Phobia, a horror movie but with no chudail, exorcist, graveyards or ugly make-up is an innovative try by director Pawan Kripalani. Pawan Kripalani does a fine job of weaving the story of a woman who is overpowered by her agoraphobia, the fear of places and situations that may cause pain or embarrass her. The credit here truly goes to actress Radhika Apte. She will make you feel connected to her world of eerie laughter, black cats, a cut finger amidst ice cubes and the story of a dead woman who had lived in her house before and had mysteriously gone absconding. Her agony and her helplessness look palpable as she takes us through her disturbing world.

In Phobia, Mahek (Radhika Apte) develops love for the four walls of her home after a sexual assault by a taxi driver. Her friend and admirer Shaan (Satyadeep Mishra) persuades her to move into a furnished apartment where a young woman named Jiah had once lived before disappearing. Shaan feels that it would be therapeutic for the deeply disturbed Mahek to live on her own in a new place, but he hasn’t accounted for the creepy neighbour Manu (Ankur Vikal), the excess of reflective surfaces, and the strange noises that emanate from the drainpipe.

The first half is impressive. However, the film stretched a bit in the second half. Also, audiences could expect Phobia to end on a high but that won't happen. The story gets a bit predictable and the whole build-up to the climax might not hit audiences hard.Having said that, Phobia is undeniably a well-made thriller worth watching only in theatres. Radhika Apte is stellar as the victim suffering from agoraphobia. Her performance is so believable and convincing that you feel her pain, her anxiety and you sympathise with her situation.

Kripalani does a fine job as director and Phobia is a decent thriller which may not appease to the regular Bollywood audience. But if you love thrills and want to go for watching out some brilliant acting skills by Radhika Apte, then you sure must watch the movie.