Fluffy romances, high-glycerine dramas and comedies are right up Bollywood's street. But here we look at the films that crafted almost perfect chills and thrills.
Indian horror films are a rarity in an industry which makes nearly 800 films annually.
And despite audiences' fascination for spooky subjects, which is evident from the immense popularity of Hollywood horror flicks in India, the shoddy quality of horror films has yet to transcend the original mould of the quintessential Ramsay Brothers horror show, where faux bodies jumped out from behind doors, like skeletons from a cupboard, and ketchup was the favourite make-up accessory!
Ram Gopal Varma's just released film, Phoonk, is yet to pass the litmus test, though horror as a genre has never done exceedingly well at the Indian box-office.
With Vikram Bhatt's 1920, Santosh Sivan's Click and Mahesh Bhatt's Raaz 2 also slated to be released, Bollywood is unleashing terror with a vengeance.
Here's tabloid!‘s pick of the top 10 Bollywood scare films:
Mahal (1949)
This was Bollywood's first tryst with horror. Directed by Kamal Amrohi, starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubhala, the film dealt with the subject of reincarnation. It had quite a few supernatural elements that made the audience uncomfortable. In fact its famous number Aayega Aanewala still haunts.
Jaani Dushman (1979)
This multi-starrer turned out to be one of the biggest money spinners of the '70s - thanks to its novel horror plot where an evil spirit preys on newly married brides wearing the red Indian wedding costume. The film's opening scenes set the tone for the film and talented actor Sanjeev Kumar turning into a beastly creature by the end of the film was a masterstroke in scripting this movie.
Gehrayee (1980)
This film was on the lines of The Exorcist but had Hindu Brahmin priests replacing the Catholic priests of the original. Not many might have watched this film about exorcism which had a superb performance by Padmini Kohlapure playing a young girl possessed by evil spirits.
Purana Mandir (1984)
This film kick-started the '80s horror boom in Bollywood, thanks to its creators Ramsay Brothers, who earlier made successful but sleazy Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche (1972). Purana Mandir dealt with a curse in which all female members of a royal family were killed at birth by hideous monsters. Its content shocked the Indian audience. The film starred popular character actor Mohnish Behl in the lead.
Raat (1992)
This well-made film was deftly directed by maverick filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma. The film with its swift camera shots and interesting background made the audience jump off their seats. It became a must-watch horror film with the newly introduced four-track stereophonic sound systems in the theatres. South Indian actress Revathi was terrifyingly impressive as the possessed girl though the film lacked a decent ending. Nevertheless, the film gave a new ray of hope for Indian horror films.
Junoon (1992)
Mahesh Bhatt came up with an excellent horror thriller that was inspired by the Hollywood classic Cat People and other mythical werewolf series. The film follows the story of Rahul Roy - he turns into a man-eating tiger at midnight and a human by day. Roy's change from human to tiger in the film was excellent. Kudos to the make-up artist.
Raaz (2002)
Vikram Bhatt claimed that the film was based on his own experience, probably of watching What Lies Beneath. Raaz was a straight copy of this Hollywood film except for its chaotic climax. Despite its lack of originality, Raaz had its own moments of scare with Bipasha Basu's decent performance supported by model-turned-actor Dino Morea. Nadeem Shravan's melodious music played a big role in the film's success.
Bhoot (2003)
Ram Gopal Varma made amends for the shortcomings in Raat by making India's best horror flick so far, Bhoot. The film managed to give sleepless nights to many and the credit goes to Urmila Matondkar's spine-chilling performance. She plays a woman who gets possessed by an evil spirit as she moves ino a new apartment with her husband, played by Ajay Devgan. Matondkar earlier shook the audience with her terrific performance in Varma's Kaun as a mentally-deranged killer.
Naina (2005)
The film was a remake of Hong Kong horror flick The Eye. Matondkar once again starred in this horror flick as the lady who starts seeing ghosts after receiving a corneal transplant. The film was stylishly shot, which made the film above average, though it didn't match the original in its content.
Darna series (2003-2006)
Ram Gopal Varma came up with the brilliant idea of putting together six short horror stories in Darna Mana Hai (2003). Two of the six stories were nerve-wracking but unfortunately the rest were bizarre. Varma made some improvement in the sequel, Darna Zaroori Hai (2006).
In between these Darna flicks, Varma squeezed in a horror flick called Vastu Shastra (2004) that had a great start but finished tamely.
