Tejas Nair I don't care if it references "The Beautiful Mind" or "1408," because 404 is one example that Bollywood is treading somewhere good.The cast performance is scintillating, so is the camera work. But I am disappointed with the editing & screenplay. The latter could've been more polished when telling a tale involving psychology & thrills. Talking about spirits & hallucinations, the plot is pure suspense till the last minute. With supports from huge social causes & rendering the actual situation of newbies in medicine colleges, drives the movie as a great entertainer.BOTTOM LINE: Recommended due to its absolute story-telling & spine- chilling climax. You might want to watch the ending twice to completely understand what the writers intend. Bravo!Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YESProfanity/Nudity/Sex: No | Vulgarity: Very Mild | Smoking/Alcohol/Drugs: Mediocre | Violence: Mediocre | Gore: No | Porn: No

Shafiq Ur Rahman Had never heard of this movie (but no apologies, very few actually have), why I went on to watch whole of it was that it began with first year students being ragged in what turns out soon to be a medical college, reminding of my first year(I am a medical student too). But for a few scenes the initial part of this ragging stuff was completely life-like. The portrayal of a student's hostel in India is excellent where the new comers are initially troubled and mocked before they get frank with their seniors who in turn get friendly. What follows, though not a very day-to-day experience, is very much sensible and realistic. And that's what makes me like this movie -"sense and realism"- something lacking in well more than 90 percent of its contemporaries- bollywood and Hollywood alike. This movie is a very smooth depiction of how situations can throw our mind in directions we could never imagine. And in the circumstances of abhimanyu, hallucinations can never be far. Nothing in the movie has been over-done. The acting and directions have been superb. And above all the story is smooth with some sharp twists at the end, and that is sure to make watching this movie a memorable experience. 'Taare zameen par' remains my all time favourite and 'the shawshank redemption' and 'pursuit of happiness' from overseas come next but after that I like this movie the most, it's a pity that the movie remained so unnoticed, no one seems to believe that it is a must watch. So few views for a movie like this is perhaps a result of lack of strong promotion. Surely this movie deserved a platform similar to 'taare zameen par'. Some stupid ones like 'bodyguard' can create records at box-office, but this one has to search for worthwhile viewers just because of the promotions and starring moulding our expectations- abhimanyu was right "it's all in the mind".

rangdetumpy Famous psychologist William James said "Faith means belief in something concerning which doubt is theoretically possible". This line sums up 404, an intelligent psychological thriller that deals with a certain aspect of human psychology which explores the dilemma arising because of belief and disbelief resulting in many unsolved debate. This debate is the spinal cord of the narrative of 404 that brilliantly explores the psyche of both the sect of people. The films begins with a grainy video of a medical college focusing on a particular student who commits suicide in his room 404 and thus setting the mood for an edgy thriller but unlike loud desi horror films it comes across as a sensible story. Set in a medical college of high repute it explores the world of ragging and its side effect which results in psychological misbalance and drastic suicides. Abhimanyu (played by débutant Rajvvir Aurora) is a fresher stands against the seniors and dares to complain against them. A man with strong rational mind he chooses to stay in the forbidden "rumoured to be haunted" room 404. With help from rationalist medical psychology professor Aniruddha (brilliant acting by director Nishikant Kamath), Abhimanyu got the key to room number 404. Ragging went to the extent of psychological hammering by seniors led by Chris (played by Immaduddin Shah) which moulded Abhimanyu's mind to start hallucinating about Gaurav (the person who committed suicide in 404). With series of incidence Abhimanyu's rational soul is severely beaten as he starts experiencing the paranormal activities in the room. And there starts the fight between rational thinking and paranormal beliefs as Aniruddha sir becomes hell bound in saving a bright young mind like Abhimanyu getting drained down into irrationality. Following this the story is about the fight between rationalism and some undefined force which is beyond explanation of science. Whether Abhimanyu was really hallucinating or there is an existence of a/an atma (soul) in the room becomes the rest of the story in the second half. With two mediocre horror films in his kitty Prawal Raman take a complete u-turn by scripting the brilliant 404, something unseen in Indian cinema. Without playing it to the gallery the story moves at its own pace gradually involving and intoxicating the audience to the proceedings. The grainy starts to the blurred sequences there is a continuous swinging between belief and disbelief. Throughout the film director kept the debate open ended without supporting one extreme. Even camera (by Savita Singh) and lighting department helped to maintain balance between the two extremes. The jerks and sudden frame change sequences reflected the disturbances in the mind of Abhimanyu as well as Aniruddha sir and credit goes to Sarvesh Parab for the fine tuning. Prawal Raman has an eye for detailing and subtleties. Just after the opening credit, there was a sequence showing a TV channel airing a programme about the Nazi ruling by imposing fear which leads to forced belief and respect. In the similar manner the rational professor feels that the belief of god or evil are nothing but imposed fear which flows out of our subconscious mind thus our brain forcing the eyes to decipher. To keep the balance the costume and set designs are made with utmost detailing. The rational Abhimanyu is wearing a red string holy dhaga in hindu religion) in his hand. The posters in the room of Chris were all of spaghetti western which were in between the huge commercial films and low budget art-house ones. Every shot has an element of "somewhere in the middle" feeling attached to it. Raman scripted a non conclusive climax which has an element of belief and disbelief whereby two world of thinking collides with each having its own way of representation. Prawal Raman deserves a standing ovation for such an intelligent script and specially the camera angle in the climax scene which makes the scene non-conclusive, open to interpretation. Sameeruddin's back ground score with Singh's camera-work played the perfect duo in inducing an eerie feeling throughout the film. Coming to the acting department Nishikant Kamat (who made the critically acclaimed Mumbai Meri Jaan and Domvibli Fast) gives a stupendous performance as the famous careerist rational Professor Aniruddha who has a mysterious psychological past. He underplays his role beautifully in every sequence with special mention to the climax when he breaks down in fear and confusion when his own ideologies were challenged. Rajvvir Aurora makes a promising debut and is an actor to look for. The gradual transformation of a rationalist to believer in paranormal existence Rajvvir plays his role with striking acuteness. Tisca Chopra as Aniruddha's wife and a professor herself reflects elegance, charm and intelligence. She plays her role beautifully and even at this age she looks stunning without make-up and in regular dress. Satish Kaushik is always a great actor and here also excels in the role of a professor who is in dilemma about the existence of spirit. Imad Shah as Chris is a natural actor who plays the senior with a conscience perfectly. All the actors in the film underplay themselves brilliantly giving some believable performances. In 2009 a well crafted thriller "The stoneman murders" got released but went away unnoticed. I sincerely hope 404 gets its due credit as this is one of the rarest intelligent film on Indian celluloid that balances science and paranormal activities and breaks away from all the cliché of horror films that are made in India. 404 is a must watch for those who are craving for good cinema.

Nitesh Ruparel 404 is a story of a medical college and its hostel where there are rumors that the room number 404 is haunted since there was a student named Gaurav who had committed suicide.With the new semester to start, the new students do follow the college lift followed by ragging.The story is gripping with a good screenplay. Screenplay is definitely enjoyable; however, the background score could have been softer overall like Ram Gopal Varma's Bhoot for fantastic impact to the story telling (which is a must for such movie).The characters are very well written and so is the entire storyline.The production value too is good but what I would like to appreciate more about the movie is the direction. Parwal Raman has done a good job but conceptualizing 404 and replicating its magic on silver screen.The movie is a psychopath story with a hint of twist in the end with all the Hallucinations taking complete charge of the character Abhimanyu (Rajvvir Aroraa).Rajvvir Aroraa has acted very well and does not seem to be a new comer. Nishikant Kamath too has done justice to his character of Professor Anirudh and his acting in the last 15 minutes of the movie is definitely worth appreciation. Tisca Chopra and Satish Kaushik too have done justice to their characters but what was most disappointing was Immad Shah (Nasseruddin Shah's son doing a cameo). I was seeing Nasser bhai's replication on screen.Overall a different story to enjoy and folks, you don't want to miss the climax !!!