Raaz Reboot – New Cast, Stale script. Review on RAAZ Reboot

The hidden secret of a couple accommodates an enemy to settle within and flourish.

The first time I came across the term ‘Reboot’ was when my computer hanged and was told to Reboot – which meant to restart. Thus the film ‘Raaz Reboot’ was supposed to ensure a new cast & new script. While the Casting Director was successful in picking the new faces, Emraan Hashmi was the only one retained from the ‘Raaz’ series, but the script was disappointing and seemed to be inspired from umpteen flop Bollywood horror movies.

‘Raaz’ had become such a success that sequels followed suit. The theme ‘Raaz’ was rebranded with enhanced script that provided a new storyline where a new viewer is not compelled to watch the prequel to understand the sequel. This worked out well for the ‘Raaz’ series which turned out to be super hit at the box office.

It seems Vikram Bhatt this time has ran out of creative ideas to recreate a supernatural horror flick. The script appeared very weak having to rely on a Mangalsutra and uninterrupted chanting of mantras to get rid of the evil spirit – a scene the Indian audience is very much familiar with and no more interested in.

Story: Mr. Rehan Khanna(Gaurav Arora) and Mrs. Shaina Khanna(Kriti Kharbanda), a married couple from Mumbai arrive in Transylvania, Romania as Rehan, a Banker is on a 5 year posting in this country also known as Dracula’s country. He had reluctantly accepted this job offer due to strong persistence by Shaina who wanted to go to Romania.  They rent out a 100 year old mansion, where their relationship turns sour, the reason being - hidden secrets of both husband and wife. But there is an evil spirit desperately wanting to reveal a secret and wants to possess Shaina. Shaina encounters the evil spirit’s presence on several occasions but no one believes her due to lack of evidence. Aditya(Emraan Hashmi) is Shaina’s former abusive & possessive lover. The court has warned him to stay away from Shaina, however, he is in the know of the scary events surrounding Shaina’s life and of the haunted house. Finding no support from her husband, Shaina believes Aditya is Godsent and her only hope. Shaina however is possessed by the evil spirit and Rehan goes into damage control mode. He approaches Trilok Shastri who has the gift of Psychometry and can provide the entire history of the person by touching an object owned by him/her.  He is successful in revealing half of the hidden secret while the other half is revealed by Rehan.

Cast: There are only three key characters played by Gaurav Arora as ‘Rehan’, Kriti Kharbanda as ‘Shaina’ and Emraan Hashmi as ‘Aditya’.  Of the three, the performance of Kriti was outstanding.

Songs: The music was good with meaningful lyrics and all songs suited the occasion. The visuals were great.

Pros: Kriti Kharbanda, Romania, Cinematography, Special Effects, Evil Spirit mocking the Catholic Priest and revealing his secrets.

Cons: The script had many flaws and the editing was horrible. The execution of the script was incoherent with so much disconnect between the scenes that the flashback and the current appeared confusing. To add to the confusion, the intermission happens during a flashback.  There were several scenes left unexplained. 1) Shaina’s rescue from the telephone booth by Rehan is still unclear  2) Shaina’s Mangalsutra is shown broken with scattering beads and repair never took place and yet it is shown intact in the following scene 3) Shaina is possessed by the evil spirit on several occasions whereas the narrative clearly states that it did only after Shaina had discarded the Mangalsutra 4) Rehan is in the know of the entire drama which is partially planned by him which is unconvincing  5) There were several scenes made to look scary but had no relevance to the script. 6) ‘The Strigoi’ – Spirit of Revenge turned out to be a weakling. 7) The climax is haphazardly wrapped giving it the finishing touches akin to a flop Bollywood horror film.

Conclusion: ‘Raaz Reboot’ is a big banner film that had all the resources and talent at its disposal to deliver another supernatural horror film but unfortunately disappoints. The acting department did a fair job especially the debutant Kriti Kharbanda. If there is bankruptcy of ideas for scripting another ‘Raaz’, then the Bhatt Camp should think of leaving the ghosts alone. There are humans who are scarier and threaten the lives of other humans doing more damage than what an imaginary and invisible ghost would do, and they could take a cue from ‘Pink’ being screened in the neighboring cinema hall. ‘Raaz Reboot’ does have catchy moments but overall it does not awe you as did the previous ‘Raaz’ series.  The film is thus half-heartedly recommended.