Phobia: A Phobia which thrills

Psychological thrillers are not that common in Bollywood, the last psychological thriller which made some impact was “404” directed by Prawal Raman in 2011…post which there has not been any psychological thriller in true sense in Bollywood until “Phobia” now…

“Phobia” tells us the story of Mahek (Radhika Apte) an artist who after an unfortunate incident suffers from Agoraphobia which starts affecting her life and near & dear ones… so she starts living alone in a flat, where she starts experiencing and seeing weird things…is it some kind of ghost or is it her imagination…well this is what the movie explores…

Written by Viki Rajani, the movie explores the darker side of human psyche and the story borderlines between a horror and a psychological thriller, well hats off to Viki who balances it well. There are enough twists and turns and surprise elements which will make you glued to the seats. The characters are also quite interesting like the weird neighbour Mannu (Ankur Vikal) or the full of life teenager Nikki (Yashaswani Dayama). Viki uses all the elements which can be used for a horror movie to scare you, but slightly falls short. But the movie keeps you guessing right till the end..The main issue with “Phobia” is its wafer thin plot and a climax that is too abstract. There are many questions which remain unanswered or not explored well…In short the movie fails to tie up all the loose end at the end…But it was a brilliant attempt nevertheless…

It is the performances which make the movie a worth watch, beginning with Radhika Apte who plays the title role of Mehak, she does an outstanding job and it is her performance which is responsible keeping the viewers glued till the end. It is a complex character no doubt but Radhika Apte’s effortless performance just makes it realistic. Satyadeep Mishra who plays Mehak’s boyfriend Shaan, plays the perfect foil to Radhika’s complex portrayal. His performance is honest and to top it all believable. Another good performance is by Ankur Vikal who plays the weird neighbour Mannu, his portrayal is so apt that you will keep on guessing his real intentions…Nikki played superbly by Yashaswani Dayama brings the much needed breath of fresh air to the otherwise tense narration, the newcomer does impress and how…Nivedita Bhattacharya as Anu, Mehak’s sister is a brief role but she does complete justice to her character with a performance.. Overall the main highlight of the movie is its performances…

Pawan Kripalani does a decent job for a psychological thriller, which is not a mean task to make to begin with…full marks to him for not going the mundane way and sticking to the concept and format of Psychological thriller. Kripalani creates the necessary tension required in a thriller quite well, but I still think his “Ragini MMS” was his best till date….

“Phobia” is a Radhika Apte show all the way and she will not disappoint you even for a minute…I will go with three stars…

Movie Rating: (3 / 5)