Bollywood bets big on horror comedies

The makers of Roohi, also known for Stree, are now planning Bhediya, starring Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon. (Source: Twitter @Tutejajoginder)

2 min read . Updated: 18 Mar 2021, 11:56 AM IST Lata Jha

Horror has worked in India since the days of the Ramsay brothers, and when merged with comedy, it drives audiences to laugh louder and get more scared, an experience aimed at enticing them to the cinemas

NEW DELHI: Even before the impressive numbers of Roohi came in last weekend, Bollywood had decided it would go big on horror comedies that combine two genres, both hugely popular.

The makers of Roohi, also known for Stree, are now planning Bhediya, starring Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon next year which will complete their horror comedy universe.

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Later in the year, Kartik Aaryan will appear in the remake of Akshay Kumar’s Bhool Bhulaiya. Industry experts say this is an effort to turn the traditional horror genre on its head and churn out films, many of which are based on folk tales and legends and bring in local cultural nuances instead of simply having stories centred around supernatural forces.

"The idea is to build a universe but for that, these individual characters have to be successful first so they can be repeated," Dinesh Vijan, founder of Maddock Films, producers of Stree, Roohi, and Bhediya said. While Stree had made close to Rs125 crore in domestic box office collections when released in 2018, Roohi has earned Rs13.75 crore at last count since its release last Thursday.

Horror, Vijan added, has worked in India since the days of the Ramsay brothers and when it is merged with comedy, it only drives audiences to laugh louder and get more scared, an experience that is ultimately aimed at enticing them to enter cinemas. That makes it an important ploy for an industry struggling to fill seats in movie theatres with the emergence of video streaming platforms and the plethora of entertainment options they offer, a trend that has only been accelerated by the covid-19 pandemic.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh said unlike many other genres, horror is not dependent on stars and it is up to the content to make a mark, send shivers down the spine or in these cases, make people smile. Films made by Ramsay brothers such as Do Ghaz Zameen Ke Niche (1972) and Purana Mandir (1984) had worked without any familiar faces.

“Filmmakers are trying to subvert and reinvent the horror genre because people have outgrown the binary, one-tone idea of a ghost that can pull tricks," film critic Manoj Kumar R said. New horror films speak to our basic nightmares and reflect on human mistakes and follies, he added. For instance, 2018 horror fantasy Tumbbad touched upon the consequences of human greed while recent Tamil film Nenjam Marappathillai spoke of child abuse and negligence.