It all started with a miscalculation and the Box Office maths went completely awry. The huge success of the horror flick, 6-5=2 has literally changed the trend in Sandalwood — at least a dozen horror movies are hitting the screens and many more are in the making. A boost to this trend are the recent successes of Chandralekha and Rangitaranga that has further inspired producers to cast the lead role to “ghosts” this season. Bengaluru Chronicle reports on the “scary” trend.
A recent blockbuster — Rangitaranga is running fast towards its 100 day mark — both in the state and several places across the globe, mainly in the US. The film was appreciated for its brilliant script and the making — that included every element of a horror mystery, perfectly poised for a thrilling experience. Anup Bhandari, the director says, “I was initially working on a mystery thriller, as the script demanded a scary element. We carefully worked on it while building the right emotions required for a good horror flick. Movies such as Na Ninna Bidalare and Aptamitra succeeded not just because of the horror aspect alone. They also had an emotional brilliance that makes a good film. Recent successes have paved the way for more movies like this. Though, it is not the right way forward, as film makers should break away from trends and attempt different movies.”
He further feels that many attempt such genres, as it is very easy to make a scary movie. “It even happens in Hollywood wherein young directors prefer doing a horror movie. But, on the contrary, an in-depth knowledge is required for doing a good horror movie.”
Chandralekha, despite being a remake, succeeded in scaring the Kannada audience, and thankfully the ghost also revived the acting career of Chiranjeevi Sarja. Sarja says, “I do not agree that horror films have an edge over other films. The best will have a lot more than just horror, but it is very likely that filmmakers choose to ride on the present trend till it starts to scare them at the Box Office. Everything has to be perfectly synchronised to make a real horror movie. If any one aspect falls flat, either the actor, technical issues or the director, then the audience ends up laughing rather than getting scared out of their wits.” Chiranjeevi is now awaiting the release of Ram Leela alongside Amulya.
Masterpiece actress Shanvi Srivastava is well-known for her pretty “ghost” avatar alongside Chiranjeevi. Shanvi shares that ever since her debut, playing a ghost, there have been more offers for horror movies which actually made her apprehensive so she chose typical heroine roles like playing the love interest in Masterpiece alongside Yash.
“I love horror movies and my debut experience in Chandralekha was very good. As a character, it is very exciting but portraying it is tiresome. Long shooting hours with ghostly make up. While I am in love with ghosts and even went in search of them once, unfortunately I could not spot any! I watch a lot of horror movies. I fell in love with ghosts as a child when my grandmother would tell us stories, and there were rumours about the presence of a ghost. I want to believe that ghosts exist and want to see them once, from far, of course,” Shanvi quips.
