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EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: * 1/2
When Dibakar Banerjee took a previously done concept to make Love Sex Aur
Dhokha (LSD), he not only created cinematic poetry but its commercial
success made its studio greedy enough to replicate the formula. Sadly, what the
studio did not realize is that unlike science, in cinema, formulas can not
always be replicated. Proof - Ragini MMS, a clone between LSD, Blair
Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.
Uday (Raj Kumar) takes Ragini (Kainaz Motivala) to a secluded house rigged with
cameras. He intends to shoot a sex video. What he does not know is that the
house is haunted. The sexy twosome, soon turn into a murderous threesome.
There are too many things wrong with the film - the jump-cuts are often jarring,
there are no subplots, it abounds in all cliches of the horror genre, though the
performance of the lead pair is convincing, the others are bad, the ghost may
not be wearing a white bed sheet and a candle, but her hazy, ugly witch avatar
has been done to death before, the ghost is seen so much that she stops being
frightening and the audio during the horror scenes is so loud that instead of
the scene, it`s the sound that scares etc.
Ragini MMS does not seem to be the work of one or a few creative
soul, rather it looks like the handiwork of many heads trying to break
creativity together that end up breaking apart the film instead.
One of the most key elements of a horror film is silence. The simplest trick in
the horror filmmakers manual is to punctuate the film with lots of silent
moments raising a false alarm in the minds of the viewer and striking horror
when least expected. There is so much loud background noise put into the film
that any sense of nuances is completely lost.
The lack of a credible back story or subplots ensures that you don`t empathize
with your butchered couple. Raj Kumar who almost essays the same videotaping
voyeur`s role he played in LSD, is underutilized and though a feeble attempt is
made at the end to make you empathize with him, it`s too late.
Also the concept of horror in the film is of western origin - that of pure evil.
The Japanese version of horror, which is gaining currency in Hollywood after
dozens of their horror films have been remade, is that of empathy for the ghost
as well where the film also become a mystery, besides being a dumb slasher
movie.
Also for horror films, besides a notable exception in Paranormal Activity,
linear plots don`t work. The unexpected twists in the story do.
Ekta Kapoor, who after landmark films like LSD and Shor In The City,
has the chance to become the patron saint of creative directors, needs to
remember that a director and his team is hired for their creative vision. She
needs to learn to trust them for that.
Also, she needs to remember that you can copy a format and a formula, but not
style and panache.
Actress Sunny Leone says yesteryear stars like Madhubala,
Sharmila Tagore and Dimple Kapadia taught her to not make any changes in her
personality.
Sunny tweeted a few throwback photographs of the veteran
actresses as well as of Mandakini, Rekha and Zeenat Aman. She credited them as
her idols.
"A few women in Bollywood who have taught me that it's
perfectly okay to be myself. Sharmila Tagore, Mandakini, Dimple Kapadia, Rekha,
Zeenat Aman and Madhubala," Sunny captioned the images.
Sunny, known for
playing bold roles in films, started her career in Bollywood with the 2012 film
"Jism 2". She went on to appear in films like "Ragini MMS 2", "Hate Story 2",
"Mastizaade" and "Baadshaho".
She was lRead More
Actress Riya Sen, who will feature in ALTBalaji's "Ragini MMS Returns", says she had reservations shooting for the intimate scenes for the upcoming web series.Read More
Ragini MMS is a sensuous paranormal film, shot as if in real
time!
The quintessential couple, Ragini and Uday, set out to have a dirty weekend at a
friend`s farmhouse on the outskirts of Mumbai. The weekend getaway quickly
changes gears as they find themselves in a house that has been rigged with
cameras in Bigg Boss style.
The cameras that were meant to capture love-making are witness to something that
is beyond the realm of human understanding...something metaphysical....