyway, if the film had been made as a complete thriller, it would probably have not succeeded commercially as expected by the producers. Generally, thrillers and horror films often display magical realism to make it more convincing and scaring (again, Bhoot), and the acting is natural for the same purpose, but this film has far too many unrealistic sequences, over-the-top dialogues and exaggerated acting (except for Bipasha) even in very ordinary and simple scenes which are not part of the suspense. This does not mean though the effect was damaged completely, because you wouldn't really expect to see a realistic film with such a story. Raaz therefore does work as a thriller most of the time. Dino Morea does not make a great impact. This is not really a performance-driven role, though he is restrained throughout and looks suitable for the role. The film has one main highlight for me, and it's Bipasha Basu who carries the film on her own shoulders. Although these were still the days when she had not yet become a national sex symbol, this girl had extremely expressive eyes and graceful mannerisms. She did not perform brilliantly, nor did she look as stunningly beautiful as she looks today, but she did perform well and looked attractive and beautiful. And the dubbing artist... she did a fabulous job for her. And speaking of dubbing, yes, the film secretly used professional dubbing for several actors, including the main lead, which is good because from what I know the starring actors were yet to work on their voices and diction at that point of time. And though it does make wonders, as the performances seem to be much more convincing, the dubbing at several points faces foul-ups. Several scenes had a noticeable lack of compatibility between the voice over and the facial expressions, which was quite annoying. Anyway, Raaz may not be a great film, but it is a decent entertainer, and as a time-pass flick it does the required. It may have had better results had it been directed by someone like Ram Gopal Varma, but it should be worthy of a one-time watch.

Raaz is still one of my favourite horror films. It was the first Bollywood horror flick that I watched, and to my surprise, I liked a lot. The mood is set right, the music is great, the actors/actresses are pretty good and the scenes are really creepy. You'd think you're watching a good Hollywood horror flick. I must add, though, that the film does borrow many elements from its American counterparts like "What lies beneath". My problem with this film is its ending. Not that it's cheesy or "unscary". No, not at all. It's just that it's telling the Indian wives that no matter what your husband has done (including cheating), your love will bring him back to you and salvage your relationship. Basically, forgive and forget... but in that particular case, I don't believe in forgiving, as in my opinion, "once a cheater, always a cheater". All in all, a very nice horror film, as long as you're wary of the sexist message given at the end.

Another thriller by the Bhatt family, and they dont fail to deliver! Although "Kasoor" didnt receive rave reviews, this movie is destined for great things!!! Not at all predictable, this thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat and guessing the entire time. In a nutshell the movie is about a young couple thats marriage is on the rocks, and after a car accident in which the wife, Sanjana, is involved, her husband, Aditya, convinces her to give their marriage a last chance. They go to a mountain retreat to sort out their lives and suddenly strange things start to happen...But does Sanjana know her husband as well as she thinks she does??? Excellent performances by both the male and female leads(not to mention that the male is quite a looker!) The supporting actors were pretty decent too. This is a movie thats worth spending your money to watch, so hurry and catch it, you wont be disappointed!

If you really want to watch this movie at its optimum, you have to follow certain guidelines. Watch late at night. Sit alone or maybe with someone ;) Make sure the house is real quite. To enjoy a movie as the director intended, an ambiance must be created, such as that created on a late night showing at the cinema. With that in mind, here's my view. This movie was shown recently on a British T.V. channel late at night. I had heard good buzz about it when it was released, I love the soundtrack and so I went in open-minded. However with that in mind, I didn't enjoy the movie too much. As you will know, this is a horror flick with that psychological element thrown in along with some of the Hindi trimmings, thrown in for extra measure. The plot of What Lies Beneath is regurgitated and slightly repackaged for the audience. I enjoyed the opening sequences, although clichéd to an extent, they were interesting. I think the introduction of Bipashu Basu (B.B) and Dino Morea (D.M) added weaknesses to the story. B.B isn't one of the strongest actresses. D.M didn't really have much to do. The introduction set the scene well, however the movement from the introduction to the main characters was shoddy, it wasn't fulfilling. As the story progresses, the scare factor does increase, however you feel as if you can predict the next scene. Don't get me wrong, this was an enjoyable movie, not something that makes you look at the clock every 5 minutes. The director does help produce some tension in some of the scenes-you know those kinds of scenes even when you know something bad is going to happen, and you're chewing on your nails! The music scenes do fit in well; the songs are really good, although I would say the opening number is pretty weak. Although the movie may be a treat for those viewers who have not seen What Lies Beneath, this movie offers nothing more than an above the average retelling. The producers could have made something more of this film, there is great potential in the storyline. The cgi doesn't help at all, when used. It only helps create that element of the horror being false. A few adjustments to the story would have helped make a truly great movie. However the final product is a Hollywood rip-off, packaged for a different audience. Although members of the target audience may enjoy the movie, this does no favours for boosting the opinion held by many people of the lack of originality of Hindi films. My opinion- Not a total waste of time, the movie has its plus points which will keep you engrossed. However if you are looking for something original on the cinematic plateau, you won't find it here. My rating 6/10

When I was watching Raaz, I was annoyed how cliché this movie was. There are what, thousand haunting house movies made? Well, with that in my mind, I still wanted to see this movie. Approximately one hour and a half, there are several interesting twist in this movie, and that made this movie very interesting. The movie was not really scary. But I think this movie is still very entertaining to watch. The acting is really good. The setting was very beautiful, the surroundings were very nice shot. The special effects were for a bollywood movie decent. I did not like the songs completely, because the voice of that girl was not nice. Well all in all, definitely worth watching. It deserves a 8/10

After you have seen endless popsicle movies with one Clown who self proclaims himself as the greatet actor and the imbeciles of the media who praises him to the hilt that is decadance of an Industry and you begin to wonder the state of the Industry,then comes along movies that puts your faith back in the Hindi movies and Raaz is one of them. Consummate actors like Aushotosh Rana,The haunting melody of the music that was the staple of the yester years,the location (Ooty or Ootacamund, a hill station the Indian Switzerland),the Ace direction by one of the top directors, good looking actors,the thrill of watching a movie is back. Raaz is one of the best romantic thriller after "Bees Sal Baad" a classic of the sixties.

Asian filmmakers keep surprising us these past years. India does it this time with horror as part of a musical film. In the spirit of Bollywood. But I must say, I have never been a horrorfan. And so I actually was not sure if I should watch this movie. No regrets. The story is good, although the full explanation of what happened in the past is a bit long. But it is Bollywood, and they don't send you home after 74 or 90 minutes watching in full speed. They give you value for your money. Even the make up is well done, compare to other movies in it's genre, and the music is at the right time, the right place and in the right mood. Bollywood has done well with this movie, but I still prefer the romantic stuff...