A friend of mine once admitted that he was actually vary of his ten year old son talking too much to his grand dad because he thought his senile dad would impart impractical mumbo-jumbo to his kid who he wanted to inspire with internet and a trip to Disney land. One day he threw a kulfi that his dad had brought for his kid fearing it had germs!
This is the starting point of Phoonk, where Rajiv, an atheist doesn’t like his ageing mother telling mythological stories of demons and gods to his school going daughter and son.
There was this godzilla of a family movie which was all about loving your parents…Strangely Phoonk, deceptively dished by Ram Gopal , is all about loving your kids. May be because of these reasons only , Phoonk failed to scare me in the way the promos intented.
In the whole treatment the emotional drama wins over horror. Masala moments where you almost feel a guilty pleasure watching the making and unmaking of the black magic. Once the black magic starts to show effects, everything starts going wrong for this happy Indian family.
The film takes time to pick up in the first half but the second half is a real cracker. Its an unending roller coaster ride of thrills, hits and misses, emotional conundrum. The camera movements merge so seamlessly with the characters that you feel its an opera.
I am a father of an infant girl and it gave me a certain insight into how do I see myself as a dad and how would I like to take care of my kid if there was any crisis ever. God forbid.
So the performances led by Sudeep are top notch, the little girl Raksha deserves special kudos for such subtle and imaginative portrayel of a girl plagued by black magic. Though I find the characterizations sketchy but good enough to drive this sleek, simple but powerful film.
Technically one of the best films of this year, Phoonk is full of long complicated camerawork instead of dead close ups. There are silences and spaced out scenes long enough to let you munch your popcorn. A powerful emotional drama with correct doses of thrill, Phoonk more than a horror film emerges as an emotional film.
Even Akshay Kumar will agree for a change that no matter what the genre is, content will always be king.
It’s just another film till it happens to you. shouldn’t Ram say that?