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It is difficult to be versatile in Bollywood: Vikram Bhatt
Vikram Bhatt on why the audience expects him to continue making horror films
Vikram Bhatt is now a name that's synonymous with horror films in B-Town. Haunted 3D, 1920 Evil Returns, Raaz-3D — are all films that almost changed the way horror films were perceived in India. Vikram who's liberally used modern technology to amp up the fear factor in his films, he feels that there is still time before Indian audiences are ready to enjoy horror films like the ones in western countries.
He says, "I have a different kind of audience coming to watch my kind of films. The people who go to watch Barfi will not come to watch 1920 Evil Returns. Indians still love the Woh Kaun Thi kind of horror films in India. People want a story — and my horror films have never been about only ghosts and spirits. They have their share of love, hatred, jealousy and complexity of relationships involved. In the west you will see a horror film focusing only on the fear, whereas in India it is time before you can experiment to do that."
While Bhatt claims that there is time to experiment, he is attempting to make an outright horror film which will last for one hour and 50 minutes for Indian audiences. The movie will be devoid of any songs and emotions. It will be a plain horror film. Most of his horror films have a struck a chord with the audiences and Bhatt credits that to his sincerity towards the subject and audience. He says, "Whatever I show, is with conviction. I believe in ghosts. Money is not the only reason why I make horror films. God has been kind too and these films have worked."
As someone who's directed intense films like Ghulam, Dastak and Ankahe accepts the fact that the reason why he's making only horror films of late is because he cannot afford to displease 90% of the audiences who expect a horror film from him.
He says, "It's all about branding and presenting the right package today. Even if you want to be versatile, people will not let you be. When you make a horror film and it works, you are confident of being successful in that genre again. If Madhur Bhandarkar makes a movie tomorrow, people will expect him to do something like Chandni Bar or Corporate! Similarly, it takes time for filmmakers to break that stereotype and attempt something new — it is difficult for filmmakers to be versatile in Bollywood."
So what does one expect next from the filmmaker? "I am working on 1920 Evil Returns 3 as of now," he says on a parting note.
Vikram Bhatt is now a name that's synonymous with horror films in B-Town. Haunted 3D, 1920 Evil Returns, Raaz-3D — are all films that almost changed the way horror films were perceived in India. Vikram who's liberally used modern technology to amp up the fear factor in his films, he feels that there is still time before Indian audiences are ready to enjoy horror films like the ones in western countries.
He says, "I have a different kind of audience coming to watch my kind of films. The people who go to watch Barfi will not come to watch 1920 Evil Returns. Indians still love the Woh Kaun Thi kind of horror films in India. People want a story — and my horror films have never been about only ghosts and spirits. They have their share of love, hatred, jealousy and complexity of relationships involved. In the west you will see a horror film focusing only on the fear, whereas in India it is time before you can experiment to do that."
While Bhatt claims that there is time to experiment, he is attempting to make an outright horror film which will last for one hour and 50 minutes for Indian audiences. The movie will be devoid of any songs and emotions. It will be a plain horror film. Most of his horror films have a struck a chord with the audiences and Bhatt credits that to his sincerity towards the subject and audience. He says, "Whatever I show, is with conviction. I believe in ghosts. Money is not the only reason why I make horror films. God has been kind too and these films have worked."
As someone who's directed intense films like Ghulam, Dastak and Ankahe accepts the fact that the reason why he's making only horror films of late is because he cannot afford to displease 90% of the audiences who expect a horror film from him.
He says, "It's all about branding and presenting the right package today. Even if you want to be versatile, people will not let you be. When you make a horror film and it works, you are confident of being successful in that genre again. If Madhur Bhandarkar makes a movie tomorrow, people will expect him to do something like Chandni Bar or Corporate! Similarly, it takes time for filmmakers to break that stereotype and attempt something new — it is difficult for filmmakers to be versatile in Bollywood."
So what does one expect next from the filmmaker? "I am working on 1920 Evil Returns 3 as of now," he says on a parting note.
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