RGV’s experiment with ‘Kaun?’ and why Experimental Films are underrated, underappreciated and lost in Indian Cinema

Yes, an Instagram reel led me to ‘Kaun?’ and now, here’s  my two cents on it.

Ram Gopal Varma, or better known as RGV, is a well-known name in the Indian film industry for all things good and bad. If you have heard of Satya, Sarkar, Darna Zaroori Hai, SACRED GAMES, then you know who this man is. Known as one of the pioneers of the new age Indian Cinema, RGV has been on a roll experimenting with various forms, methods and conventional patterns of film-making.

The Indian Film Industry, as I have understood it to be, is a space promoting the ‘protector of all and Messiah’ ideology, that requires a prodigal cis-het individual who believes in the ‘greater good’ against all odds and always has an immense need to save someone, something or some idea. This method is followed regardless of the genre, as even in films with hopeless endings, the prodigal hero will turn things around, morally, respectfully and ethically however, subject to several conditions. 

But not all Indian Directors necessarily conform to this idea. There are many that believe in experimenting with tropes and themes with the idea of pushing forth a specific style, interest, an artist’s specific vision and many more. Ram Gopal Varma is one of those: unbothered, unhinged and realistic. 

In today’s edition of Filmo ke Pitaaro Se, we bring to you a classic RGV Experimental film ‘Kaun?’– a psychological thriller, written by Anurag Kashyap and produced by Mukesh Udeshi and Allu Aravind and starring Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee and Sushant Singh.

This film was RGV’s experiment as he dabbled in alternative methods of filmmaking around the 1990s and mid 2000s. During this period, he experimented with neo-noir, subversion of Hindi Masala genre, suspense thrillers (primarily thrillers) as well as supernatural thrillers, which all culminated into experimental films that he made his mark in, separate from his classic gritty realism films laden with brutality, violence and hard politics. 

Kaun? Is one such experiment a unique 1 hour 34 min film, consisting of only three characters and 1 location, with multiple interpretations and umpteen loopholes (if you think of them that way, that is)

Three characters, one house, one killer

RGV’s ‘Kaun?’ begins with the camera spanning across an elaborate and luxurious staircase, evidently it’s a grand bungalow, with Urmila Matondkar seemingly assuring her mother of her safety, on call and requesting her mother and the family to return home as soon as possible. She then moves onto watching the television where the newsreader speaks about  a potential serial killer who, due to psychological issues, only brazenly kills people and does not rob them. Urmila Matondkar, visibly distressed as she hears the news reader talking about being cautious of strangers and not letting them into your homes, has now reached a stage of paranoia.

This film ticks all the boxes of a classic horror-thriller initially as it is literally a beautiful woman, living alone in a house with probably 25 empty rooms, clad in a white gown and completely paranoid as it rains heavily outside and there may be a killer on the loose.

As the film progresses, we see Urmila Matondkar’s character experience intense paranoia as she feels there may be someone or something in her very large and very empty mansion, as she frantically begins looking around in every room. RGV has added elements of the supernatural as it is revealed that Urmila Matondkar, having dozed off, dreamt of the purported serial killer’s arms breaking through the door and strangling her.

The only way she thinks she can distract herself is by making a sandwich, which she tells her kitten about. This is when someone rings the doorbell, which brings her back to her fear: what if it’s the serial killer? 

This is the moment he picks up pace, as at the doorbell is Sameer Purnavale: played by Manoj Bajpayee. The arrival of Sameer triggers a chain of events that one may not have even seen coming, although it does make you think as well, can he be the serial killer?

Sameer’s continuous insistence on entering her house due to various reasons he cites: meeting Mr. Malhotra, his car breaking down, heavy rainfall outside, him feeling cold, hm forgetting his car keys in his car; for all to be refuted by ‘Ma’am’ (Urmila Matondkar) as she trusts her instinct and not the man outside who suddenly sprang up at her doorstep. Sameer manages to enter Maam’s house by lying about seeing someone in through the window of the room above, triggering Maam’s fear of someone in  her house, only to have her run out and open the door for him. 

Throughout the film, Maam and Sameer engage in a kind of banter where neither trust each other and at one point Maam finds her kitten dead as the lights to her house go out and believes the killer to be Sameer, as Sameer speaks about his dislike for cats when he kicks her kitten away during a conversation. 

Enter, Qureshi. The third and final character in the story, just when things were building up. Qureshi, played by Sushant Singh, poses as a police officer and engages in a violent altercation with Sameer, thinking the latter is the killer. However, Qureshi turns out to be a thug who arrived at Maam’s doorstep with the intention of only robbing the place. What follows then is a shift in power, tension, suspicion and two murders. 

Is this a classic ‘whodunnit’? The three characters will make you question your sanity

Tensions run high and paranoia is through the roof throughout the 1 hour 34 minutes of this film. Sameer Purnavale, seems to give off a rather ‘odd and creepy’ vibe with his famous way of addressing Urmila Matondkar’s character ‘Maam’, as he is relentless and insistent on entering her house, which leads Maam to believe he may be the killer. Furthermore, his ‘toxic, jilted lover-boy’ personality is revealed when he tells Maam that she resembled his ex-girlfriend who also used to be paranoid, suspicious and timid, but the difference between both: his ex-girlfriend was dead.  Yet another point that added to Sameer’s toxicity was him mistreating Maam’s kitten while talking about his hatred for cats and only later does Maam find her kitten dead outside, which triggers her fear, leading to an altercation between the two.

When Qureshi arrives at Maam’s doorstep, there already seems to be some coldness between Sameer and Qureshi as both believe the other is the killer. However, this is the point where RGV adds in humour amidst fear and tension, as just 3 minutes after Sameer and Qureshi beat each other up, they can be seen sitting and sharing a cigarette, with Maam pointing a gun at them (she doesn’t trust them both), Qureshi’s gun. Later on, they go to make a coffee for themselves, with Maam still pointing a gun at them. 

However, both of them, once again get into a fistfight, leaving the coffee-bonding moment aside and the situation leads to Qureshi’s “supposed” death. Sameer then curses his luck and only wants to get out of the damned house that he said has ruined his life, which is weather surprising as for the better half of the movie, his only goal was to somehow get inside the house.

Sameer realizes that the phone line is dead and questions how Maam and Qureshi managed to make phone calls if the phone was indeed disconnected. This leads him to go look for Maam, who has seemingly disappeared. He starts chasing after her as she can be seen hiding from him. Sameer then stumbles upon a body wrapped in a carpet which turns out to be Mr. Malhotra’s body. The very same Mr. Malhotra, for whom he had arrived at Maam’s house. 

Who is the damned killer then?

After all of the banter, altercations, distrust we see a completely different side to Maam. Urmila Matondkar went from “Ma’am?” to “Maaaaaaaaam!” in just one hour, as she can be seen standing over Sameer, attacking him against the heavy rainfall in the backdrop. However, she is stopped by Qureshi, who is evidently not dead, taking her by surprise. But she manages to kill? Them both? And a chilling scene of her dancing in the rain, on the narrow parapet of her room with both bodies lying on either side of the house.

You may wonder then, is Maam the killer? Well, she certainly exhibits a pattern: dancing frantically in the rain, having killed two people, creepy expressions on her face, humming twinkle twinkle little star in a child-like voice. But is she the killer? We’re not sure. Is there even a killer? We’re not sure. 

This is RGV’s art. He leaves one with 100 questions and one of them is whether you’re insane. 

I have a few theories

I feel there really was no killer and it was all Maam’s paranoia. Maam might have been suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (I’m not doctor but please hear me out) and the idea of a serial killer was something she created in order to justify her actions- she may have killed Mr. Malhotra, Sameer, Qureshi and continues to do what she does, as towards the end we can see her cleaning the living area, in a brand new outfit and some extremely distorted, bone-chilling expressions she makes into the camera as her doorbell rings.

Sameer and Qureshi were just pawns in Maam’s dissociation, it was Maam’s world and they were just living in it. The doubts and the distrust between the men was needed to throw them off of any doubts on Maam, however Sameer was smart enough to question her, yet all in vain.

RGV is really the Indian Hitchcock here

The movie is not scary, it is not scary. But what gave me chills was the background music, chilling music that dropped a beat or upped the tempo every time it was to indicate a climax moment. There were no jumpscares in the movie, but the background music compensated for the jumpscares. 

As is with every horror movie, it is said that closing your eyes while watching a horror movie, only listening to the sounds, is enough to stimulate your auditory senses and that will heighten one’s fear. But if you mute the movie, the jumpscares are not scary one bit.

RGV pulled a Hitchcock here with his BGM, as this film reminded me of Hitchcock’s famed ‘Psycho’, wherein, the BGM made the entirety of the film gripping and chilling.

Experimental and Avant-Garde films

Kaun is considered one of the classic quintessential experimental films as firstly, it’s rather underrated owing to its plot twists, unconventional methods, the fact that it is a thriller and not a romance film (as was the preference in the late 90s and early 2000s). Experimental and Avant-Garde films essentially describe the method of filmmaking and the elements used, rather than the genre.

Experimental films are a vast term for multiple types within it, however the common elements of it include a low budget, as opposed to lavish spending over a commercial film as well. The main goal of an experimental filmmaker is not to primarily generate a revenue, but to put forth their vision, interest and techniques out there. 

Most often, filmmakers start out with experimental films as amateurs, then gradually move onto commercial films as they get a hold of the basics, hence, filmmakers have the complete freedom to experiment with camera movements, lighting, focus, etc. In ‘Kaun?’ RGV direction mostly involves zooming in on creepy figurines and statues found across Maam’s house, in a bid to indicate and elevate the uncomfortable aspect and situation that the director wished to portray.

Such films often latch onto a plot that is whole with twists and open endings, as per the directors style. For every RGV film, there is often an element of mystery, gore and discomfort. This movie, with a simple plot turns into something of a deception as it translates out more than what the eyes can see, and despite it being immaculate with its plot twists, you still cannot ignore the evident plot holes. However, it was the director’s intention to make you fill the blanks as per your perspective.

A story written by Anurag Kashyap and directed by RGV, a rather explosive and deadly duo, these two individuals often collaborate to create the best mind-bending films out there. We would love to have the RGV-Kashyap duo back, but alas. RGV has skillully brought to life Kashyap’s twisted story, through an immaculate acting by Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee and Sushant Singh.

This film has left me with umpteen number of questions as my theories on whether there really was a killer is still boundless. However, I would suggest you all to give this a watch, especially for all those who love having your sanity questioned (in a good way of course), ‘Kaun?’ is something you should consider. Experimental films as it is are a massive ‘hit-or-miss’ in the Indian film industry owing to it non-commercial aspect as rather ‘amateur’ elements that may not be visually appealing to most, however, films are more than just the visual appeal, and more about the emotions and reactions they give rise to.

‘Kaun?’ is available for free on Youtube, however it may be an issue for non-Hindi speakers, people with disabilities and for those who are seeking higher clarity graphics. However, if you do happen to give it a watch, do drop in your theories!