Ragini MMS - Film review

Dir: Pavan Kriplani Cast: Rajkumar Yadav, Kainaz Motivala

Ragini MMS - Film review

Ragini MMS
A; Horror
Dir: Pavan Kriplani
Cast: Rajkumar Yadav, Kainaz Motivala
Rating:***

Boy and girl decide to spend a dirty weekend in a deserted bungalow in a God-forsaken place. As soon as they enter, they start making out and in the meanwhile, a plastic bag nearby seems to have a life of its own. And you are spooked already. But a sense of d ufffdj vu sets in too, because you are familiar with these kinds of scenes almost in every horror movie that you have dared to watch.

But thankfully, what sets Ragini MMS apart is that the story is shown through the eyes of a handheld or hidden camera. Also, the boy Uday Jhala (played quite efficiently by debutant actor Rajkumar) is out to con girlfriend (Kainaz). He's had a deal with a man vaguely called Panditji (you get to only see Panditji's toes) to get his lovemaking MMS out in the market. So, the dilapidated bungalow also has hidden cameras all around. Obviously inspired by movies like Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project and Love, Sex Aur Dhokha, the movie slowly takes you to an eerie realisation that there is someone else in the house, apart from the couple.

Seriously scary at some points, and seriously silly at others, Ragini MMS takes you through a roller coaster ride. While the debutant director Pavan Kriplani seemed focused for most of the part of the film, in other parts he seemed to be confused if he wanted to concentrate on the sex part or on the horror part.

While the first part of the film was pacy and kept you hooked, post interval it drags on a bit and you wish the movie were probably shorter by at least 15 minutes for a better impact. And yes, there are some corny dialogues too - Let's rock under the frock, etc, which are unwittingly hilarious.

Sound effect is the key in any horror movie and this one by Jeetendra Chowdhury does full justice. At some places, even though the camera is just moving from wall to wall, it's solely the sound that sends a chill up your spine. And yes, I must admit at a certain point, can't reveal when for obvious reasons, I was so scared that I wanted to run away from the theatre. So, guess the movie kind of serves the purpose. Having said that, we are still eons away from the kind of horror movies that Koreans or Japanese make. We still resort to good old ghosts to give us the chills. Sad.