Raaz: The Mystery Continues

Raaz: The Mystery Continues, shortened as RTMC, (English: Secret: The Mystery Continues) is 2009 Indian Hindi-language supernatural horror film directed by Mohit Suri and starring Emraan Hashmi and Kangana Ranaut. The film is the second installment in the Raaz series, but the story-line is not a direct sequel to the 2002 film Raaz. The film deals with issues of the ghosts which are allegedly prevalent in India and the world around us. The film attempts to challenge one's beliefs about paranormal phenomena. Emraan Hashmi plays a painter, named Prithvi, who has an extraordinary gift, the ability to paint the future. His paintings tell Nandita's (kangna ranaut) future.

The film opened to theaters on 23 January 2009. It received generally mixed reviews, with praise for performances and music, but criticism for its pacing. Made on a budget of inr 180000000, the film earned inr 380900000.00000006 globally and emerged as a commercial success. A third installment in the Raaz series 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 – he had slit his body with a scythe and written 'Om' 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.

Cast

 * Emraan Hashmi as Prithvi Singh, an artist
 * Kangana Ranaut as Nandita Chopra, an aspiring model haunted by strange activities
 * Adhyayan Suman as Yash Dayal, Nandita's boyfriend who debunked supernatural and paranormal activities as superstitions
 * Jackie Shroff as Veer Pratap Singh, Prithvi's father, who tried to prevent the pollution of the Kalindi Lake by a chemical plant (special appearance)
 * Dinesh Lamba as a corrupt Police Inspector
 * Sandeep Sikand as the priest of the Kalindi Temple
 * Vicky Ahuja as the Guruji, who gets attacked by Nandita possessed by the spirit
 * J. Brandon Hill as David Cooper, owner of Kalindi Chemical Plant
 * Anupam Shyam
 * Saurabhi Vanzara as Guruji's Wife

Development
Screenwriter Shagufta Rafiq in an interview stated that the story is weaved around 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. The director was changed from Vikram Bhatt (who was the original Raaz director) to Mohit Suri. Suri had reportedly added a lot of dramatic space to the film and played around with visuals and sounds which led to an extraordinary pace. Suri got inspired about the movie after reading a lot on Hindu mythology, where good and evil are represented in stark contrast.

Also it was distributed through Sony BMG banner, however the prequel Raaz (2002) was distributed by Tips Industries.

Casting
Originally it was thought that Bipasha Basu would be called for RTMC since she hasn't worked with the Bhatts post Jism. But later it was announced that she has been dropped and Kangana Ranaut took her place. Even Amrita Rao was also considered but she passed the opportunity. Emraan Hashmi joined the cast taking over from Dino Morea. Dino expressed his disappointment with the decision by 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?" Later it was announced that Raaz – The Mystery Continues is not a sequel to the original movie. 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, although he debuted in Bollywood with the 2008 film Haal-e-dil. Actress Sonal Chauhan was also reported to play a part in the movie, however she could not be a part of the final cast. Incidentally, Kangana again plays a supermodel called Nandita in this film, right after Fashion. Since playing a supermodel, she had to reportedly undergo many types of looks and even changed her hair colour to red. Emraan Hashmi plays a dark character as the painter, Prithvi, who has no contact with the outside world. His character is the main link to the fate of Kangana's character. According to the actor, though comparisons are evident with the earlier Raaz, this film has a different plot and will give a new definition to the horror genre. Veteran actor Jackie Shroff was reported to be playing Kangana's character's father in the movie, which after release was revealed to be Emraan's character's father.

Filming
Filming took place in Shimla unlike Coonoor which was used in Raaz. Some part of the filming also took place in Mumbai. According to sources Raaz – The Mystery Continues is the most expensive Bollywood horror movie. Kangana was paid INR 6 million for her role in the film. The film received an A certificate from the Censor Board, leading to a war of words between Mukesh Bhatt and the Board. Mukesh however denied these saying that "Raaz – TMC" got a U/A certificate. Filming for the movie completed on 10 November 2008 at Mumbai.

Indian television and film actor Sushant Singh Rajput of Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil and Pavitra Rishta fame assisted director Mohit Suri during the making of the movie.

Promotion
A 1:39 min teaser trailer for the movie was released by Emraan Hashmi on November along with the movie Fashion.

Sony BMG partnered with social networking site "Ibibo" to launch a web application for the movie. The RTMC application allowed Ibibo.com members to take part in a movie making contest whose winners got a chance to spend a day with Mohit Suri, director of Raaz, and got to learn the art of film making from him. Ashish Kashyap, CEO, Ibibo.com, said, "The Raaz – The Mystery Continues application on Ibibo.com 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.com."

The full theatrical trailer of the movie was released with movies like Ghajini and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. There was some tension in the Bhatt camp regarding the promotion as lead pairs Kangana Ranaut Twins and Emraan Hashmi were unavailable for it and burden of promotion was left with newcomer Adhyayan Suman. However, the cast, including actors Emraan Hashmi and Kangana Ranaut, later appeared for the promotion of the movie at Bangalore.

Release
The film released on 23 January, all over India. The movie was released with 70 prints overseas. The movie has been given a huge release. It is the biggest release ever of Emraan Hashmi beating the 525+ theatre release of Jannat by a huge margin. In India, the movie has been released on nearly 900 cinemas with 475 digital screens including 435 UFOs and around 400 other cinemas. The film is also the biggest release ever for Vishesh films. The distributors of the film, Sony Pictures had some issues with the multiplexes but were resolved in time for the film to have clean release on 23rd. The UK release of the movie is handled by Tip Top Entertainment.

Critical reception
Early reception for the movie was mostly mixed. 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." 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." NDTV gave negative reviews for the movie 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." 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!."

Box office
The film, upon its release on 23 January 2009, had a good response at the box office. According to Box Office India, the movie got the biggest weekend collections within January, grossing over ₹ 119 million in the first three days of its release, ahead of some of the other releases in January so far like Slumdog Millionaire which managed to have grossed Rs 8–90 million. The movie is being played in the maximum shows across most multiplexes and recorded nearly 80 per cent collections in the first three days of its release. It opened to good response in single cinemas across the country on Friday with over 70–75% collections. In the multiplexes the opening was in the range of 65–70%. The film grossed around 47.5 million net collections on day one. At the end of the first week the movie grossed over ₹ 300 million at the box office, making it the highest grossing horror film in India. Trade Analysts have attributed the success of the film to a combination of three factors – a strong product from Vishesh Films, excellent marketing from Sony BMG and a very strong word of mouth. Raaz 2 grossed inr 345000000 at the end of theatrical run in India and it is declared a Semi Hit.

However, in the UK the movie did mediocre business, debuting at number 25 and collecting £27,710 [approx. Rs. 1873,000] on 17 screens, with the per screen average working out to £1,630.

Music
The music of this movie is released by Sony BMG. The first music video, Maahi, of the album was released on 6 December 2008. The second music video was "Soniyo". After that, "Maahi (Rock With Me)" and "O Jaana (Dance With Me)" mixes are released with backup music videos. The last music video of the song, "Kaisa Ye Raaz Hai", was released in the 2nd week of January 2009.

Reception
The music received positive reviews and tracks like "Maahi", "Kaisa Ye Raaz Hai" and "Soniyo" were particularly praised. NDTV gave a good review saying "Overall, the music of Raaz – The Mystery Continues has its own place under the sun. It is definitely worth listening."

One India gave a positive review saying "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! Thaindian News also reviewed the music for the film. They said ""Soniyo" is the best number of the album. Sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal, the pleasant track moves at a very steady pace. Kumar keeps the lyrics as simple as the composition and it gives the singers ample space. Consisting mainly of melodic, slow-paced tracks, the frontrunners of this album are two fast numbers. Both "O Jaana" and "Soniyo" are the highlights of the pack. But at the above the song Maahi became a blockbuster hit 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.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack of Raaz The Mystery Continues was composed by Shaarib-Toshi, Raju Singh, Pranay M. Rijia and Gourov Dasgupta. Originally, Nadeem Shravan were to compose the soundtrack and they came on board too, but were taken out as their music was proved to be outdated by the producers, then Pritam was to compose for the same, but was replaced by the current music directors. Sharib-Toshi mark their debut with this film, while Raju Singh composes songs for a soundtrack after many years, Gourov Dasgupta and Pranay M. Rijia are newcomers. The lyrics for "Soniyo" and "Soniyo" (From The Heart Mix) were penned by Kumaar. All other songs were penned by Sayeed Quadri. Songs are as follows -

Sequel and reboot
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.