Raat (film)
Raat Raatri | |
---|---|
Teja | |
Edited by | Shankar |
Music by | Mani Sharma |
Production company | Varma Creations |
Release date | 7 February 1992 |
Running time | 127 minutes |
Country | India |
Languages | Hindi Telugu |
Raat in Hindi or Raatri (transl. Night) in Telugu is a 1992 Indian supernatural horror film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film is shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu languages, and stars Revathi.[1][2][3][4] The music was composed by Mani Sharma. It is his debut film as music director. Raat was noted as an effort to bring horror films into mainstream Hindi cinema.[5][6]
This was the final film released in Hindi, which was shot using
Plot
A family of four moves into a house that is allegedly haunted. Manisha Sharma (Revathi) aka "Mini" is a girl studying in her college. Her father is Mr. Sharma (Akash Khurana), while her mother is Shalini Sharma (Rohini Hattangadi). Deepak (Kushant) is Mini's classmate and boyfriend. Mini's nephew Bunty (Master Atit) finds a cat in the house basement. The cat has an eerie look on its face with its spot-staring eyes. One day the cat ventures behind the father's car rear wheel and is killed accidentally while the car is reversed. The cat is buried in the backyard without the knowledge of Bunty. Their neighbor, Nirmalamma, is also the grandmother to Rashmi, Mini's classmate. Nirmalamma spooks them with a fearful response after hearing Mini is their new neighbor.
Bunty finds another cat which bears an uncanny resemblance to the dead cat. The family gets its first shock. Another day, Mini and Deepak decide to enjoy a ride to the city limits. While returning home, Deepak's bike rear tire goes flat. Deepak rides with a passerby to get a spare tire from a village nearby and asks Mini to wait for him. On returning, Deepak finds Mini sitting beside a tree near a pond, clutching her face and apparently weeping. Approaching her, Deepak stares at her fierce, reddening eyes (resembling the dead cat eyes), and slips into the pond. All of a sudden, Mini turns normal and calls to Deepak to come out of the pond.
The next day, Mini attends her classmate Rashmi's friend's marriage accompanying her. Rashmi is brutally killed on that day, her neck broken and head turned all the way back. The police officer investigating the case notices that during interrogation, Mini twists her doll's head exactly the way Rashmi's neck was twisted. The officer then meets with an accident while riding out and dies. These events lead Mini's parents to seek professional help. Shalini approaches their neighbor, the old lady, while Mr. Sharma takes the help of a psychiatrist (
Following horrific events involving the ghost trying to kill Deepak, Sharji finally neutralizes her with the help of holy chants and the ashes. The ghost finally leaves Mini's body with a thundering flash.
On the one hand, scientific methods involving MRI and other medical procedures are conducted on Mini. This Mr. Sharma believes is the only way Mini could be "cured". However, Sharji has his own explanation of darkness beyond the light, that doesn't vanish, but is only diminished to an extent.
RGV has spun the web of horror played with confusion, dilemma, and the plight of the affected persons to the greatest extent possible, as required of a horror movie.
Cast
- Revathyas Manisha Sharma
- Chinnaas Deepak, Manisha's boyfriend
- Rohini Hattangadi as Mrs. Sharma
- Akash Khurana as Mr. Sharma
- Om Puri as Sharji
- Anant Nag as the psychiatrist
- Master Atit as Bunty
- Jaya Mathur as Rashmi
- Nirmalamma as the old lady
- Tej Sapru as the inspector
- Sunanda as the spirit
- C. V. L. Narasimha Rao
Music
Background score for the film was composed by Mani Sharma.
Reception
Upon release, N. Krishnaswamy of
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-909693-0.
- ^ "Spookiest of them all". The Hindu. 7 March 2013. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ Saravanan, T. (21 February 2014). "Following RGV". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-226-30427-4.
- ISBN 978-1-351-38648-7.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-9260-2.
- ^ Krishnaswamy, N. (28 February 1992). "Raat". The Indian Express. p. 7. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ Ashraf, Amrah (3 May 2013). "Brunch Opinion: the scariest film I ever saw". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- Film Companion. Archivedfrom the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
External links
- Raat at IMDb