When you think of Hindi or Bollywood horror films, the first name that comes to your mind is Ramsay brothers. They are a bunch of as many as seven brothers — Kumar, Keshu, Tulsi, Karan, Shyam, Gangu and Arjun. The most prominent among these were Shyam and Tulsi. The 1970s, 80s and 90s saw a series of horror films from their stable. In other words, the Ramsays became synonymous with the word 'horror'.
But since last decade or so, Vikram Bhatt has taken over the horror genre. With a dedicated effort of in scaring the audience (rather, trying to) with film after film, it seems he has replaced the Ramsays. And Bhatt’s films come with a value added service, which we will see later.
The filmmaker revived the horror genre in mainstream Hindi cinema with Raaz (2002). Starring Bipasha Basu and Dino Morea, the film became a surprise hit. But it is from 1920 (2008) onwards that he has gone on a rampage with the genre. He followed this up with Shaapit: The Cursed (2010), Haunted 3D (2011), Raaz 3: The Third Dimension (2012), Creature (2014) and Raaz Reboot (2016).
In between, he also made horror TV series, Who Done It? (2010), Haunted Nights (2012) and a film released directly on home video, Fear (2007). He wrote Ayush Raini’s Horror Story (2013) too.
But in his second innings, he ensured that his films also provide laughter if it fails to scare. It’s always good to have Plan B, isn’t it? He achieved this through his tips of defeating the ghost or a scary creature. Maybe it can be referred to as sophisticated tantric techniques.
In Haunted, he made the audience realise that a ghost is most active at 3 am and least at 3 pm. Looks like the bhoot might be operating from the USA. Raaz Reboot, his last release, enlightened us about a Gajendra Moksh Mantra to make the ghost bite the dust. However, you need to recite it without a break. Make sure you visit the loo before starting it and don’t drink much water. Of course, you can recite it in the loo, but it might hurt your religious sentiments, which is the in thing these days.
And here comes the killer! To defeat the supernatural creature in Creature, one requires a process so complicated that one would rather prefer to be killed by it. Here it goes – the creature can be killed only by a gun. No other weapon works. But the bullets need to be dipped in the pond near Lord Brahma’s temple at Pushkar and that too on poornima [full moon night].
We guess you almost died reading. If you are reading this, it means you are alive. In case you are not, congratulations. Vikram Bhatt’s next movie might just be made on you.