Raaz: The Mystery Continues, shortened as RTMC or Raaz 2, (English: Secret: The Mystery Continues) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language supernatural horror film directed by Mohit Suri. The film stars Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Adhyayan Suman, and Jackie Shroff. It is the second installment in the Raaz series, but is considered a standalone sequel to the 2002 film Raaz.[4][5] The film deals with issues of the ghosts which are allegedly prevalent in India and the world around us. An artist named Prithvi has the ability to paint the future. His paintings tell Nandita's future.[6]
The film was released on 23 January 2009. It received generally mixed reviews from critics, with praise towards the performances and music, but criticism for its pacing. Made on a budget of ₹18 crore (equivalent to ₹45croreorUS$5.4million in 2023), the film earned ₹38.09 crore (equivalent to ₹96croreorUS$11million in 2023) worldwide and emerged as a commercial success.[2] A third installment was released in 2013 with Emraan Hashmi in the lead. It was first in a series of quasi-sequels released under the Bhatt Banner including Murder 2, Jannat 2, Jism 2, Raaz 3D and 1920: Evil Returns, each of which had nothing to do with their respective prequels, but somehow fell in the same genre following a similar story.
Plot
At night, an American named David Cooper visits the Kalindi Temple. He sees the priest of the temple in a horrific state – his body is slit with a scythe and 'Om' is written on his body. Horrified, David flees. The story shifts to model Nandita, who is in love with Yash, the director and host of a reality show "Andhvishwas," dealing with superstitions of ghosts. Yash and Nandita start living together and Nandita gets pregnant.
One evening, Nandita encounters Prithvi, an aspiring artist. Prithvi had made a sketch months earlier of a girl who is actually Nandita. He shows her a painting where she is lying with her wrist slit, and warns her of danger. Nandita accidentally slits her wrist after a ghostly attack in the bathroom and Prithvi saves her. Yash learns of her pregnancy and miscarriage at the hospital. He gets Prithvi arrested, though he is later released.
Meanwhile, David, the owner of a chemical plant, hangs himself after writing in Hindi the words "You are impure, you are rotten from inside" with his blood. Prithvi sees Nandita becoming possessed at her fashion show and attacking a spiritual guru. She says the same lines that David wrote. Yash has Nandita publicly apologise and declares that she has mental health problems.
After another possession, Nandita goes to Prithvi for help. He refuses, showing her a new painting in which she is hanging herself with the lines written behind her. At a party with Yash, Nandita is possessed again and starts bleeding. Prithvi spots her running from the party and follows her to a slum, where she tries to kill herself. He intervenes as Yash arrives.
Yash agrees to help Nandita on the condition she leaves Prithvi, but she decides to stay with Prithvi and visit Kalindi to find out the truth. Prithvi and Nandita spend the night in a guesthouse. Nandita is attacked by paranormal beings in a forest but Prithvi saves her. They arrive at Kalindi and meet the priest's wife, who tells them that her husband was evil and his death was not surprising, considering the crimes he had committed against innocent people. They visit the house of the police officer who investigated David's suicide but find him unstable; he commits suicide as well.
One night while travelling, they are attacked by animals. Nandita escapes the Jeep and finds a well in the trees. She jumps in and Prithvi follows her. Inside the well, she realises that it was Prithvi's father, Veer Pratap Singh, who was possessing her: he had discovered that the Kalindi chemical plant dumped its toxins into a lake where thousands gathered once a year to bathe in a sacred ritual. He lodged a complaint against David but was warned by the policeman and the priest against taking action. He merely replied, "You are impure, you are rotten from inside". Veer tried to tell the truth to everyone, but was killed by the goons of the priest. His body was dumped in the same well. His spirit returns for revenge; he killed David and the policeman and the priest who sided with David.
Prithvi is still confused why Nandita was used for this. They learn that Yash had the evidence of Veer's death, but sold it to David in return for sponsorship of his show. Nandita tries to escape with the evidence and Prithvi is stabbed by Yash; in the end, Veer's ghost kills Yash and heals Prithvi's wounds. Nandita and Prithvi are reunited.
Screenwriter Shagufta Rafiq stated in an interview that the story is based on Sant Kabir's idiom, "Bura jo dekhan main chala, Bura na milya koi; Jo dil khoja apna, Ta mujh sa bura na koi", which means that the evil is within oneself and that is the message of the film.[7]Vikram Bhatt (who was the original Raaz director) was replaced by Mohit Suri.[8] Suri had reportedly added more dramatic space to the film and played around with visuals and sounds which led to an extraordinary pace.[9] Suri was inspired after reading Hindu mythology, where good and evil are represented in stark contrast.[10]
Multiple scenes in the film are borrowed from other horror films; the bathtub horror scenes and the well in the end are similar to The Ring, the scene where a man is found inside the hidden roof floor of a house is similar to The Grudge, the future prediction, plot, the road accident with the wild bulls and various other sequences were taken from films such as Final Destination, Mirrors and the TV series Heroes. Reportedly, the main secret revealed in the climax was inspired from the 2000 American film Erin Brockovich where the female lead also investigates the water of an area getting contaminated due to a nearby Energy and Gas plant.[11]
Casting
Kangana Ranaut replaced Bipasha Basu as the female lead, playing Nandita, a supermodel. Amrita Rao was offered the role, but declined.[12] To prepare for the role, Ranaut had to reportedly undergo many different looks and even changed her hair colour to red. Emraan Hashmi was cast as Prithvi, a painter with no contact to the outside world, replacing Dino Morea as the male lead. According to the actor, though comparisons are evident with Raaz (2002), this film has a different plot and will give a new definition to the horror genre. Dino Morea expressed his disappointment with the decision saying "I'm not disappointed but definitely baffled. How can they make a Raaz 2 without anyone from the original cast? How can it be a sequel, then?".[13]Adhyayan Suman plays Yash, a documentary filmmaker who is perceived as an atheist and believes in scientific rationale behind everything. His beliefs are challenged in the film. He reportedly called this film his debut, despite debuting in the Haal-e-dil (2008).[14]Sonal Chauhan was reportedly offered Kangana's role which she declined.[15]Jackie Shroff was reported to be playing Kangana's father, which after the release was revealed to be Emraan's father.
Filming
Filming began in June 2008 in Shimla. Some parts of filming took place in Mumbai. Kangana was paid ₹6 million for her role in the film.[16] The film received an A certificate from the Censor Board of Film Certification. Mukesh Bhatt however denied these claims stating the film received a U/A certificate.[17] Filming completed on 10 November 2008 in Mumbai.
The teaser trailer was released by Hashmi in November 2008 alongside the film Fashion.
Sony BMG partnered with social networking site Ibibo to launch a website for the film. The RTMC application allowed Ibibo members to participate in a movie making contest where the winner got the chance to spend a day with Mohit Suri, and learn the art of filmmaking from him. Ashish Kashyap, the CEO of Ibibo, said, "The Raaz – The Mystery Continues application on Ibibo reiterates our core value proposition to recognize talent and enable users to self express and engage with latest Bollywood content. This is a perfect example of a Bollywood movie promotion leveraging the power of social media on Ibibo".[18]
The theatrical trailer was released alongside Ghajini and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Kangana Ranaut and Emraan Hashmi initially did not participate in promotions.[19] However, the entire cast, including Hashmi and Ranaut, later appeared for the promotions in Bangalore.
Reception
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews from critics.
The Times of India gave 3 out of 5 stars saying that,"Emraan Hashmi & Kangana Ranaut bring the Gangster magic again....they have done a good job whereas Adhyayan Suman shows promise."[20]Bollywood Hungama gave a good review saying "On the whole, Raaz – The Mystery Continues is rich in the horror quotient and that is one of its major USPs, besides the highly competent performances by its principal cast and a lilting musical score. At the box-office, this one will continue the winning streak of Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh Films. The 4-day weekend [Monday, January 26 in a holiday] will only cement its status further. Go for it!". The lead actors were praised for their performance. In the review, "On the acting front, both Emraan and Kangana vie for top honours. Emraan is excellent. He conveys a lot through facial expressions and that's the sign of a proficient actor. He's just getting better and better with every film. Kangana is top notch. After Fashion, this one's another power-packed performance from the actress. Adhyayan Suman is super-confident and registers a strong impact, especially towards the climax. He shows promise. Jackie Shroff is quite okay in a brief role."[21]NDTV gave a negative review saying "The first Raaz, which married the Hollywood film What Lies Beneath with the myth of Savitri who pursued Yamraj until her husband came back to life, had a cheesy appeal. This Raaz is a big bore. The scares are tired and Suri doesn't know how to pace them out. So, every minute, something awful is happening, from a bull attack to mutilation and murder. Was I scared? Not once. This mystery was better left discontinued."[22]AOL reviewer Noyon Jyoti Parasara too rated the film low. He gave the film a mere 2 out of 5 and said, "Raaz – The Mystery Continues, which with all its hype was supposed scare the lights out of you, could not make me bat an eyelid out of fear. So there go all expectations!."[23]
Box office
According to Box Office India, the film performed moderately at the box-office, grossing over ₹119 million within three days of its release.[24] At the end of its theatrical run in India, it grossed ₹345.0 million (US$4.1million) and was declared a Semi-Hit.[25][3]
The music received positive reviews with tracks like "Maahi", "Kaisa Ye Raaz Hai" and "Soniyo" being particularly praised. NDTV gave a good review writing "Overall, the music of Raaz – The Mystery Continues has its own place under the sun. It is definitely worth listening."[22]
One India gave a positive review writing "The music of Raaz – TMC indeed impresses, the soundtrack here is yet another good addition to the enviable music catalogue of the Bhatts and Emraan would certainly have some more chartbusters to add to his name. As for the last question i.e. whether Raaz – TMC matches up to Nadeem-Shravan's Raaz, then well, let's put it this way that albums like Aashiqui, Raaz or a Saajan are made only once and there shouldn't even be a conscious effort to replicate or surpass them. In this regard, the music of Raaz – TMC has its own place under the sun and what matters in the end is whether it works for the film or not. Well, the answer for this one is a firm Yes!.[26] The song "Maahi" became a blockbuster after its release. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 13,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's twelfth highest-selling.[27]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Shaarib-Toshi, Raju Singh, Pranay M. Rijia, and Gourov Dasgupta. Sharib-Toshi made their debuts with this film, alongside Gourov Dasgupta and Pranav M. Rijia. The lyrics for "Soniyo" and "Soniyo" (From The Heart Mix) were written by Kumaar. All other songs were written by Sayeed Quadri.
With Raaz TMC getting an encouraging opening, a third instalment of the series, Raaz 3 was released on 7 September 2012. The film received an overwhelming response at the box office and emerged as the highest-grossing film of the trilogy.
A fourth film, Raaz Reboot, was released on 16 September 2016.
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