Bhoot capturing

12 Nov 2007, 0000 hrs IST,RAJAT GHAI ,TNN

Bhatakti hui aatmas, spirits residing in the pipal tree at the village periphery, witches, man-eating ogres, vampires and werewolves...The horror genre in Bollywood has never been short of entertainment.

Lately though, Bollywood horror has become subtle, even stylish. “Horror is among the many Hollywood styles that have taken root in our film industries in the past decade. The thriller and action genre, too, have become increasingly prominent in this period,” feels S Srinivas, fellow, Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore. Saurabh Narang, director of Vaastu Shastra, nods in agreement, “The scary movie genre never really goes out of vogue. It lies dormant and comes back in new avatars.”

Historically, Bollywood’s horror scene opened with supernatural love stories about reincarnation and rebirth. “Bollywood horror has had a roller-coaster ride,” says Narang. “If it was Mahal in 1948, there were Nagin and Jaani Dushman in the 70s. And then there were the Ramsays,” he adds.

The Ramsay’s low-budget horror films were safe bets at the box-office. But this caused the genre to remain stuck in a warp where films were made on a shoe string budget, had amazingly awful special effects and repeated the same actors. And yet the films were great entertainers.

A lot of credit goes to Ram Gopal Varma for resurrecting horror. “Bhoot was an important turning point in the horror film genre since it was markedly different from the Ramsays’ graveyard/ Purani Haveli style. I am not saying the new variant was better; it was merely different,” says Srinivas. Says trade analyst Komal Nahta, “The Ramsays’ style was tackier, while RGV and others brought finesse.”

And what is that ‘finesse’? “The content and packaging. Today a scary movie does not merely have a spooky face with lots of make-up but also music, top actors, background sounds and good story-telling. From in-your-face, it has matured and has all the trappings of a commercial potboiler,” explains Raman. Agrees Dino Morea, who acted in Raaz, “People don’t want to watch gruesome stuff anymore. But, they do want to be frightened.”

And the genre’s future? “Lots of filmmakers and production houses are delving into it. My next work, a psychological thriller, is being produced by a first-time production house,” says Raman.

Going by the trends, it seems that genre cinema will be much more mainstream today. Earlier, stunt films, horror films, westerns and other experiments were largely confined to what the industry called the B and C circuits of exhibition and distribution (towns and semi-urban centres).

Things seem different now.So, expect a lot of reel spooky stuff to scare the daylights out of you in the future!