Phoonk

Phoonk (English: Blow) is a 2008 Indian horror film directed by Ram Gopal Varma and produced by Praveen Nischol. The film stars Sudeep, Amruta Khanvilkar, and Ahsaas Channa in the lead roles, while Kenny Desai, Ashwini Kalsekar, and Zakir Hussain play supporting roles. The film is based on superstition and black magic. The film released on 22 August 2008 and was declared a blockbuster at the box office by several media outlets.[1] [2]

Phoonk
Promotional poster
Directed byRam Gopal Varma
Produced byPravin Nischol
Azam Khan
Parvez Damania
Written byMilind Gadagkar
StarringSudeep
Amruta Khanvilkar
Ahsaas Channa
Kenny Desai
Ashwini Kalsekar
Zakir Hussain
Music byBapi-Tutul
CinematographySavita Singh
Edited byAmit Parmar
Nipun Gupta
Release date
  • 22 August 2008 (2008-08-22)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box office₹10 crores

Varma derived the idea for the film from a Hindi news channel which telecasts stories on black magic.[3] The storyline of Phoonk is thematically similar to the Telugu thriller novel Tulasi Dalam by Yandamuri Veerendranath. A prize of ₹5 lakh (US$7,000) was announced for those who will watch the film alone in a theatre.[3]

The film was remade in Telugu as Raksha and was dubbed in Tamil as Bommayi. It was followed by a sequel, Phoonk 2, in 2010.

Plot

Phoonk is based upon the concept of black magic. Civil engineer and atheist Rajiv (Sudeep) lives in Mumbai with his wife Aarti (Amruta Khanvilkar), his two children Raksha (Ahsaas Channa) and Rohan (Shrey Bawa), his mother, and the housemaid Laxmi (Anu Ansari). Rajiv's most trusted colleagues are Anshuman (Kenny Desai) and Madhu (Ashwini Kalsekar), whom everyone, including Rajiv's friend Vinay (Ganesh Yadav) and Raksha, feels are not normal. During a party at his house, when he comes to know that the husband and wife duo have cheated him on a valuable contract for an IT firm in Delhi, Rajiv fires both of them after insulting them both. Humiliated and angry at this, the two of them decide to take revenge on Rajiv. Madhu notes that Rajiv is very fond of Raksha.

Soon, a series of strange events start to take place in and around Rajiv's house. Mandar (Bharat Kaul), who is appointed to take the place of Madhu and Anshuman, is mysteriously killed at the construction site. Raksha starts to talk and behave weirdly, much to everyone's shock. Doctors are called for, but the strange behavior continues, with Raksha flying in the air, talking in a manly voice, acting in pain. The superstitious and religious grandmother repeatedly says that someone is using black magic on Raksha, but Rajiv and the doctors refuse to believe any of it.

Now at the end of his wits, Rajiv begins to look to God. He also agrees to his construction laborers' demand of making a small shrine at the construction site, which he was previously adamantly turning down. Vinay suggests asking for the help of Manja (Zakir Hussain), a magician familiar with these things.

Manja analyzes the whole situation, sees Raksha, visits Rajiv's house, and tells the latter that someone is trying to take revenge on him, at which Vinay exclaims that it is none other than Madhu and Anshuman. Manja also tells them that Rajiv's driver has been helping the duo by providing them with necessary materials like Raksha's hair, soil from her foot, and her toys to perform black magic.

Losing no more time, Rajiv, Vinay, and Manja rush to Madhu's house, where she and Anshuman are found to be doing black magic rituals on a doll, supposedly an effigy of Raksha, to trouble her. Rajiv orders Madhu to stop, but she attacks him with a trishul. Vinay takes on Anshuman. The effect of the black magic forces seep on the entire place, pushing everyone away. As Madhu is going to attack Rajiv who is being pushed towards the wall, Manja uses his powers to separate the running ceiling fan, which lands on Madhu's head, decapitating her. All the negative forces stop, and a spider comes out of one of the skulls on the floor and bites the driver, who dies.

Everyone rushes to the hospital to find that Raksha has completely recovered. Rajiv and Vinay see that everyone thinks it is the doctors who have cured Raksha, and they smile at each other.

Cast

Reviews and reception

Ram Gopal Varma's Phoonk turned out to be a surprise hit at the box office. The movie opened up after an effective publicity campaign. It was a very low-budget film, which combined with its success at the box office, turned a good profit for its investors. It was very popular, especially among the youth, for the creator's Rs. 5 Lakh challenge.

Critically, the movie received mixed reviews. Taran Adarsh gave it 4 out of 5 and said, "PHOONK is a fascinating cinematic experience on a subject that’s rarely tackled by the dream merchants in Bollywood: Black magic." AOL India reviewer Noyon Jyoti Parasara gave a negative review of the film saying, "Overall Phoonk scores low on the scare-o-meter."[4]

Sequel

A sequel, Phoonk 2, released on 16 April 2010, to mixed reviews and a lacklustre commercial reception, thus unable to repeat the success of the prequel.

Awards and nominations

Stardust Awards
  • (Jury's Choice) – Hottest New Film – Nominated [5]
  • (Jury's Choice) – Exciting New Face – Nominated – Amruta Khanvilkar [5]

Screen Awards

References
  1. Box Office: Phoonk in success wave – | The Economic Times. Economictimes.indiatimes.com (25 August 2008). Retrieved on 2017-05-09.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 August 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Idea of 'Phoonk' derived from Hindi news channel : Varma". The Economic Times. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  4. Phoonk reviewed at AOL India
  5. "Stardust Nominations". bollyspice.com. 25 January 2009.
  6. "Nominations for 15th Annual Star Screen Awards 2008". naachgaana.com. 6 January 2009.

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