Nagin (2009 film)
Encyclopedia
Hisss is a 2010 film, directed by Jennifer Chambers Lynch. Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...

 actress Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...

 plays the lead role as Nagin
Naga
Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...

.

Plot

George States (Jeff Doucette
Jeff Doucette
Jeff Doucette is an American television and film actor. Doucette has appeared in over 92 films and television series which include Bedazzled, That '70s Show, Malcolm in the Middle, Murphy Brown, Invasion, "Gilmore Girls", Desperate Housewives, Newhart, Little House on the Prairie, Highway To...

) is suffering from the last stage of brain cancer and has only six months to live. In order to prevent death and gain immortality, he decides to extract the 'Nagmani' from a shape-shifting snake who can take human form, Nagin (Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...

). He captures the nag [the male snake] so that the nagin [the female] comes after the capturer to free her lover, thus allowing him to obtain the nagmani by force. He keeps the nag in a glass box where he electrocutes him. His plan works and the nagin starts following him. On her way, she is helped by a police inspector (Irrfan Khan) and his wife (Divya Dutta
Divya Dutta
Divya Dutta is an Indian actress from Ludhiana, Punjab, India who appears in Hindi and Punjabi films.- Career :She did her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent, Ludhiana...

), who is infertile, causing a strain in their relationship. The nagin also helps a few women who are helpless: One who is beaten mercilessly by her husband; one being raped by a man and so on. She brutally murders those men who torture women and the police inspector who is helping her find her mate takes care of the murder cases. The nagin also engages in sexual intimacy with a snake while she is in human form. Finally, she reaches George but finds her mate dead. George is wearing a suit due to which the nagin can't see him. He captures her too and tries taking the nagmani but at that moment, the police inspector arrives and helps her. Angered at the murder of her mate in the hands of George, she takes a huge form: half snake, half woman, and throws him in the same glass box where her mate was kept and electrocutes him. The ending shows George's rotten body still lying in the glass box, the police inspector and his wife finally having a child and the nagin's eggs hatching.

Cast

  • Mallika Sherawat
    Mallika Sherawat
    Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...

     as Nagin
  • Irrfan Khan
  • Jeff Doucette
    Jeff Doucette
    Jeff Doucette is an American television and film actor. Doucette has appeared in over 92 films and television series which include Bedazzled, That '70s Show, Malcolm in the Middle, Murphy Brown, Invasion, "Gilmore Girls", Desperate Housewives, Newhart, Little House on the Prairie, Highway To...

     as George States
  • Divya Dutta
    Divya Dutta
    Divya Dutta is an Indian actress from Ludhiana, Punjab, India who appears in Hindi and Punjabi films.- Career :She did her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent, Ludhiana...


Production

The film was shot simultaneously in English and Hindi. Famed special effects designer Robert Kurtzman
Robert Kurtzman
Robert Kurtzman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and special effects creator.- Career :Kurtzman began his career in 1984 when he moved from his hometown of Crestline, Ohio, to Hollywood, California, to pursue his interest in special effects. In 1988, along with Gregory...

 was responsible for developing the look of the Snake Woman in the film. The film was shot in the jungle of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The film was also shot in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, Madh Island
Madh Island
thumb|Madh fortMadh Island is a group of several quaint fishing villages and farmlands in northern Mumbai.-Description:Madh Island barely escapes being called a peninsula since only a small creek, bounded by mangroves, cuts it off from the mainland near Aksa...

, and in the studios of Filmistan
Filmistan
Filmistan was a film production company and film studio of Indian film industry from Goregaon, Mumbai. It is located very near to Patkar College on SV road spread over seven acres. Many students have claimed to see superstars in the studio. Patkar College's reputation has increased due to this...

.

The film is edited by American film editor Tony Ciccone
Tony Ciccone
Tony "Mopar" Ciccone is an American film editor. A onetime actor and rock drummer, he is known for his creative energy and feel for pacing. Sometimes referred to as "The John Bonham of editing" due in part to his love of music, motorcycles and fast cars...

, who is also credited with additional sound design. His film editing credit is misrepresented on preliminary on-line posters as "Anthony Ciccone."

Mooppan Raghavan, tribal leader of Thalikakal settlement in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, and over a dozen members of his tribe were recruited as extras for the film.

Release

At the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

, Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...

 promoted the film by posing with a 22 feet (6.7 m) Burmese python
Burmese Python
The Burmese Python is the largest subspecies of the Indian Python and one of the 6 largest snakes in the world, native to a large variation of tropic and subtropic areas of Southern- and Southeast Asia. They are often found near water and are sometimes semi-aquatic, but can also be found in trees...

 on the red carpet. The film was released in India on October 22 in Hindi, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 and Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

. The Malayalam
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...

 version was released on 12 November.

Premiere

The film was set to premiere at the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 Festival du Nouveau Cinéma
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma
The Festival du Nouveau Cinéma was known as the Montreal Festival of New Cinema and New Media until 2004. Founded in 1971, by Claude Chamberlan and Dimitri Eipides, it is an annual independent film festival held in Montreal and features independent films from around the world...

 on October 14 and at the Gotham Screen Film Festival & Screenplay Contest
Gotham Screen Film Festival & Screenplay Contest
GOTHAM SCREEN is the newest addition to New York City's film festival scene.After its debut in 2007 as a screenplay contest, Gotham Screen, or GSIFF International Film Festival, has been expanded to showcase shorts and feature films...

  in New York on October 15 but was pulled from both festivals shortly before they opened.

Reception

Hisss attracted negative reviews from various critics. Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi is a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from India, who has been writing for The Times of India, since 1987.-Books:* If Shakespeare was a gun: a play. Writers Workshop, 1984....

 of Times of India gave it 2 out of 5 stars and stated - "A film like Hisss should have scored with its special effects. But once again, the carnage that the serpent unleashes is grotesque and her transformation from seductress woman to venomous reptile is more funny than eyeball-grabbing."
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh is an Indian film critic, journalist, editor and film trade analyst. He is also a former producer and screenwriter. He is the son of film director and producer, B.K. Adarsh....

 from Bollywood Hungama gave it 1/2 star out of five & stated that " If there were Razzies in Bollywood, HISSS would win hands down. Films like HISSS make you realize what's going wrong in Bollywood today. On one hand we celebrate the new stories being told in our movies and on the other, we churn out a HISSS, which is badly scripted, poorly enacted and carelessly directed. Believe me, it's easy to solve the crossword puzzle in newspapers than it is to understand what exactly is going on in this film.As for director Jennifer Lynch
Jennifer Lynch
Jennifer Chambers Lynch is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for writing the book The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and for being Hollywood's youngest female writer and director with her 1993 feature film Boxing Helena. -Early life:Lynch was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,...

, she needs a crash course in film-making pronto. The visual effects seem straight out of a B-grade Bollywood film.On the whole, HISSS is best avoided. "
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and entertainment reporter for CNN-IBN. Masand started his career as an entertainment correspondent at the young age of 16...

 from CNN-IBN gave it 1 star out of five & stated that "In Hisss, directed by Jennifer Lynch
Jennifer Lynch
Jennifer Chambers Lynch is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for writing the book The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and for being Hollywood's youngest female writer and director with her 1993 feature film Boxing Helena. -Early life:Lynch was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,...

, Mallika stars as a shape-shifting snake that’s been separated from her reptile lover by a crazy foreigner who’s seeking a naagmani that will cure his cancer. The outrageous plot involves this ichchadhari nagin emerging as something of a feminist superhero who comes to the rescue of various tormented women, even as she’s seeking out her kidnapped partner. Irrfan Khan plays the cop investigating a series of mysterious killings, and Divya Dutta his wife.At 90 minutes it’s mercifully short, but watch it only if you’re not easily disgusted."
Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra is a noted author, journalist and film critic. She has written several books on Indian cinema and has been a movie reviewer with NDTV and India Today.-Career:...

 from NDTV
NDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...

 gave it 1/2 star out of five & stated that "Hisss has marginally better special effects and much more nudity but the script is so deliriously inept that, in comparison, the average Ramsay horror film looks like a class act."
Mayank Shekher from Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....

 gave it 1 star out of five & stated that "This is pornography for the hormonally demented teen. Or maybe this is erotica."
The film scores only 2 out of 10 on the reviewgang.com .

It was announced as Disaster by boxoffice India.

Soundtrack

Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...

 composed the on camera songs for the film. Alexander von Bubenheim composed the original score. The soundtrack consists of six original recordings, composed by Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...

, David Kushner, Panjabi MC
Panjabi MC
Rajinder Singh Rai , better known by his stage name Panjabi MC is a British Indian musician.-Career:...

, Alexander Von Bubenheim, Salim-Sulaiman
Salim-Sulaiman
Salim Merchant And Sulaiman Merchant are a musical duo of brothers, born and brought up in Bhuj, Kutch, India. They belong to Ismaili Muslim family and are inspired by their father Sadruddin Merchant, who used to lead Ismaili Scouts Orchestra in India..Steeped in a family tradition of music as the...

 and Julian Lennon, and lyrics penned by Sameer
Sameer (lyricist)
Sameer is an Indian lyricist,the main form of work undertaken by Sameer is for Indian songs in Hindi language films. His father is the famed Hindi lyricist, Anjaan . Since the beginning of his career, Sameer has penned around 4,000 songs in over 500 Hindi films and more than 130 songs in 23...

, Shruti Haasan, Mallika Sherawat, Shweta Pandit
Shweta Pandit
Shweta Pandit is an Indian Playback Singer, Song Writer and Live Performer Actor in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Telugu and Tamil film songs....

, Shraddha Pandit and Sayeed Quadri. The soundtrack also featured hit songs from the films Robot
Robot (film)
Enthiran is a 2010 Tamil science fiction film co-written and directed by S. Shankar. The film features Rajinikanth in dual roles, as a scientist and an android robot, alongside Aishwarya Rai whilst Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam, Karunas, Kalabhavan Mani, Devadarshini, and Cochin Haneefa play...

and De Dana Dan
De Dana Dan
De Dana Dan is a 2009 Hindi comedy film directed by Priyadarshan. The story is a partial adaptation of Priyadarshan's own Malayalam film Vettam. This film is also inspired by the 2000 Hollywood comedy flick Screwed. The film has a huge star cast which includes Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Katrina...

. Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...

 makes her musical debut on the film's soundtrack alongside Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...

. Shruti Haasan
Shruti Haasan
Shruti Haasan is an Indian actress, singer and music composer who has worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. Her parents are noted actors, Kamal Haasan and Sarika. As a child artiste, she sang in films and appeared in a guest role, before making her adult acting debut in the 2009 action drama,...

 sings and appears in a promotional video with music by Dave Kushner
Dave Kushner
David "Dave" Kushner is an American musician perhaps best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver...

 for the film. Music Supervisor for the film, Marcus Barone
Marcus Barone
Marcus Barone is a Motion Picture Music Executive, Supervisor, Composer, Publisher and Studio Musician.-Biography:Raised in Smithtown, New York, near New York City, Mark or "Marcus" Barone was educated at the State University of New York, Hartt College of Music and University of Southern California...

, co produced the Soundtrack Album for Split Image Soundtracks with Venus Records and Tapes along with co producer of the film William Keenan. Official Bollywood Soundtrack Charts charted "I Got That Poison" Performed by Panjabi MC
Panjabi MC
Rajinder Singh Rai , better known by his stage name Panjabi MC is a British Indian musician.-Career:...

  and Shweta Pandit at #8 from Oct 24 through Nov, 5 2010.

Track listing
No. Title Singers Composer
1 "Lagi Lagi Milan Dhun Lagi" Shreya Ghoshal  Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...

2 "Beyond The Snake" Shruti Haasan
Shruti Haasan
Shruti Haasan is an Indian actress, singer and music composer who has worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. Her parents are noted actors, Kamal Haasan and Sarika. As a child artiste, she sang in films and appeared in a guest role, before making her adult acting debut in the 2009 action drama,...

 
Dave Kushner
Dave Kushner
David "Dave" Kushner is an American musician perhaps best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver...

3 "Sway (Mann Dole)" Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...

 
Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...


(originally composed by Hemant Kumar)
4 "I Got That Poison (Hisss Remix)" Shweta Pandit
Shweta Pandit
Shweta Pandit is an Indian Playback Singer, Song Writer and Live Performer Actor in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Telugu and Tamil film songs....

 
Salim-Sulaiman
Salim-Sulaiman
Salim Merchant And Sulaiman Merchant are a musical duo of brothers, born and brought up in Bhuj, Kutch, India. They belong to Ismaili Muslim family and are inspired by their father Sadruddin Merchant, who used to lead Ismaili Scouts Orchestra in India..Steeped in a family tradition of music as the...

5 "Lagi Lagi Milan Dhun Lagi" Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....

 
Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...

6 "Hisss" Shweta Pandit
Shweta Pandit
Shweta Pandit is an Indian Playback Singer, Song Writer and Live Performer Actor in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Telugu and Tamil film songs....

 
Panjabi MC
Panjabi MC
Rajinder Singh Rai , better known by his stage name Panjabi MC is a British Indian musician.-Career:...

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