Raaz – The Mystery continues' is just spooky to be watchable

Raaz – The Mystery continues
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranau
Director: Mohit Suri
Rating: **

"Why would I try to kill myself? Don't you know how much I love me?" screams Nandita (Kangana) at her boyfriend. It seems that's how the Bhatts feel about their 'formula' - action from the word go, good music, oomph and 'highlights' few and far between - too. They have stuck to it for a few years now, and it has worked quite well for them. Other filmmakers have tried to follow the Bhatt mantra but haven't always met with similar success.

Seven years back, the Bhatts combined these very ingredients with the story of superstition versus science in the spooky Raaz. The film was a hit. Seven years later, not much has changed. Not a sequel, Raaz – TMC is another chapter of the franchise and has a story that resembles the first part in a number of ways.

The 'hero' still scoffs at superstition (Adhyayan Suman, from where Dino Morea left off), the girlfriend pays the price of his mistake (Kangana ala Bipasha) and there's the wronged ghost. In the first Raaz, an actor called Malini Sharma played this role and shot to instant fame, only to disappear later. She is replaced here by Jackie Shroff! There's the saviour too (Emraan Hashmi), which is an additional element to the story. It hardly makes a difference.

After a few spooky moments that make you clutch your seat a little harder, the fear element of Raaz- TMC subsides. Initial scenes of Nandita being exorcised by a spirit at a fashion show, the one where she sees something scary in the mirror (the first Raaz had a similar scene) and a 'bathtub' sequence do manage to scare you.

The interval scene especially is extremely well shot and manages to make you want to find an answer to the 'raaz.' But what follows is a dampener. Having gripped you for half its screen time, the film falters towards the end. As the suspense unfolds, you start to lose connect with the characters and the finale leaves you completely unmoved. Ending on a high note is clearly not this Raaz's forte.

But with a music score that fits in just right, decent special effects, good performances by Kangana (why the swollen face in certain scenes?) and Emraan Hashmi, the film is just about passable. Adhyayan Suman requires one of the following two: coaching classes in acting or a career shift. The scariest part of the film, in fact, is the promo of the Bhatt's next venture, Jashn starring Adhyayan in the role of, would you believe it, a rockstar!

Raaz - TMC, though, could just work for those looking for a few cheap thrills and good music.