The Ek Thi Daayan director Kannan Iyer who has taken off on a holiday after the release of his film, agrees with the critics who feel the second-half of the film has gone wrong.

Starring <strong>Emraam Hashmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Huma Qureshi, Kalki Koechlin</strong> Directed by <strong>Kannan Iyer</strong> Rating: <strong>* * * *</strong> Do you believe in the supernatural? Even if you don’t this fabulously effective take on the wages of renewable evil would prompt you to look nervously over your shoulders the next time you pass through dark shadowy corridor.

Vishal Bhardwaj and Ekta Kapoor’s Ek Thi Daayan, directed by Kannan Iyer, is the first thriller-horror to have received a U/A certificate from the Censors. Contrary to initial perception that the film would be limited only to an adult audience, the U/A certificate clearly establishes the film’s enhanced potential and appeal among the youngsters as much as among adults.

As the release of Ek Thi Daayan is approaching fast, promotional activities of the film is also heating up. Firstly, co-producer Ekta Kapoor launched <em>Ek Thhi Naayka</em>, a TV show on Life OK for television that roped in television industry's top most actresses like Smriti Irani, Sakshi Tanwar, Aamna Sharif, Mauli Ganguly, Shweta Tiwari, Kritika Kamra, Pooja Gaur and Ankita Lokhande coming together for the first time to promote Ekta's upcoming film <em>Ek Thi Daayan</em>.

Not many know that the climax of Ek Thi Daayan was shot only a few days back, barely a month before the release of the film. And it was a deliberate move. Balaji was keen to keep the film's climax hidden till the very end rather than letting the suspense leak out, which is common these days. Therefore, as a precautionary move, it was decided to shoot the climax as late as possible.

Fans of Emraan Hashmi, who have not seen the serial-kisser in action on screen for some time now, tighten up your shoe strings. Yes, the actor, who has already proven his histrionics repeatedly, will be seen gently kissing his co-star Huma Qureshi in Vishal Bhardwaj and Ekta Kapoor’s forthcoming film <em>Ek Thi Daayan</em>. Says a source, "It's a passionate moment in a song sequence called <em>Kaali Kaali</em> and has been very aesthetically shot. The set was emptied out and only the bare minimum technicians stood back to capture the scene."

It is a known fact that the Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar combination has dished out ear-pleasing songs in films like <em>Omkara, Ishqiya, Kaminey</em> and <em>7 Khoon Maaf</em> among others. The duo has again joined hands for Ekta Kapoor’s ALT Entertainment and Vishal Bhardwaj’s VB Pictures’ <em>Ek Thi Daayan</em>. By this venture, Bhardwaj has taken his love for Gulzar to a new level. In the 'Yaaram' track (set in a house party), the filmmaker has included a scene in which Emraan's character (Bobo) pays an ode to the lyricist by reading out a few couplets from his book.

Danis Tanovic has put a brake on the shooting process of his yet unnamed Emraan Hashmi-starrer that was currently under production in Patiala. The uncalled for situation arose when Emraan was called upon by Balaji Motion Pictures to come over to Mumbai to complete some last-minute patch work for <em>Ek Thi Daayan</em> that has been co-produced by Vishal Bhardwaj and Ekta Kapoor. It was a sweet gesture by producer Guneet Monga and director Danis Tanovic who understood the urgency of Emraan being in Mumbai. They have now adjusted their schedule.