MOVIE REIVEW OF AGYAAT

Cast: Priyanka Kothari, Nitin Reddy

The only line that makes sense in the script of Agyaat says, “Kamyabi ka insaan ke kaam se kya matlab?” (What does success of a person have to do with the excellence of his work?). Certainly it applies to Ram Gopal Varma. His last horror flick Phoonk was a hit and Agyaat claims to have recovered investment even before its release. But what does success have to do with the caliber of one’s work?

From the very outset this supposed spook-fest goes miserably wrong with an item number in the title credits. Agyaat has a film-inside-film setting where a movie unit ventures inside deep jungle for shooting. Strangely the only scene they film there is another item number in an indoor set. The hero agrees for the film merely to be with the heroine and never bothers to ask for the script. RGV disregards his screenplay with as much nonchalance and this forest film simply goes to the dogs.

Non-stars aren’t a problem but RGV ropes in non-actors (rather ham-kings) who keep the budget low and decibel levels high. Even the headcount is kept small with just around 10 members making up for the entire cast and crew of the film. Ramu adds odd traits to each character and makes them act abnormally, though the deliberation leads to no difference.

So you have a South Indian producer (Ishrat Ali) in an eternally jaw-dropping ‘aaiyoo aaiyoo’ mode. The eccentric director (Howard Rosemeyer) is as wooden as the pencil he nibbles on perpetually. It’s irritating to look at the jungle guide (Joy Fernandes) who doesn’t believe in blinking. The hero (Gautam Rode) keeps throwing tantrums and the heroine (Priyanka Kothari) keeps shedding clothes.

The lack of sane performances is substituted by Mr. Camera and Mrs. Background music. But Ramu makes them overact as well with continual revolutionary (read revolving) cinematography and screechy score. In fact the theme track is a regurgitated version of the legendary song Kahi Deep Jale Kahin Dil from the horror classic Bees Saal Baad and one dopey item song claims itself to be a tribute to Zeenat Aman’s Hare Krishna Hare Ram. Talk about laughing in a horror film! What’s actually horrific about the film is the awful singing in these tracks.

At the outset, one might want to acknowledge Ram Gopal Varma for choosing an unconventional plot. But through its annoying execution, Agyaat only invites ridicule. The director merely conceives half a dozen death sequences in the forest and absolutely ignores to unveil the evil forces behind it. Relax if you are crying a spoiler there; this film has scope for none. The maverick director takes his title a bit too seriously and keeps the evil forces of the forest ‘unknown’ beyond the end credits. In fact your psyche is teased beyond belief with anticipation of a sequel as you realize this jungle has just made a scapegoat out of you.

Amidst all this murderous mayhem, the actual hero (Nitin Reddy) still has the inclination to confess love to his screen heroine in the climax. Agyaat comes nowhere close to the much-speculated Predator though the director takes ‘path-breaking’ references from Tremors. Ram Gopal Varma would still like to call it an Indian version of The Blair Witch Project. Years later, this noisy nameless attempt would be referred to as ‘Which Blare project?’

By Chirag Shah :- Rating * * * 3 out of 5.........so enter jungle at your own risk