Darna Mana Hai Hindi Movie
Darna Mana Hai is an episodic movie after 46 years - something which directors dare to make. There can be only two diverse opinions on this flick. Either you love it for being a genuinely different film or curse it for being so different that it doesn't appeal your sensibilities. Any intermediate possibility is ruled out.
Seven friends get stuck in a dense forest when their car breaks down. Seeking shelter in an abandoned ruin, each one starts narrating a story. No conventional love story, family drama or unconventional satire. Six spontaneously devised unusual stories, with abnormal characters like an eccentric hotel manager who hates cigarettes, a puzzled school teacher, human-eating apples, a disappearing ghost and a college student blessed with powers to Stop or Move the world around him.
The first story is that of a young, married couple (Sohail Khan, Antra Mali), who get stranded in the middle of a dense forest. And then something strange happens.
The second story is that of a photographer (Saif Ali Khan), who books himself in an inn, en route to Mumbai. The owner-manager-house keeper is an eccentric person (Boman Irani), who hates cigarettes.
The third story is that of a school teacher (Raghuvir Yadav), who encounters a strange student - a little girl who's always punished for never doing her homework on time. Suddenly, she becomes a bright student one fine morning.
The fourth story if that of a typical middle class housewife (Shilpa Shetty) who buys the 'mysterious' apples from a weird vendor (Rajpal Yadav).
The fifth story - the most interesting one by far - is the conversation between Vivek Oberoi and Nana Patekar. Standing outside a graveyard for a ride to the city, he gets a lift from a full-of-life youngster Vivek Oberoi. And something wicked happens.
The final story is that of a complex student (Aftab Shivdasani), who wants to commit suicide since he feels neglected by his family and the girl he likes (Isha Koppikar). But, one fine day, he is 'blessed' with the powers that no ordinary mortal possesses. Besides the stories the friends narrate, there's one that involves them too.
None of the stories make sense or appear credible. Forget logical reasoning, some even lack supernatural connections (like the mysterious apple subplot). Nevertheless the unpredictability element keeps you riveted. Each story is concise, crisply edited and runs independent of the other. But alas, with six interesting stories comes one disappointing ending. The director fails to correlate the subplots with each other or with the ending, may be he wanted it that way. After a subdued climax, you begin to wonder why Ramu's films start off so well but end up poorly (remember Bhoot).
The movie thrills more than scaring. Usage of hand-held camera in most sequences gives the film a realistic feel. Not only sound effects but even silent moments are used effectively to add to the impact. Of the lot, the Vivek-Nana and Aftab subplots are the most absorbing. Once again songs are restricted only till the promos, thankfully. Ramgopal Varma's DARNA MANA HAI, directed by Prawaal Raman, is a different experience.
Finally, the lesser you use your brains the more you would enjoy this movie. Here's a movie that's mindless and proud of it. Go for it, only if you are ready to leave you're thinking faculties at home. As one of the movie promos says, Sochna Mana Hai.
