Dubai: It was meant to be spooky, but was the idea of switching off the lights in a room filled with journalists and plopping a bearded black magician in the centre of the room a good idea?
Judging by the sniggers that erupted as soon as the lights came on, the reaction from the press in Dubai on Sunday was far from positive.
But the stars of Raaz 3 -- Bipasha Basu, Esha Gupta and Emraan Hashmi did their best in the following half hour to prove that their film had more substance than the gimmick that just witnessed.
“With Raaz 3, I have grown personally as an actress. Raaz 3 is a horror film with several layers,” said Basu. In the film, she plays Shanaina, a fading actress who resorts to black magic when her lover (Hashmi) falls for a younger star.
“At first I thought Shanaina and I had nothing in common, but during the course of the film I learnt a lot about myself,” said Basu. Her co-star Hashmi, who is riding high after his role in the hit The Dirty Picture, went a step further.
“Bollywood hasn’t really tapped into the horror genre. We have tried to add a new dimension to how 3D films are made in Bollywood,” said Hashmi. The tall claims did not end with Hashmi’s statements. The film’s director Vikram Bhatt said Raaz 3 would correct all the mistakes that were committed by filmmakers who have attempted to make 3D Hindi films.
“3D was crushed with Ra.One [the Shah Rukh Khan flop released in 2011]. We have made Raaz 3 to correct what has been done,” said Bhatt.
