RGV, Vikram Bhatt, Bhushan Patel & Co: A Plea from a Horror Fan

Here’s a wake-up call for all Bollywood horror movies.

Let’s start with a tall claim – no film genre can rival horror when it comes to celebrating the sheer pleasure of being alive. The racing of pulses, the slow crawl of goosebumps, the skipped heartbeat, the adrenaline rush demands total immersion of the mind and body.

The present state of Bollywood horror, then, is a particularly sad thing. With its clunky special effects, B-rate actors, cheap thrills, and the peddling of tawdry sexuality, it is a desolate wasteland fit to put to shame TS Eliot’s epic namesake. So, on this most opportune occasion of All Hallows’ Eve, here is a list of Do’s and Don’ts that might save the day yet.

No to CGI

However star-studded the billings of a horror movie, it is the atmosphere that is the make or break factor. Whether relentlessly bleak, or knowingly campy, or thrillingly taut, the tone of a horror movie requires razor-precise control if it wants to ensure that the audience is on the edge of their seats.

Nothing takes a giant wrecking ball to a horror film’s mood faster than bad special effects. Bollywood budgets do not allow for the kind of special effects that will not render a scene instantly, and unintentionally, funny. Sample this delight from Vikram Bhatt’s Creature 3D.

Or this scene from Kannan Iyer’s Ek Thi Dayan

I rest my case.

Bigger, More Mainstream Actors

The popular perception of B’wood horror as a niche, slightly dubious genre is largely due to the lack of big names associated with it. For better or for worse, audiences flock to the theatre to see their favourite stars. Bigger names will mean more visibility for such movies, which in turn will hopefully mean the genre gains, both in quality and quantity. For this to happen, directors have to, for a start, stop casting Bipasha Basu in everything. Like here, in Vikram Bhatt’s Raaz 3.

And again, in Vikram Bhatt’s Creature 3D

....and in Bhushan Patel’s Alone

No to Sleaze

Sex makes us deeply uncomfortable. Our population level is evidence enough that we are having lots of it, but we still can’t bear to discuss, or represent it in mainstream culture, in a commendable way. This cultural unease makes sex a rich subject for horror. However, instead of exploring with any insight the ramifications of being sexual beings in a world of manifold repression, a lot of B’wood horrors end up being tawdry, borderline-misogynistic affair that reek of exploitation (sexploitation?). These gaudy posters say it all.

*Sigh*

Horror fans have an entire laundry list of other things they desire – our very own horror franchise, musical scores that become cult hits (think Jaws, The Exorcist), horror cons etc. But, for now, these three simple steps will suffice.

We hope the concerned parties will take note so we don’t end up running for Wes Craven’s Scream series every 31st October.

Until then, Happy Halloween!