It seems as if six eerie, outstretched fingers and a clock with six hands isn’t enough.Film Darna Mana Hai’s stylish posters may have grabbed attention. But producer Ram Gopal Varma has hit on a new strategy to sustain it until the film’s release on July 25. By taking tongue-in-cheek potshots at film critics in DMH’s new trailers.These promos have done a Nostradamus-like prediction of the film’s reviews. DMH is panned in newspaper columns, attributed to twisted names of critics like Deepa Gahlot, Komal Nahata and Vikas Mohan. “What was the point?”, asks Sheepa Gahlot in the trailer; while Shomal Kohata announces, “Only a weirdo can come up with this movie. A big loser”, predicts Shikas Mohan. One headline screams, “Grr, darrr, borre”, imitating Khalid Mohamed’s style.‘‘It sets the mood for the film,’’ justifies Varma. DMH is a Twilight Zoneish feature with six stories and one ending, directed by Prawaal Raman. In it, friends gather around a campfire and try to outdo each other in telling bizarre stories. Varma says DMH is more ‘‘wacko’’ than scary.The critics in the spoof have reacted differently. Gahlot says she isn’t offended. ‘‘We comment candidly on them, so we should expect the same. But the campaign is pointless because hardly anyone will get the joke. They are giving critics more importance than they deserve.’’For Nahata, Varma is a ‘‘crooked guy whose game is up’’. Mohan condemns it as a publicity stunt in bad taste. So what kind of reviews does Varma expect? ‘‘I don’t care for reviews, but they certainly can’t write worse about it than we already have.’’
