# Raaz: Reboot

Raaz: Reboot (transl. Secret: Reboot) is a 2016 Indian horror thriller film written and directed by Vikram Bhatt. It features Emraan Hashmi, Kriti Kharbanda and Gaurav Arora in the lead roles. The film is the fourth instalment in the horror film series, Raaz.
Raaz: Reboot was released worldwide on 16 September 2016. Principal photography commenced in January 2016 in Romania.

## Plot

On 4 January 2016, Rehaan Khanna and Shaina Khanna returned to Romania a few years after their marriage. They had lived there before they were married. But when Rehaan got an offer as a venture capitalist for the East European Finance Company, Shaina insisted that he take up the job. Rehaan was reluctant, since he had a secret to hide. On the very first day, while unpacking her luggage, Shaina experiences paranormal activities. Rehaan refuses to believe her. A month later, while on a business trip, Rehaan receives a frantic call from Shaina requesting for help. She is found holed up in a telephone booth in a rural area. Apparently, she had gone there to visit a clairvoyant. Thus, the narrative juggles back and forth as to what plagues them and what leads her to the clairvoyant.
The local priest tries to perform an exorcism on Shaina but fails as the spirit knows the priest's past and uses it against him to send him packing. A blind Indian student, Trilok who is studying psychometry in Romania then encounters Aditya Srivastava, rescuing his lover from the evil spirit. Aditya has a strange premonition about all the events taking place in Shaina's life. He offers to help her fight the spirit and free her from all the pain she is enduring. Although Shaina doesn't believe him at first, certain series of events make her believe that the spirit has something to do with her husband Rehaan. She finds out that he is keeping a certain secret which has now become the cause of the haunting. Eventually, Rehaan confesses that he had murdered Aditya and the latter's ghost is seeking revenge. Four years ago, just before Shaina's marriage, Aditya had called Rehaan revealing himself as her ex-boyfriend. Aditya had invited Rehaan to his residence and had blackmailed him for insider trading. Aditya told Rehaan he was willing to drop the charges if Rehaan broke off his engagement to Shaina, so that Aditya could rekindle his relationship with her. Rehaan tried to quietly leave but Aditya showed him photos of his intimate moments with Shaina and began to taunt him. Enraged, Rehaan had struck a blow to Aditya on the head, killing him. As Aditya lay dying, he vowed vengeance. The spirit of Aditya then takes complete possession of Shaina's body. To save Shaina from the evil spirit of Aditya, Trilok recites the Gajendra moksh stotra. By reciting this mantra, Aditya's evil spirit will have to leave Shaina's body, but there's a condition, that the mantra is to be recited without a pause. Though Aditya's spirit stops Trilok and Rehaan from completing the mantra, Rehaan saves Shaina from Aditya. The movie ends with Rehaan and Shaina sitting by the lakeside talking about how there was a lot of ice around their house when they had first arrived but now all of the ice has melted, symbolizing the increased closeness between the couple.

## Cast

* Emraan Hashmi as Aditya Srivastava
* Kriti Kharbanda as Shaina Khanna : Rehaan's Wife
* Gaurav Arora as Rehaan Khanna : Shaina's Husband
* Suzanna Mukherjee as Shreya
* Tara Sharma as a Gipsy Malini
* Ashwath Bhatt as a Trilok Shastri
* Madhu Anand Chandhok as Rehaan's mother
* Vlad Udrescu as Mihai
* Ashwath Bhatt as Trilok Shas
* Hargun Grover as Aman
* Mink Singh as Nisha Comeo

## Production

The film was shot in Romania in freezing temperatures. Apart from Sinaia and other locations the shooting also took place in haunted forest Hoia-Baciu (also known as Hoia Forest), which is known for various mysterious stories and UFO sightings.

## Soundtrack

The film's music is composed by Jeet Gannguli along with the duo Sangeet-Siddharth. The first single from the film, "Sound Of Raaz" was released on 5 July 2016 by T-Series on YouTube. The song, sung by Jubin Nautiyal is a tribute to the tradition of haunting melodies in old horror films. The whole album was released on 19 August 2016.

## Reception

The Times of India gave the film two and a half stars. Asian Age rated the film one star out of five, levying criticism at the complexity of the plot and supernatural themes.