Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma sparked nostalgia among movie buffs after drawing a comparison between a viral scene from the psychological horror thriller Obsession and Urmila Matondkar’s memorable performance in the 1999 cult classic Kaun. A clip from Obsession has been making the rounds on social media in recent days. The scene features actress Inde Navarrette during a dinner date, where her expression and mood suddenly shift, creating a chilling and unsettling moment that has left viewers talking.After watching the viral clip, Ram Gopal Varma took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared a video that juxtaposed the Obsession scene with a memorable moment from Kaun. In the clip from the horror-thriller, Urmila Matondkar’s character appears at a door, asks “Kaun?” and then transitions into an eerie expression that has long been remembered by fans of the film.Sharing the comparison, Varma wrote, “I remembered this shot of Urmila from KAUN after watching OBSESSION.”
His post caught the attention of social media users, many of whom agreed with the filmmaker’s observation. Several fans pointed out the striking similarity between the two performances, with some describing Urmila’s act in Kaun as one of the most unsettling portrayals seen in Indian cinema.
“I still get scared whenever I make eye contact with Urmila in this scene. It had petrified me as a child when I watched this movie. I feel the Indian horror genre was at its peak in the 90s. Thats not the case anymore. Horror movies now rely too much on jump scares and VFX, and not one actor can match range of emotions @UrmilaMatondkar showed in this small clip,” a user commented. Another wrote, “The girl’s expressions and acting in Obsession is at the most 10 percent of that one expression by Urmila. Urmila’s performance in Kaun and Bhooth are master classes for acting in a thriller / horror genre.””Nothing ever can match this. Urmila was phenomenal in this film,” another comment read.
The discussion has also renewed interest in Kaun, a psychological horror-thriller directed by Ram Gopal Varma and written by Anurag Kashyap. Released in 1999, the film starred Urmila Matondkar alongside Manoj Bajpayee and Sushant Singh. Over the years, the film has earned a cult following for its suspenseful storytelling and haunting performances.Kaun was later dubbed into Telugu as Yevaru? and released in Japan under the title Stormy Night. It also inspired the Kannada remake Shock, which released in 2010. Meanwhile, Obsession continues to gain traction among horror fans worldwide. Directed by 26-year-old filmmaker Curry Barker, the low-budget psychological horror thriller stars Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette in lead roles, with supporting performances by Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter.