Darna Mana Hai
Encyclopedia
Darna Mana Hai is a Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...

 Anthology film
Anthology film
An anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director...

, released on 25 July 2003. It was considered a unique and innovative attempt by (joint) producer Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer...

 and director Prawal Raman to provide Indian audiences with a horror film which consists of six different short stories. It stars a host of Bollywood celebrities including Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films. He is the son of the late former Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and actress Sharmila Tagore. He has two sisters: Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan....

, Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Oberoi is an Indian actor. He is the son of Bollywood actor Suresh Oberoi and Yashodhara Oberoi.- Early life :Vivek attended Mayo college in Ajmer. At an actors' workshop in London he was spotted by the director of New York University who took Vivek off to New York, where he completed his...

, Aftab Shivdasani
Aftab Shivdasani
Aftab Shivadasani is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films. He started as a child actor in commercials and has performed in over 40 films. He also co-wrote and helped produce the film Aao Wish Karein. He started his career as a child artist in the movie Mr. India. Shivdasani is currently...

, Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa Shetty is an Indian film actress and model. Since making her debut in the film Baazigar , she has appeared in nearly 40 Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films, her first leading role being in the 1994 Aag. Although she has been through years of decline during her career, Shetty has been...

, Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy is an Indian film actress, primarily working in the Hindi film industry and Tamil industry. Apart from Bollywood, Reddy has also appeared in a number of Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam films.-Early life:...

, Isha Koppikar, Nana Patekar
Nana Patekar
Vishwanath "Nana" Patekar is an Indian actor and filmmaker.-Biography:Born Vishwanath Patekar in Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra, to Dinkar Patekar and his wife Sanjanabai Patekar. He is an alumnus of the Sir J.J...

, Sohail Khan
Sohail Khan
Sohail Khan is an Indian director, writer, producer and actor working in the Hindi cinema. He is the younger brother of actors Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan...

, and more.

Plot

Darna Mana Hai interweaves six stories into one film. Seven friends get stuck in the middle of a forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 when their car breaks down, and they find refuge in an abandoned house. To keep each other amused, they tell each other horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...

 and supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...

 stories that they have heard over a bonfire
Bonfire
A bonfire is a controlled outdoor fire used for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Celebratory bonfires are typically designed to burn quickly and may be very large...

. Shruti (Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy is an Indian film actress, primarily working in the Hindi film industry and Tamil industry. Apart from Bollywood, Reddy has also appeared in a number of Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam films.-Early life:...

) is the bravest of the lot and seems unafraid of any of the stories that are told.

Story 1 - On the Way

The first story revolves around a married couple, Karan (Sohail Khan) and Anjali (Antara Mali), who get stuck in the middle of a forest. After their car suddenly stops, Karan gets out to investigate the problem. After his disappearance and his constant cries for help from the desolated forest, Anjali gets out and runs into the forest to rescue him. She finds Karan's torch
Torch
A torch is a fire source, usually a rod-shaped piece of wood with a rag soaked in pitch and/or some other flammable material wrapped around one end. Torches were often supported in sconces by brackets high up on walls, to throw light over corridors in stone structures such as castles or crypts...

 covered in blood and is stalked by an unseen person or supernatural being. Panicking, Anjali runs around and finds a hand reaching out of a swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

. She then becomes terrified to find that the hand is wearing a watch identical to her husband's. After failed attempts to rescue him, the hand disappears. Someone creeps up on her and as Anjali screams, it turns out to be Karan. Karan seems completely normal and fine while Anjali, whimpering, attempts to tell him that she heard him screaming. However, Karan tells her that he heard her screams from the forest when he went to retrieve water. She looks at the torch she found, which is suddenly clean of the blood it was covered in. She then hurries back to the car with Karan, telling him to get them both out of there. After quickly fixing the car problem with the water, Karan and the panicked Anjali climb into the car and drive off. After seeing Anjali's anxious and worried state, Karan puts his arm around her as she leans on him and closes her eyes. He then smirks and looks into the rearview mirror of the car, in which his reflection is not visible and Anjali seems to be leaning on nothing. This conveys that he did die in the swamp and is now a ghost.

After this story, one of the friends around the bonfire go into the forest.

Story 2 - No Smoking

The second story is about a photographer, Anil (Saif Ali Khan), who checks into an inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...

 while on his way to Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

. The manager and owner (Boman Irani) of the lodge is a strange and eccentric man who insists that smoking
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...

 is strongly prohibited in his inn. When Anil tries to go outside for a smoke, the man restricts him, telling him about the diseases that come along with smoking. The owner then locks Anil inside the lodge and tells him that in a matter of months, he can cure his smoking addiction. The owner takes Anil to a basement of sort and shows him piles of dead bodies, telling him that he tried to prevent them but these people would not stop smoking. After a few months, Anil is now seen working at the lodge, acting strange and eccentric himself. When a customer walks in smoking and asks him for a room, Anil tells him that smoking is strongly prohibited and then proceeds to shoot the man with a gun. The story ends with Anil and the owner sitting together, smiling and watching T.V., when an ad against smoking runs as a commercial.
This story is similar to the story sung in The Eagles' Hotel, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It also shares many thematic elements with Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

's thriller Psycho.

After this story, a second friend in the group around the bonfire goes into the forest.

Story 3 - Homework

The third story is that of a school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

, (Raghuvir Yadav). He confronts a strange student, Pramila, who is always punished for not completing her homework. Later, she suddenly becomes a bright student and starts doing her homework regularly. But ironically, on her homework, the teacher sees that she has drawn an (Om), depicting the sign of God. This disturbs him and causes him to act strangely. After a few weeks, he decides to go to Pramila's house. Pramila's mother confronts him and he explains that he once murdered a bright classmate in jealousy and thinks Pramila is a reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

 of that classmate. He says that she drew the Om sign to prove it. By the end of the story, the teacher loses his sanity.

After this story is told, the third friend in the group also enters the forest.

Story 4 - Apples

The fourth story centers on a housewife (Shilpa Shetty), who buys mysterious apples from a strange vendor (Rajpal Yadav). When she gets home, her husband (Sanjay Kapoor) eats one of the apples and finds it very tasty. The wife worries that something might happen to him after eating the apples, as she finds the vendor very suspicious. The next morning, when she wakes up, she is shocked to find an apple next to her instead of her husband. She is even more shocked when she realizes that her husband has turned into an apple after eating it. She runs outside and is astonished to see apples everywhere on the ground, after every person who has eaten them turned into them. The vendor then appears with an evil look, offering her his last apple for free.

Story 5 - Ghostly Lift

In the fifth story an elderly man named John (Nana Patekar) is standing at a graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...

. A young man in sunglasses
Sunglasses
Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...

, Amar (Vivek Oberoi), drives by and gives John a lift. Amar asks John why he was at the graveyard, as he thinks that John's wife is dead so he might have come to visit her grave. But John says that it is actually he who is dead. Amar dismisses it as a joke. After some more conversation, Amar gets irritated by John's strange behavior. Amar then stops the car, gets out and asks John to get out. John then explains that he works for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 Bakra (a program similar to Punk'd
Punk'd
Punk'd is an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003 and was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, produced and hosted by Ashton Kutcher. It bore a resemblance to both the classic hidden camera show Candid Camera and to TV's Bloopers...

) and Amar is the first person not to get scared. Amar says that he was not scared because he knew beforehand that John was not a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...

. He says that he knew this because he himself is a ghost. John thinks that Amar is now trying to play a prank to get back at him. Amar then takes off his sunglasses, revealing that his eyes are hollow. When John sees this, he dies of shock.

Back to the friends around the bonfire, one by one, each friend had gone into the forest after each story was told. After the fifth story, only two friends are left, as none of the five have returned. The two of them start talking about other things when a man suddenly appears, sitting at a corner. The strange man (revealed to be Sushant Singh) approaches the two and tells them that he has heard the five stories. He asks the boy out of the two friends to tell a story and narrates the following.

Story 6 – Stop/Move

The sixth and final story is about a young student, Purab (Aftab Shivdasani), and his love interest, Abhilasha (Isha Koppikar). Purab contemplates suicide because Abhilasha rejects his advances and nobody else in his college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 likes him either. He sadly rants about not being special in front of an idol. Later, he discovers that he has developed an extraordinary ability - he can immobilize a particular person just by saying “Stop” to them. Purab uses his ability to freeze Abhilasha, and later imitates it to her by immobilizing a number of students in their college. Abhilasha, frightened of Purab's power, agrees to date him. Thereafter, Purab goes to his house and uses his power on his father on the way to his room. In his room, he, in delight of his ability, starts making plans to use his power. As he looks into the mirror, he says "Stop", which freezes him on the spot. His father finds him like that in his room, with a victorious smile frozen on his face. He is immediately rushed to the hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

 but nothing can be done for him now.

Ending

The strange man tells the two friends that it is his turn now to tell a story. He tells them a story that they are partly familiar with. His story is the following: A group of seven friends are travelling when their car breaks down one night. They seek shelter under a ruined shack and start telling stories to each other to kill time. After each story, one friend in the group (supposedly frightened) goes out into the forest and gets killed, one by one, until only two are left. The two friends that are left stop telling stories to each other and the killer, who is now bored, comes out to them. The killer appears to be the very same strange man that is narrating this story. He says that his only reason for the murders is fear because he cannot stand it and would kill anyone who is scared. The man then kills the boy. The girl, Shruti (Sameera Reddy), runs into the forest as fast as she can but the killer catches up with her and stabs her. She manages to kill the man before falling unconscious.

When day breaks, Shruti awakes and walks up to the main road to find that the place is swarming with police and her friends' bodies are being taken into ambulances. Then she sees the killer standing by a car, smiling. Shruti points at the man and tries to tell the police that he is the murderer, but the police take no notice of her and appear not to hear her. The killer then points at a body, which she shockingly discovers to be her own. She realizes that she too is dead and is now a ghost, and watches their bodies being taken away with tears in her eyes. As she is watching, she is soon joined by the ghosts of her friends and the killer.

Box office

The film, which opened in JULY-2003, was one of the most acclaimed film of that year. it received 4 star ratings by many critics and was termed a path breaking cult film. the film was called a radical and daring attempt in new age cinema and received accolades for its brilliant direction execution and performances. DMH opened to a 90% opening in all multiplexes and recovered its COP in the initial 3 days. it was declared a hit..

Cast

  • Sameera Reddy
    Sameera Reddy
    Sameera Reddy is an Indian film actress, primarily working in the Hindi film industry and Tamil industry. Apart from Bollywood, Reddy has also appeared in a number of Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam films.-Early life:...

     ... Shruti
  • Gaurav Kapoor ... Romi
  • Peeya Rai Chowdhary
    Peeya Rai Chowdhary
    Peeya Rai Chowdhary is an Indian actress married to model Shayan Munshi, but currently separated from him. She played Lakhi in Gurinder Chadha's Bride and Prejudice, Rita in the movie The Bong Connection and played "Kiran" in the TV show Hip Hip Hooray....

  • Antara Mali ... Anjali
  • Saif Ali Khan
    Saif Ali Khan
    Saif Ali Khan is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films. He is the son of the late former Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and actress Sharmila Tagore. He has two sisters: Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan....

     ... Anil Manchandani
  • Vivek Oberoi
    Vivek Oberoi
    Vivek Oberoi is an Indian actor. He is the son of Bollywood actor Suresh Oberoi and Yashodhara Oberoi.- Early life :Vivek attended Mayo college in Ajmer. At an actors' workshop in London he was spotted by the director of New York University who took Vivek off to New York, where he completed his...

     ... Amar
  • Sohail Khan
    Sohail Khan
    Sohail Khan is an Indian director, writer, producer and actor working in the Hindi cinema. He is the younger brother of actors Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan...

     ... Karan
  • Sanjay Kapoor
    Sanjay Kapoor
    Sanjay Kapoor is a Bollywood actor and producer.Son of film producer, Surinder Kapoor, he is the younger brother of actor Anil Kapoor and producer Boney Kapoor and brother-in-law of actress Sridevi...

     ... Sanjay
  • Raghuvir Yadav
    Raghuvir Yadav
    Raghubir Yadav is a two-time International Award winner Indian stage, film and television actor, music composer, singer and set designer.-Biography:...

     ... Dayashankar Pandey (Teacher)
  • Revathi
    Revathi
    Revathi is an award-winning Indian actress and film director. She has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi movies, directed several feature-length films, and has acted in and produced multiple television programs, totaling over twenty years of experience in the entertainment...

     ... Pramila's mother
  • Shilpa Shetty
    Shilpa Shetty
    Shilpa Shetty is an Indian film actress and model. Since making her debut in the film Baazigar , she has appeared in nearly 40 Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films, her first leading role being in the 1994 Aag. Although she has been through years of decline during her career, Shetty has been...

     ... Gayathri
  • Rajpal Yadav
    Rajpal Yadav
    Rajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...

     ... Apple vendor
  • Boman Irani
    Boman Irani
    Boman Irani is an Indian film and theatre actor and photographer. Irani began his acting career in theatre and moved to film in 2000 at the age of 44 with a role in Josh...

     ... Hotel owner
  • Nana Patekar
    Nana Patekar
    Vishwanath "Nana" Patekar is an Indian actor and filmmaker.-Biography:Born Vishwanath Patekar in Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra, to Dinkar Patekar and his wife Sanjanabai Patekar. He is an alumnus of the Sir J.J...

     ... John Rodrigues
  • Aftab Shivdasani
    Aftab Shivdasani
    Aftab Shivadasani is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films. He started as a child actor in commercials and has performed in over 40 films. He also co-wrote and helped produce the film Aao Wish Karein. He started his career as a child artist in the movie Mr. India. Shivdasani is currently...

     ... Purab
  • Isha Koppikar ... Abhilasha
  • Sushant Singh
    Sushant Singh
    Sushant Singh is an Indian actor, born in 1971.-Biography:He hails from Bijnor District in Uttar Pradesh. He did his schooling from a residential public school in Nainital - Birla Vidya Mandir. He did his post graduation in English Literature from Kirori Mal College and was involved with the fine...

     ... Serial-killer
  • Malavika
    Malavika
    Malavika is the stage name of Shweta Konnur , in Bangalore, an Indian actress. She started out as a model for Fair and Lovely and became an actress in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films....

     ... Neha

Crew

  • Director: Prawaal Raman
  • Producer: Ram Gopal Varma
  • Production House: K Sera Sera, Varma Corporation Ltd.
  • Cinematography: Vishal Sinha
  • Action: Allan Amin
  • Art: Sunil Nigvekar
  • Editor: Amit Parmar, Nipun Gupta
  • Screenplay: Atul Sabharwal, Abbas Tyrewala
  • Dialogue: Atul Sabharwal, Abbas Tyrewala
  • Story/Writer: Atul Sabharwal, Abbas Tyrewala, Rajneesh Thakur
  • Music: Salim Suleiman

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features 6 songs composed by Salim-Sulaiman
Salim-Sulaiman
Salim Merchant And Sulaiman Merchant are a musical duo of brothers, born and brought up in Bhuj, Kutch, India. They belong to Ismaili Muslim family and are inspired by their father Sadruddin Merchant, who used to lead Ismaili Scouts Orchestra in India..Steeped in a family tradition of music as the...

, with lyrics by Lalit Marathe.

Track listing:
  1. "Darna Mana Hai" (4:20) – Sunidhi Chauhan
    Sunidhi Chauhan
    Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....

    , Ninad Kamat
    Ninad Kamat
    Ninad Kamat is an Indian Bollywood film actor. Some of his movies are Zabardast, Kabhi Up Kabhi Down, Shiva, Lage Raho Munnabhai, 7½ Phere, Viruddh, Dus, Parineeta, Zeher, Sangharsh, Doli Sajake Rakhna. He has also worked as a Playback Singer in Shiva and Darna Mana Hai...

    , Naresh Kamat
  2. "Darna Mana Hai Remix" (4:15) – Sunidhi Chauhan
    Sunidhi Chauhan
    Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....

    , Ninad Kamat
    Ninad Kamat
    Ninad Kamat is an Indian Bollywood film actor. Some of his movies are Zabardast, Kabhi Up Kabhi Down, Shiva, Lage Raho Munnabhai, 7½ Phere, Viruddh, Dus, Parineeta, Zeher, Sangharsh, Doli Sajake Rakhna. He has also worked as a Playback Singer in Shiva and Darna Mana Hai...

    , Naresh Kamat
  3. "Homework" (5:11) – Clinton Cerejo
    Clinton Cerejo
    Clinton Cerejo is known for his contributions in the music department for Indian films. His range of work includes playback singing, vocal arrangements, musical arrangements, background scores, music programming, production...

    , Aparna Jha, Vijay
  4. "Jo Dar Gaya Voh Mar Gaya" (4:45) – Sunidhi Chauhan
    Sunidhi Chauhan
    Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....

    , Salim Merchant, Naresh Kamat
  5. "No Smoking" (4:56) – Ravi Khote
  6. "Stop" (4:27) – Sonu Nigam
    Sonu Nigam
    Sonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...

    , Sunidhi Chauhan
    Sunidhi Chauhan
    Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....


External links

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