Critics’ Verdict: Radhika Apte Shines and How in ‘Phobia’

Radhika Apte delivers a spellbinding performance in ‘Phobia’, read the reviews here

Film: Phobia
Director: Pavan Kirpalani
Cast: Radhika Apte, Satyadeep Mishra, Ankur Vikal

A horror flick set in an empty apartment in which things go bump, using standard, familiar tropes, and still able to create freshness? It is a tough ask, but `Phobia’ pulls it off with pizazz, helped by a crackerjack plot and performances. And Apte keeps you reeled in. She’s consistently been doing interesting work. With this one she has staked fair claim to be one of the best acts in Bolly town. Phobia is a genuinely frightener, so far away from those unintentionally comic monstrosities it keeps slinging out, that you feel like cheering.

Shubhra Gupta (IndianExpress.com)

The set-up is convincing, and Radhika Apta’s central performance as Mahek makes it doubly so. Apte has been steadily building up an impressive portfolio of performances, and she is in top form in Phobia. The talented actress is in nearly every frame of the movie, and she shines whether she’s being petulant or plain terrified. Apte is amply backed up by Satyadeep Mishra and Yashaswini Dayama, whose chirpy turn is unlikely to go unnoticed.

Nandini Ramnath (Scroll.in)

Phobia wouldn’t be half the film it is without the mercurial Radhika Apte. Watching her on the screen as emotions flash across her visage is an unalloyed delight.For the most part, the film is hers alone, and the camera revels in capturing the character’s innermost feelings on her malleable face and expressive eyes. It is like being witness to a solo pantomime act in which a world of sensations is conveyed without a word being uttered. Phobia is a canny flick that places known genre conventions in fresh light, the kind that bestows new life on them. Watch this film for the many surprises it springs and, of course, for Radhika Apte in full flow.

Saibal Chatterjee (Movies.Ndtv.com)