Junoon (1992)

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

In 1980's Mahesh Bhatt made mostly films with good subjects like Arth,Naam.etc but after 90s he started making commercial films like Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin(1991) Junoon was his 2nd film with Rahul Roy after RR's debut in Aashiqui which was a big hit. The film also starred his daughter Pooja Bhatt and Avinash Wadhavan. The film is based on Oscar winning 1981 film An American Werewolf in London. It starts off well, Rahul Roy and his friend go to a jungle for hunting when a tiger attacks him, the filmmaker adds mythology too. The film also has a love story of Pooja Bhatt and Avinash Wadhavan which is typical but well woven The twist when Rahul Roy changes forms is well handled and keeps you glued till the end.Direction is good Music is superb, the songs are melidious, Mahesh Bhatt and NS mostly gave hit songs, this time they roped in Vipin Sachdeva for most songs.Rahul Roy does a good job, he is quite decent in a complex role though with many rough edges Pooja Bhatt is decent in her role which is quite similar to her previous works, Avinash wadhavan is adequate Bhatt regulars like Avtar Gill make their presence felt Homi Wadia, Mushtaque Khan are good,Rakesh Bedi provides some fun moments

Instead of a man turning into a wolf, he turns into a tiger instead. This film is directed by veteran director Mahesh Bhatt who has directed some decent films over the years like: Arth (1982), Saaransh (1984), Awaargi (1990), Jurm (1990), Aashiqui (1990), The Gentleman (1994) and many more.I think this is his only horror film he made in his career. Plot: Junoon tells the story of Vikram (Rahul Roy), who is nearly killed by a cursed tiger when he and his friend go for a hunting spree in the jungle. His friend is killed on the spot by the tiger, but Vikram manages to shoot the beast. Still, the tiger wounds Vikram badly before it dies.Later on in the hospital, Vikram's hopes of survival are minimal. But the spirit of the tiger gets into Vikram. Vikram is treated by Dr. Nita (Pooja Bhatt) and he begins to like her. As the days go by, Vikram realizes that there is an evil present in him. His dead friend's spirit tells him about the cursed tiger and that he himself will become the same beast on the upcoming full moon and every full moon thereafter. His friend also tells Vikram to kill himself, but Vikram refuses saying that he will accept whatever his future has in store for him.Vikram's liking for Dr. Nita turns into an obsession (Junoon) after he comes to know that she is in love with an up-and-coming singer, Ravi (Avinash Wadhawan). The evil in Vikram comes forward and he plots to separate Nita and Ravi. Then he consoles and convinces Nita's father to allow him to marry Nita. The night of their marriage is the night of the full moon, and that night Vikram transforms into a tiger in the hotel and kills an unknown woman. The following nights, Vikram's hunting spree continues as he kills more people after transforming into a tiger.His wife Nita finds something fishy going on as every night Vikram leaves the house on some pretext or another. That is why one night she manages to keep him at home. Vikram transforms into a tiger in front of her and tries to kill her, but she manages to escape because of Ravi, a villager from the jungle where the beast came from and a policeman who has doubts about Vikram's strange behavior. But both the villager and the policeman are killed trying to save Nita.A priest (Tom Alter) informs Ravi and Nita that there is a dagger in a specific cave which can actually kill Vikram because trying to kill him in any other way would mean taking the curse upon oneself. Ravi and Nita go in search of the dagger and are successful in finding the dagger. But before Ravi and Nita can get out of the cave, Vikram shows up and demands the dagger for himself. That is when a fight ensues and after a long battle with Vikram in the cave, they manage to slay him and end the curse.Verdict: I did not find this film suspenseful enough. The effects in the film sometimes let it down. The script also was below par and this is the reason it fails in many aspects, even though it has a good cast of actors.Better Horror Films: Tahkhana, Bandh Darwaza, Purana Mandir, Purani Haveli, Veerana.

It is one of my favorite Horror movies of all time. It was inspired by a Hollywood movie "An American werewolf in London" but the writer of this film added extra thriller and horror and made the story better than the original one. The music of the movie is excellent and the background scene during beginning credits is awesome. I saw this movie when I was just 6-7 years old and then I suffered from insomnia because I thought that I will be transformed into a tiger too in midnight. ha ha. The story is about a college student named Vikram who went for hunting along with his friend Varun in full moon night and got attacked by a cursed tiger and then Vikram became cursed because he killed the beast and transformed into the same in next full moon night.

Horror movies in the early 90s were typically Ramsay Brothers low budget fares starring B list actors. Junoon was the rare exception, produced by the Mukesh Bhat and with a quite strong cast, including the then rising young stars of Bollywood, Rahul Roy and Puja Bhat. The story was pretty good too, with a quite original take on the werewolf myth, only with tigers. Rahul Roy plays a spoilt rich brat, who is attacked by a cursed tiger during a nocturnal hunting expedition. The next full moon, he himself turns into a tiger and must hunt for prey. The rest of the story is his wife (Puja Bhat) and her ex boyfriend racing against time to stop him. Not really that scary, but the original story and very good special effects, considering the times make this the best Indian horror movie of the 90s, and one of the better ones of all time. Recommended.