In spite of Phoonk’s hit status quite a few people say that it’s not a scary film and there is a reason for that. Scare can be of two kinds where one is of a kind which scares you due to a completely helpless situation you catch yourself in, and the other which just plain scares your senses. Bhoot falls in the 2nd category whereas Phoonk falls in the 1st category.
The reason for this is by the time the story of Phoonk reaches a certain point the character of the father looses his fear and is not scared anymore as the concern for his daughter overcomes his fear and as it is through the father’s eyes that the audience are watching the story unfold they too loose their fear. The scare in Phoonk is meant to create an internal fear in the so-called non-believers and atheists and to make them question themselves on what they would do if they are caught in such a situation. To that extent it serves its purpose and it is not an obvious and straight in the face scary film like “Bhoot” and that’s where the tag line of Phoonk “It’s superstition till it happens to you” came from.
When Milind Gadagkar the writer of Phoonk came up with the idea of Phoonk-2 the opening sequence itself made me jump up in my seat. The moment I read the entire script I was convinced that he should direct the film as I was amazed at the clarity he had in detailing of the story. I also decided to make the film in 3 languages. In Hindi it is going to be called “Phoonk -2”. In Tamil “Bommai-2” because Phoonk has been dubbed in Tamil as “Bommai” and in Telugu it is going to be called “Aavaham” meaning “The Possession”.
If the entire Phoonk story was about how this evil woman who practices black magic was bent upon torturing and killing a little girl in order to make her father suffer and how the father after desperately trying every measure manages to get a tantrik who kills the evil woman, Phoonk-2 starts off with the spirit of the evil woman coming back from the dead and brutally murdering the tantrik.
What Rajiv’s family in Phoonk-2 face is much more evil than what they faced in Phoonk since the woman comes back as a ghost and their only saviour the tantrik of “Phoonk” is killed in the very first scene itself, thereby making the family that much more vulnerable and the film that much more terrifying.
Also Phoonk-2 falls in the 2nd category of scary films that is of the “Bhoot” variety where its intention is as plain and simple as to just scare the audience’s pants off.
When I saw the 1st Cut of what Milind showed me of the film, I told him that it’s not only far better than Phoonk but I think it is the scariest film Bollywood has ever made and it is miles above all my so-called scary films like “Bhoot” etc and I mean every word of it from my spine onwards….. Chilling!
.
I did not like PHOONK – Milind Gadagkar
Ever since I can remember, I have always been a huge fan of the horror genre and the psychosis of fear. Fear is such a strong emotion that it defies all logic. As small children we are scared of entering a dark room; somewhere further in life, we rather try and avoid isolated roads with no street lights. Whenever we shift into an apartment, the newness and emptiness of the place intrigues us in a strange manner. Infact we always fear the unknown. It is not just ghosts that we are scared of but there are times in our lives when a strange and inexplicable incident also scares the hell out of us. Studying this phenomenon of fear has always intrigued me.
In Phoonk, more than the scare factor, I as a writer questioned the rational mind of a non-believer. In fact I disagreed with Ramu in the way he made the film and also argued that he should not pitch Phoonk as a scary film. But he didn’t listen to me as he felt that there is a difference between the scare genres. Phoonk might have worked but I would like to believe that it would have worked better if it was made the way I visualized it. Anyway, with Phoonk 2, I wanted to take the audiences to a place where the horrors are so painfully scary and gory that even a rational mind will lose its sanity. Every time you say “I don’t believe in ghosts”, there is a ghost somewhere that comes out of its grave. Phoonk 2 begins with the gruesome death of Manja, the only man whom Rajiv could turn to, at the hands of the black magic woman Madhu’s ghost, who has risen from the grave to avenge her own death… to seek vengeance on Rajiv, by torturing his loved ones- his wife Arati and their children, Raksha and Rohan in unimaginably cruel ways.
Phoonk 2 captures the fear of a family caught hostage to a murderous, animalistic spirit seeking revenge by brutally terrorizing them. We experience a fear far larger than that of a live evil than when the dead returns to haunt you. It is the fear where every escape route of yours becomes dangerously anticipated and cunningly laid out in front of you. It is the fear that extends to letting go of one loved one to save another. Where every situation takes a sinister turn for the worse, methodically murdering everyone’s hope to live. To that extent, Phoonk 2 is a very very scary film.
Terrorized by the demonic force, will Rajiv give in to the ghost or will he betray his family and give up? Will the family survive as the gruesome and repulsing murders are committed, or do the disfigured bodies, visions, ghostly voices, and unsettling, disturbing incidents drive them to death?
Will the ghost live with them till they become ghosts themselves?
If you have the fear of the dead … be warned that my intention in Phoonk 2 is to scare the death out of you and not let you REST IN PEACE!
All said and done, I am really thrilled that inspite of me not having liked Phoonk, Ramu liked Phoonk 2.
The reason for this is by the time the story of Phoonk reaches a certain point the character of the father looses his fear and is not scared anymore as the concern for his daughter overcomes his fear and as it is through the father’s eyes that the audience are watching the story unfold they too loose their fear. The scare in Phoonk is meant to create an internal fear in the so-called non-believers and atheists and to make them question themselves on what they would do if they are caught in such a situation. To that extent it serves its purpose and it is not an obvious and straight in the face scary film like “Bhoot” and that’s where the tag line of Phoonk “It’s superstition till it happens to you” came from.
When Milind Gadagkar the writer of Phoonk came up with the idea of Phoonk-2 the opening sequence itself made me jump up in my seat. The moment I read the entire script I was convinced that he should direct the film as I was amazed at the clarity he had in detailing of the story. I also decided to make the film in 3 languages. In Hindi it is going to be called “Phoonk -2”. In Tamil “Bommai-2” because Phoonk has been dubbed in Tamil as “Bommai” and in Telugu it is going to be called “Aavaham” meaning “The Possession”.
If the entire Phoonk story was about how this evil woman who practices black magic was bent upon torturing and killing a little girl in order to make her father suffer and how the father after desperately trying every measure manages to get a tantrik who kills the evil woman, Phoonk-2 starts off with the spirit of the evil woman coming back from the dead and brutally murdering the tantrik.
What Rajiv’s family in Phoonk-2 face is much more evil than what they faced in Phoonk since the woman comes back as a ghost and their only saviour the tantrik of “Phoonk” is killed in the very first scene itself, thereby making the family that much more vulnerable and the film that much more terrifying.
Also Phoonk-2 falls in the 2nd category of scary films that is of the “Bhoot” variety where its intention is as plain and simple as to just scare the audience’s pants off.
When I saw the 1st Cut of what Milind showed me of the film, I told him that it’s not only far better than Phoonk but I think it is the scariest film Bollywood has ever made and it is miles above all my so-called scary films like “Bhoot” etc and I mean every word of it from my spine onwards….. Chilling!
.
I did not like PHOONK – Milind Gadagkar
Ever since I can remember, I have always been a huge fan of the horror genre and the psychosis of fear. Fear is such a strong emotion that it defies all logic. As small children we are scared of entering a dark room; somewhere further in life, we rather try and avoid isolated roads with no street lights. Whenever we shift into an apartment, the newness and emptiness of the place intrigues us in a strange manner. Infact we always fear the unknown. It is not just ghosts that we are scared of but there are times in our lives when a strange and inexplicable incident also scares the hell out of us. Studying this phenomenon of fear has always intrigued me.
In Phoonk, more than the scare factor, I as a writer questioned the rational mind of a non-believer. In fact I disagreed with Ramu in the way he made the film and also argued that he should not pitch Phoonk as a scary film. But he didn’t listen to me as he felt that there is a difference between the scare genres. Phoonk might have worked but I would like to believe that it would have worked better if it was made the way I visualized it. Anyway, with Phoonk 2, I wanted to take the audiences to a place where the horrors are so painfully scary and gory that even a rational mind will lose its sanity. Every time you say “I don’t believe in ghosts”, there is a ghost somewhere that comes out of its grave. Phoonk 2 begins with the gruesome death of Manja, the only man whom Rajiv could turn to, at the hands of the black magic woman Madhu’s ghost, who has risen from the grave to avenge her own death… to seek vengeance on Rajiv, by torturing his loved ones- his wife Arati and their children, Raksha and Rohan in unimaginably cruel ways.
Phoonk 2 captures the fear of a family caught hostage to a murderous, animalistic spirit seeking revenge by brutally terrorizing them. We experience a fear far larger than that of a live evil than when the dead returns to haunt you. It is the fear where every escape route of yours becomes dangerously anticipated and cunningly laid out in front of you. It is the fear that extends to letting go of one loved one to save another. Where every situation takes a sinister turn for the worse, methodically murdering everyone’s hope to live. To that extent, Phoonk 2 is a very very scary film.
Terrorized by the demonic force, will Rajiv give in to the ghost or will he betray his family and give up? Will the family survive as the gruesome and repulsing murders are committed, or do the disfigured bodies, visions, ghostly voices, and unsettling, disturbing incidents drive them to death?
Will the ghost live with them till they become ghosts themselves?
If you have the fear of the dead … be warned that my intention in Phoonk 2 is to scare the death out of you and not let you REST IN PEACE!
All said and done, I am really thrilled that inspite of me not having liked Phoonk, Ramu liked Phoonk 2.