Jul 20, 2014 10:00 AM
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It was disheartening to know that the Tamil horror film Pizza was being remade in Hindi. After all, the original version was loved by almost everyone. And Bollywood has rarely given a scary and as well-made and well-scripted horror flick. The Hindi remake of Pizza however isn’t very scary as such. However, it’s thrilling, riveting and its climax is a masterstroke!
The story of the movie: Kunal(Akshay Oberoi) works as a pizza delivery boy in a pizza restaurant called Slices in Mumbai. His wife Nikita(Parvathy Omanakuttan), who is penning a horror novel, discovers that she’s pregnant. As Kunal and Nikita decide to have the baby despite their not-so-good financial situation, a crisis occurs. Kunal goes to deliver the pizza in a bungalow inhabited by a mysterious couple(Dipannita Sharma, Arunoday Singh). To Kunal’s horror, he discovers that the couple is dead and is attempting to kill and horrify him. Moreover, Kunal is not able to get out of the bungalow.
One soon realizes at the very beginning that story-wise, Pizza is different from the rest of the horror films. The story moves at a brisk pace and although the experience is nothing extraordinary, one doesn’t mind sitting through the narrative. Obviously, the film goes to another level as soon as Kunal goes to deliver the pizza in the haunted bungalow. From here on till the intermission, the film boasts of some terrific moments, with the interval point being very shocking. Sadly, the film gets a bit repetitive in the second half and hence the scare quotient, which anyways isn’t that strong in the first half, begins to wear away. Thankfully, the narrative takes a turn in the second half. From this point, one really looks forward to the film as it becomes difficult to predict what’ll happen next. However, the climax is a big surprise. It is completely unpredictable and makes for a great watch!
Sadly, the film has its share of blemishes. The film isn’t 3D worthy and the makers could have just made the film in 2D. And as mentioned above, the film doesn’t send a chill down the spine, although the makers tried their best to come up with scary situations. The second hour didn’t quite scare much as the situations are repetitive. Also, the twist in the tale could have been a little more convincing.
Akshay Oberoi, who did a fine debut in Isi Life Mein(2010) plays the lead part with conviction and sincerity. It seems he is overacting in the intro scene but then he gets much better. An actor to watch out for! Parvathy Omanakuttan delivers a confident and lovely performance. She has the looks and talent and hence, can surely go places. Rajesh Sharma(Kunal’s boss) has a significant part to essay and he gives a great performance. Dipannita Sharma and Arunoday Singh both are fine in their roles. Dipannita however looks brilliant and I really wish we get to see her often! D Santosh is as always dependable while Hussain Dalal raises laughs, especially in the first half. Omkar Das Manikpuri(Guruji), who rose to fame with Peepli [LIVE], does well. After trying to act ‘cool’ with films like Qasam Se Qasam Se, Ebn-E-Batuta and Munna Mange Memsaab, it’s good to finally see him playing character roles. Sonali Sachdev(Rajesh Sharma’s wife) and Diya Chalwad Sharma(Dead couple’s daughter) leave a mark.
Songs are relegated in the background and doesn’t get much scope. K’s background score however is creepy. Jayakrishna Gummadi’s cinematography is topnotch while Tapas Nayak’s sound design, Anita Rajagopalan-Donald Reagan’s art direction and Sreekar Prasad’s editing add to the spooky element in the film. Abhijeet Deshpande and Bejoy Nambiar’s dialogues are straight-out-of-life. Akshay Akkineni’s story(inspired from the original version of Pizza) has all the ingredients of a one-of-its-kind horror film. Screenplay however could have been better. Akshay’s direction is more or less fair, especially considering that it’s his first film.
On the whole, Pizza has its share of blemishes but still is worth a watch thanks to the performances, unique storyline and unpredictable climax. It isn’t quite scary and still manages to give a good time. Go ahead and order…you’ll relish this Pizza!
