Not spooky enough

Phoonk 2 
cast Sudeep, Amruta Khanvilkar, Ahsaas Channa, Ashwini Kalsekar
director Milind Gadagkar
rating (15)

But both the hero, Rajiv (Sudeep), and his family - wife Arati (Amruta Khanvilkar) and children Raksha (Ahsaas Channa) and Rohan (Rishabh Jain) - are blissfully ignorant of the significance of these symbols as they settle into their new home near the beach but far, it seems, from civilisation. Everything appears to be hunky-dory initially - the house, the woods at the back of the bungalow and the beach - and the family seems very happy.

Then the drama begins: doors start creaking and slamming on their own, the doll starts moving its head sideways and mysteriously appears in various places and a strange voice can be heard in the middle of the night. Little does the family realise that there is something from the past that's out to trouble them. The spirit of Madhu (Ashwini Kalsekar), the witch who was murdered in the prequel, Phoonk, has returned to wreak vengeance on the family - and Rajiv is blamed for the predicament.

Pretty soon the casualtiesstart emerging. Then, to Rajiv's horror, his wife is possessed by Madhu's spirit and the lives ofthe other family members arealso in danger.

Will Sudeep be able to save them? Will his wife ever getback to normal?

Gadagkar fails to cut the mustard with this movie, which is more gory than terrifying. Even the noteworthy performancesof Sudeep and Channa in particular, can't prevent this Ram Gopal Verma film from being another damp squib.