kathuria_nidhi Ram Gopal Varma is indeed a filmmaker who likes to juggle hats when it comes to film-making. It's hard to slot him as a director of single or specialized genre. From underworld mafia gang-wars to 'rangeela' musicals, he has proved himself to be the demigod of experimental cinema. The Indian cinema seems to on an upswing and the golden era is not too far, as our optimism grows with a row of hits and different films like 'Zinda', 'Rang De Basanti', 'Gangster' or even the film that boasts of a rustic comic streak 'Malamaal Weekly'. In the light of being uncommonly charitable to most of the recent Indian films, what do we think of 'Darna Zaroori Hai'? When you read the label on the bottle that says 'POISON' in red color, you won't dare to meddle with it, unless you are on a suicide mission. But when you read the title 'Darna Zaroori Hai', you want to be SPOOKED with the capital S. So, does the film manage to scare you? The answer, 'NO'! An ensemble of quite predictable seven short stories, the film proves to short circuit right after the first story, directed by Sajid Khan; intelligent story line, great acting by Manoj Pahwa, sharp camera work and sound recording. To be fair, another story worth mentioning is the one directed by Chakravarthy (of Satya fame), starring Randeep Hooda as the man possessed. Ram Gopal Varma, the man who claims to love the world of horror and directed spine-chilling 'Bhoot' in the past, ironically tells the story in this film, which is perhaps the weakest of the seven stories. Though ironically again, the acting by Amitabh Bachchan in that piece, as a man intimidated by an invisible entity, is top notch, as the man delivers the expressions of trepidations with the most natural ease. Riteish Deshmukh, his co-actor also delivered a pro-reactive set of emotions, with brilliance. A story that seemed like revenge onto life insurance agents again, had powerful acting by Rajpal Yadav. But was it scary? No. Comparing the sequel to Varma's first, 'Darna Mana Hai', this one has weaker story lines and yet scarce punch of the ghost factor. Our verdict: Good for a DVD scare. -Nidhi Kathuria

folkpoet80 OK, this may contain spoilers. I'll start with the start. The first episode was pretty witty, where the guy dies by looking at the poster of the movie itself. Pretty witty, but nothing scary.Amitabh episode left me pretty baffled. My copy ended when the student looks at the "image" in the mirror. Did something else happen after that or was my copy complete? Arjun Rampal episode was a complete REPEAT of the Nana Patekar episode from Darna Mana Hai. I had an impression that Arjun would be the dead guy. Nothing special in the episode.Rajpal Yadav/Suneel Shetty episode was the WORST. I have no clue what the message was unless I miss something. I can't believe after so many years, Suneel still speaks such pathetic Hindi. His dialog delivery was horrible. Rajpal Yadav is a brilliant actor (Main Meri Patni Aur Woh! YES!!), but here his role didn't do any justice. So he dies at the end. What's scary in that???Anil Kapoor/Mallika Sehrawat episode was funny, not scary, and probably the best in terms of acting. Poor guy dies thinking that she was a spook. Witty again!Randeep Hooda episode was a cheap B-Grade Story. A soul acquires a body, and kills her killers. Overall, Darna Mana Hai was a great movie and really had good direction and mature acting, even from unknown faces. This movie, although much anticipated, was a waste of time. I'm sorry, but so many directors, a hoard of actors, still couldn't save the poor screenplay. 3/10

Thanigai Vaasan Wanna get scared? OK. Let me try. Now? Now? Now? Scary yet? No? Really? How about now? No? Oh! You are beginning to laugh! OK. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh.BAM!Thats the formula Ram Gopal Varma has come up with, for his audience, in this mercilessly shocking movie.0. Boo...A never-scared, self-satisfied, endlessly-laughing man, watches Darna Mana Hai in an empty theatre, hates it to the core and takes a shortcut through a graveyard, against his mother's advice. There...1. The ProfessorA Biotech student visits his professor at his house to clear his doubts before examination. The meeting turns into an annoyance when the professor behaves troubled with something. The student prepares to leave. Then...2. One Call PleaseA man, whose car breaks down, knocks the door of an unusual couple for help. As he gets more comfortable with them and as they display their new unusual hobby, they discover that their meeting was not just a coincidence.3. Life is RiskyAn ambitious Insurance Policy man approaches a middle-class family to impress them with his "Life is Risky" tactics. While he is constantly shown only the door, he even goes a step further in completing his target.4. The DirectorA romantic-movie director wants to make a horror movie. On the way to his out-of-city bungalow, where he decides to write the climax, he gives lift to a stranded girl in his car. As she narrates her story, his job becomes easier than he had imagined.5. Ma...A young man who saves a girl from running over by his car on a rainy night, wakes up to find himself in a lock-up, accused for a crime which he has never committed. As a stranger visits him in the station, the truth that unfolds then, seems stranger than fiction.6. Twinkle Twinkle Little StarSix brave children, misusing their school picnic freedom, hike in a forest and arrive at a haunted house where they meet an old lady who lives alone without fear. As they get friendly with each other, she challenges to scare them by narrating six frightening stories. While she stops after the fifth, the bravest kid asks her, "Where is the sixth one, Dadi Ma?". He will be told.It would take too long to review each story. Therefore, I'd like to put it in a brief way. Each story has its own theme and its own shock value, though, a few similarities can be felt between The Couple and The Director (in both one tries to fool another with a scare) and also between The Director and Ma (the car, dark road, rain). Nevertheless, the rest are unique among them."Life is Risky" devastates a common man's sense of self-security. It jolts but doesn't scare. Rajpal Yadav is greaaaatttt as the Insurance man. Sunil and Sonali just fit in the role. "The Director" is beautifully made. When Mallika narrates her story in dark, it somehow reminded me of the song "Ye Sard" from RGV's Bhoot. I expected more but unfortunately it ended too soon and made me feel "Is that all?". Anil Kapoor and Mallika have done whats necessary. Nothing more. "The Couple" is slow, sensuous, playful, scary and predictable. You just cant forget that smile! Makrand shines in his role. Arjun and Bipasha have done a good job. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" is the movie's central story. Ava Mukherji is, in one word, scary! The children have dutifully performed as they have been instructed.Now the three best episodes. "Ma..." is a brilliant tale. Randeep is wow! Zakir is unbelievably superb. Rasika excels in her role. Are you going to Poona? In car? In the night? In rain? Beware! "Boo..." is the Prologue. Manoj Pahwa. Man! What a carelessly cool actor! His mother is a good diversion. She has done well too. Sorry. I wont say anything more than this.Of all the seven stories, "The Professor" steals the show. Amitabh! The icon of Bollywood gives one more earth shattering performance! How many more styles does he have! This episode stops you, shocks you and gives you shivers, cos you don't know whats in it and whats gonna come next. Ritesh has rendered a befitting performance. He seems more scared of Amitabh's acting skills than the scenario he is in. Cos the old man rules!This movie on the whole has more fear and shock value than Darna Mana Hai, although I should accept that except for "The Professor", DMH had much better story plots. In my opinion, the most shocking of all the 14 stories in both DMH and DZH is "The Professor" and the scariest of all is "The Teacher" from Darna Mana Hai. Overall, DMH didn't scare as much as DZH, but it made us squirm and feel creepy cos of the reality which the stories reflected. It left a long lasting impression in us. On the other hand, the shocks that DZH has in store, will hit you hard and cruel with sudden force, only when you naively think that its time to relax. Thats merciless! It shocks you. It keeps you excited. It makes you giggle with fear. And its fun. Its a different experience on the whole. Feel sorry for yourself, if you miss this great movie. And feel more sorry while watching it...Hey! Look who is behind you!

catchpreet2005 I saw the movie today and seriously, I feel that the movie doesn't live up to its expectations. There is nothing scary in the movie; rather it seems that the movie belongs to the comedy genre. "Darna Mana Hai" did have the horror element to some extent but "Darna Zaroori Hai" fails to evoke the fear in the mind of the viewers. Out of the six stories, the Randeep Hooda story excel the others. However, Manoj Pahwa's story, Arjun Rampal/Bipasa's story and Anil Kapoor/Malika's story are satisfactory. Ritiesh/Amitabh Bachachan's story, surprisingly directed by Ram Gopal Verma, is mediocre. Finally, the Suneil Shetty/Sonali Kulkarni story is a total let-down. The movie suffers due to bad screenplay, not-so-scary-stories and, at some places, awful acting.In conclusion, the movie is a complete disappointment to all those avid Ram Gopal Verma fans, who watch his movies for his unusual and distinctive stories!So, if you have all the time in the world to throw away, then call your buddies at home, eat popcorn, watch "Darna Zaroori Hai" and laugh all the way through the movie!!!