Phobia (2016 film)

Phobia
File:'Phobia' first look poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Pawan Kripalani
Produced by	Viki Rajani
Written by	Pavan Kirpalani Pooja Ladha Surti Arun Sukumar
Screenplay by	Pavan Kirpalani Pooja Ladha Surti Arun Sukumar
Starring	See below
Music by	Daniel George Background Score: Karan Gaur
Cinematography	Jayakrishna Gummadi
Edited by	Pooja Ladha Surti
Production company	Eros International Next Gen Films
Distributed by	Pixel Digital Studios
Release dates	27 May 2016 (2016-05-27)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹80 million (US$1.2 million)–₹120 million (US$1.8 million)

Phobia is a 2016 Indian psychological thriller film, directed by Pawan Kripalani and produced by Viki Rajani. The film stars Radhika Apte as Mehak, an artist suffering from severe agoraphobia. The film marked Apte's first leading role in Bollywood. It had its theatrical release on 27 May 2016, under the collaboration with Eros International and Next Gen Films. The film revolves around an young artist Mehak (Apte) who developed severe agoraphobia– the fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness or embarrassment, after having been sexually assaulted. The film opens with an art exhibition where Mehek's paintings are on display and ends with a freeze frame of a particular painting that is revealed to the audience at the very outset.

Development began in 2015, when Rajani signed Radhika Apte for a film to be made under his banner. Rajani worked on the script, with principal photography taking place in Mumbai. The film features music by Daniel B George. The film features one song. The lyrics for song were written by Jay Shankar Prasad. Phobia released on 27 May 2016, from average to positive critical notice, with major praise directed to Apte's performance. Apart from Apte's performance, film's other production elements and picturisation, background score and special effect works were also praised by the critics and audiences.

Plot

Mehek (Radhika Apte) plays the role of an agoraphobic, a person who has the irrational fear of open or public places. She plays a character who is scared of going out of her house.

After an unfortunate incident, Mehak starts suffering from agoraphobia, the fear of places and situations that may cause pain or embarrass her. Initially her psychologist tries therapy, but due to repeated panic attacks; her boyfriend Shaan (Satyadeep Mishra) gets her a place of her own so that she can face her fears. Determined to beat it, Mehak starts on a positive note but soon begins to notice weird things in the house.

Mehak (Radhika Apte) is a hugely talented artist. She meets with an unfortunate mishap that traumatises her and she develops agoraphobia, a phobia where the individual is paranoid about being in public places. Mehak’s sister Anu (Nivedita Bhattacharya) is exhausted with her eccentric behavior, especially when it starts impacting her own son.

Shaan (Satyadeep Mishra), a close friend, takes Mehak to a friend’s house, on the assumption that it might help her to live alone for a while. At the new apartment, Mehak befriends Nikki (Yashaswini Dayama), a college-going girl who lives in the neighbourhood. Her other neighbour Manu (Ankur Vikal) is working on anger management issues and is part of a community laughter club.

Manu is devastated because his girlfriend Jiah (Amrit Bagchi) left him. Jiah earlier lived in Mehak’s new apartment and disappeared without a trace. A diary belonging to Jiah stokes Mahek’s imagination, and it is only a matter of time before she is convinced that a malevolent spirit is sharing her space. Soon Mehak makes some pretty strong accusations against Manu, and what follows is a series of misfortunes.

In the end it seems like the visions she had were actually of her own future rather than Jiah's. It is revealed that Mehak was capable of having glimpses of the future as is indicated by her seeing smoke coming out of the cab (which is actually the pepper spray that she uses on the cab driver later) and her painting showing many hands approaching to help (the climax scene of the movie when an injured Mehak overcomes her fear and goes out in the open).

Cast

• Radhika Apte as Mehak Deo, an young in a solo exhibition featuring mixed-media works as well as interactive installations. She skillfully brings out key aspects of her character — which are feisty, irreverent, and aware of her sexuality.
• Satyadeep Mishra as Shaan, Mehak's friend
• Ankur Vikal as Manu
• Yashaswini Dayama as Nikki
• Nivedita Bhattacharya as Anu, Mehak's cousin. Both Shaan and Anu visit Mehak, but can't help.
• Amrit Bagchi as Jiah, Mehak gets shifted into Jiah's vacant flat by Shaan, where she used to live. But Mehak's problems multiply when she sees visions of Jiah's murder.

Production

Development and casting

File:Radhika Apte at 'Phobia' media meet.jpg

Radhika Apte at the media meet

The film was directed by Pawan Kirpalani, and the screenplay was written by Pawan Kirpalani and Arun Sukumar. The film was made under the collaboration with Eros International and Next Gen Films.

Pre-production work on Phobia began in the last quarter of 2015 when Viki Rajani announced his plans of making a new project with debutant Pawan Kripalani. Following the success of her previous films Manjhi - The Mountain Man and Ahalya Apte was contracted by Rajani to play the main character in the film. On casting Apte, Rajani commented, “Radhika has proved her acting prowess time and again with her previous films. I am sure she will be able to deliver another enthralling performance in this genre, which is also a first for me. Pawan has earlier directed this genre expertly and audiences can look forward to a taut edgy thriller."

After casting Apte in the film, Apte said in a statement that, "I absolutely love thrillers and horrors, so I'm very happy to be doing my first film in this genre. I am particularly excited about my collaboration with Eros, Next Gen and Pawan Kriplani on our project together."

Filming

Before the principal photography of the film began, Apte reportedly met doctors and patients to do research for her role in the film. She was in close contact with psychiatrists and neurosurgeons in order to understand the mental and biological aspect of a phobia. She met patients and observed them to understand their behavioural patterns. Radhika said in a statement: "I'm in touch with doctors and they have shared valuable information with me about the subject. It has helped me get a deeper understanding of panic attacks."

Principal photography commenced in October 2015 in Mumbai. Within three months of one schedule, it ended in the second half of January 2016.

Apte said that she had done lots of preparation to get to the core of the character for the film. She had a quite lot of material to read and lot of material to watch. In an interview with Mid Day, she spoke that her parents helped her prepare for the film. She revealed that she had turned to her surgeon parents for better understanding of the particular phobia.

Before a couple of days of the release of the film, Apte shared her filming experience and said, "This is my first solo film. I was fine with the whole concept. But physically it was traumatic at times to shoot in the same closed location for long hours. The toughest part was to film the panic attack sequences. It takes a lot from your body as you have to breathe in a certain manner."

Marketing

The marketing campaign was carried out by the lead actress Apte for the promotion of the film. She was seen in two shows on the small screen. The first is Girls on Top, where she revealed her biggest phobia. She was seen performing a song called "Darr" as a special guest. Radhika said, "It is extremely important for one to face their fears and live a bold life. As an actor we have to face many demons day after day and none of us want to fall in that pitfall but instead we want to fight them and continue rising."

The second show that she was seen was in Crime Patrol. She hosted a few episodes of the show. Commenting on her anchoring experience, Radhika said, “I am quite excited as I will be hosting a show for the first time. I am extremely grateful to Anoop as he doled out handy tips on anchoring. It was considerate of him to remain present throughout the shoot to oversee how the episode was coming along. The sequence is related to my film Phobia and it will surely leave a good message for the audience.”

Soundtrack and reception

Phobia
Soundtrack album
Released	18 May 2016 (2016-05-18)
Recorded	2016
Length	2:14
Label	Eros Now

The music rights of Phobia were sold to Eros Now. The soundtrack, which released on 18 May 2016, featured music composed by Daniel B George with lyrics penned by Jay Shankar Prasad. At the event, the lead actress Apte, director Kripalani and producer Rajani were present. It was a 360 degree video. The song was shot on a VR headset, and is one-of-its kind done in the history of cinema.

Tracklist
No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Roke Na Ruke"	Sakina Khan, Siddharth Basrur	2:14
Total length:			2:14

The song got good response from the audiences. A critic of Zee ETC Bollywood said, "The song gets good response from the audience and now its become most trending song."

Release

The official trailer for the film was released on 25 April 2016 to positive response from critics and audiences. In an interview with The Times of India Apte said, "Phobia is the first psychological of my career and also one of the most challenging and complex characters that I have ever played". At the trailer launch of Phobia, Apte said that it was emotionally and physically the most stressful film she has done so far. In addition, she said, "I have two friends, one has travelling disorder and the other has agoraphobia and I was searching about it for my friend. It's a coincidence that I got chance to work in a film on this subject," she said."

The first poster was revealed in the second half of April 2016, while the second poster was released on 23 May 2016. In the second poster, three dimensional faces of Apte were shown, which was more scarier than the first one.

The film had a special screening on 25 May 2016 attended by Apte and her friends in the industry including Kalki Koechlin, Prateik Babbar, Sayani Gupta and Rajkumar Rao among others. The film got a positive response from many Bollywood celebrities. They expressed their response of the film via their Twitter handles. Kalki Koechlin applauded Apte and said that she is one of the brilliant actresss and the film is one kickass psychological thriller. She recommended to watch the film. Popular celebrities, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor and many other Bollywood celebrities showered praise on Apte's performance and on the film.

The film released worldwide on 27 May 2016.

Critical reception

India

Upon release, Phobia received average to positive reviews from film critics in India. Sweta Kaushal of The Hindustan Times gave 4 out of 5 stars and concluded saying, "Despite the element of horror, director Pawan Kriplani manages to keep the supernatural, religious drama at bay and opts for a psychological mayhem that makes for an impressive viewing experience." The film was also very well appreciated by Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama. Via Twitter, he tweeted, "Expect the unexpected... #Phobia is a spine-chilling, nerve-racking, well-crafted psychological thriller. Radhika Apte is simply outstanding."

Mohar Basu of The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and said that, in Phobia there are minor glitches in the thrilling fare. He adds, that in the end, Phobia is an unnerving movie that plays skillfully on the fear of the unknown. Namrata Thakker of Rediff.com recommended it and gave 3.5 stars out of 5 concluding, "From performances to camera work to narrative, all the elements are so finely tuned and in sync that you will be hooked from the word go." Suhani Singh of India Today in her 3.5-star review, explained that Phobia doesn't just scare the audience but also outsmart them. In addition, she says that just when they think that they have solved the mystery, director and co-writer Pawan Kripalani knocks the audience from their seats.

File:Radhika Apte at the special screening of 'Waiting'.jpg

Apte's performance was particularly praised by the critics

A reviewer of Bollywood Hungama gave 3 stars out of 5, saying, "an intriguing screenplay that keeps you riveted through the course of the film and the ending surprises you to no end". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV also gave 3 out of 5 stars and said that Phobia is a canny flick that places known genre conventions in fresh light, the kind that bestows new life on them. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express called the film a "genuine frightener", saying that the film pulls it off with pizazz, helped by a crackerjack plot and performances.

A review carried by Financial Express mentioned,

Director Pawan Kripalani does an excellent job with the script and manages to deliver a fairly unique experience. The first half is taut and gripping but the script does sag into the second half and resolves with a climax that might be too abstract for mainstream taste. But paired with an excellent actress like Radhika Apte, together these two manage to win the hearts of the audiences.

Apte's performance in the film was singled out by many critics as note-worthy. A reviewer in Bollywood Hungama calling her performance "worthy of a National Film Award", stated: "Apte is so effortless and so much in control of the extremely difficult character that as a viewer you'd find it stunning." The reviewer also adds that the physicality of Apte's acting is emanating from a psychological space and it is very creditable. While Singh said, "The makers couldn't have asked for a better actress, as Apte was terrifyingly good in this psychological horror". Chatterjee deemed her "riveting" and said, "Phobia wouldn't be half the film it is without the mercurial Radhika Apte. Watching her on the screen as emotions flash across her visage is an unalloyed delight."

The background score and major technical aspects of the film including; the cinematography, the editing, the locations and the costumes, was also well appreciated by the critics. A critic from Box Office India praised the film's music and said, "Music by Daniel George is good and background score by Karan Gaur brilliantly captures the essence of the film, making the narration even more fascinating to watch." Also lauding the editing, which he called "Sharp", and technical aspects of the film he said, "Cinematography by Jayakrishna Gummadi earns brownie points as his camerawork brings substance to the story. "

The director, Kripalani said that he was frightened before showing the film to the censor board, but they loved it and didn’t suggest any cuts in the film. In a statement, he said, “I was really worried about how the censors will react because it is thematically an adult film. When they saw the movie, they called me in and said that they can’t cut one single thing from the movie."

Overseas

Overseas, the film received positive reviews. Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters praised the film and said that the director, Kripalani passes the basic horror film test. In addition, she says that he scares the viewers to make them jump out of their seats and intrigues them enough to make them stay till the end.

Box office

Though the film received mixed to positive reviews from the critics, the film had a disastrous opening at the Box Office India. The film was released in less number of theaters, over 540 theaters across the world. Since it is a solo psychological thriller, so the crew of the film didn’t invest much on the movie promotions, even though many critics appreciated the directing and performance of Apte.

The film opened to a very dull response in North India and East India as well as in the multiplexes. The film could only register 2-3% collections. On its first day, it earned only about ₹2.5 million (US$37,000) nett, with major collections coming from Mumbai and Delhi NCR. It collected nearly around ₹5 million (US$74,000) nett on Saturday as well as on on Sunday, hence totaling its first weekend collection around ₹12.5 million (US$190,000).

On Monday, the film netted around ₹10 million (US$150,000), with a 50% increase in collections as compared to second and third day.

Similarities

In May 2016, before the release of the film, sources said that there are some similarities between the Ram Gopal Varma directorial Kaun and Kripalani's film Phobia, which raises the question if he has taken the inspiration from the former. Both the films have the same director, shooting the entire film at one location and the central characters suffering from anxiety disorder. On this, the director Kriplani replied, "As an audience it was a fun movie and I really enjoyed but I understand why people compare Phobia with Kaun because both are psychological thriller and both have a girl trapped in the house."

Apte had also dismissed suggestions of any similarities between both the films, pointing out that she does not take any inspiration from characters in other films to prepare for her own role. She replied and said, "Phobia and Kaun have no similarities. Phobia is a very different film with a very different character. And, when I work on any character, I work very independently on it."

Sequel

As a result of the good response coming from the Bollywood celebrities, critics and audiences, the makers are reportedly planning a sequel of the film. The producer Rajani confirmed that Pawan will be directing the seqeul again and the script has been already put into development. He also adds that the sequel will be based on the fear of flying which very common and everyone relates to easily.

External links

• Phobia at Bollywood Hungama
• Phobia at IMDb