So it’s that time of the year again. Zombies, dead sailors, gremlins and goblins – they’re all out for their night on the town. Bollywood has had a long fascination with everything and anything otherworldly (is there such a word?!) I didn’t have to think too hard for some horror and ghostly capers… in true “phillumi” tradition.
At the top of my head, there was Bhoot. Who doesn’t remember Urmila Matondkar as the creepy, scary “Bhoot” in Ram Gopal Varma’s caper a few years ago? This one also starred Ajay Devgan and Rekha as the exorcist. Then there was Bipasha Basu’s Raaz. This supernatural flick had songs that were played for months on end by every rickshaw-wallah in India! Doesn’t ring a bell? Remember a sizzling Ms. Basu and Dino Morea as the husband who is haunted by the ghost of an ex-lover?
Then suddenly there was a slew of ghost and supernatural films that didn’t always hit the mark. Like Darna Mana Hai (Incidentally, it has a great title track featuring a sultry Sameera Reddy), Darna Zaroori Hai, amongst others.
You can’t miss Bhool Bhoolaiya on the list of Bollywood capers. Set in Kolkatta, the film was an interesting attempt by Priyadarshan and featured Vidya Balan as the scary ghost, Akshay Kumar and other actors. The spooky finale was quite dramatic and I don’t see myself watching this film by myself! (A self-confessed ghost-film avoider, that’s me!)
Not all Bollywood ghosts were scary, however. In fact, some were quite adorable. Like Amitabh Bachchan in Bhootnath, a recent film starring Juhi Chawla and a young child actor, Aman Siddiqui. Then another funny caper (and a personal favourite!) was Chamatkar with my all-time favourite Naseeruddin Shah and Shah Rukh Khan in his pre-Yash Raj days. The film is a funny, entertaining flick based on a typical hindi film but nevertheless, I could still watch it today and have a good laugh. Fashionistas be warned, you’ll see Urmila Matondkar with loud make up and puffy sleeved dresses! I also remember a Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit film called 100 Days, which spooked me out when I was younger.
While writing this post, I suddenly remembered that there were a host of old classics based on ghosts and supernatural phenomena. Despite the fact that technology did not support super cool graphics and effects, some of the best “bhoot” films came from earlier decades. Like Mahal, Bees Saal Baad, Madhumati – films like these are immortal even to this day. And they “inspired” a host of other films based on lead characters pretending to be ghosts or a suspense thriller where an actor pretended to be a ghost to get to the truth. Fun stuff!
As to my plans for tonight? The closest I’ll get to a ghost is to watch Chamatkar, armed with a bag of popcorn and candy. Who celebrates Halloween without candy?
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