The horror genre or the eternal battle of good versus evil or then the titanic struggle between God and Satan, has fascinated both film makers as well as film goers for the last century and more, but, alas this hallowed genre seems to have regressed instead of progressed despite technical advancements and wizardry having become the latest bywords with the annals of the Indian film industry.......
Technological advancements and newer and thereby improved production values and story narration techniques have if anything taken away from rather than added to the mystique and intrigue which are intrinsic to this hair raising genre, but sadly technical advancements have sounded the death knell of the human element, and narration techniques that had you clambering under your blanket or seat for comfort; as most if not all present day film makers have concentrated their energies on gimmicks and special effects instead of focussing their time and energy on enhanced story telling techniques.........
Gems from the golden past; such as Mahal, Bees Saal Baad, Woh Kaun Thi, Jaani Dushman and such notable others did neither boast of cutting edge technical wizardry, spectacular three dimensional special effects or then ghoulish make up; the story, narration of the same, pacy unfolding of events that built up into a truly hair raising climax and notable performances by the leading actors in these monumental efforts have made these above mentioned directorial efforts modern day classics and have horror film afficionados still swearing by them........
The Ramsay Brothers drove the first nail into the coffin of this time tested genre by reducing the evil element in their assembly line to a ghoulish caricature who would either screech like a banshee or then growl like a tiger in heat with a face mask that looked like a five year olds' worst nightmare thrown in for good measure; skimpily clad female supporting artistes proved to be the cannon fodder for these marauding ghosts, ghouls or then denizens of hell and they were finally vanquished by a B grade hero like a Deepak Parasher, Hemant Birje or other such notables with a Padre, priest or then pandit guiding them every step of the way with either divine incantations or then trishuls, shaktis, chakras or then such other divine tools of choice........
Ram Gopal Verma and Vikram Bhatt proved to be the icing on the cake and such sorry efforts like the recently released Bhoot 2 or Raaz 3 had the audiences rollicking in the aisles with misplaced mirth and inappropriate guffaws at all the wrong places, instead of quaking in their boots with real and undistilled fear as was the original intention......
When will our desi Spielbergs and Coppolas' realise the fact that the story and screenplay is king in any noteworthy film making effort, you've gradually got to set the background, stage and then scare the pants of an unsuspecting audience, as for hackneyed themes and woebegone ideas like the female protagonists levitating or then being possessed by evil spirits; well all one can say is that the wary and weary audience has already had more than it's due share of the same.......
Being inspired by foreign films is as natural as eating and drinking in the case of a significant majority of both existing as well as wannabe Indian film makers; so why don't you get inspired by such sterling efforts as The Omen, Psycho, The Exorcist, or the recent Paranormal Activity and spare us the mind numbing churlishness of a Raaz 3, Bhoot 2 or then the return of 1920...........
Technological advancements and newer and thereby improved production values and story narration techniques have if anything taken away from rather than added to the mystique and intrigue which are intrinsic to this hair raising genre, but sadly technical advancements have sounded the death knell of the human element, and narration techniques that had you clambering under your blanket or seat for comfort; as most if not all present day film makers have concentrated their energies on gimmicks and special effects instead of focussing their time and energy on enhanced story telling techniques.........
Gems from the golden past; such as Mahal, Bees Saal Baad, Woh Kaun Thi, Jaani Dushman and such notable others did neither boast of cutting edge technical wizardry, spectacular three dimensional special effects or then ghoulish make up; the story, narration of the same, pacy unfolding of events that built up into a truly hair raising climax and notable performances by the leading actors in these monumental efforts have made these above mentioned directorial efforts modern day classics and have horror film afficionados still swearing by them........
The Ramsay Brothers drove the first nail into the coffin of this time tested genre by reducing the evil element in their assembly line to a ghoulish caricature who would either screech like a banshee or then growl like a tiger in heat with a face mask that looked like a five year olds' worst nightmare thrown in for good measure; skimpily clad female supporting artistes proved to be the cannon fodder for these marauding ghosts, ghouls or then denizens of hell and they were finally vanquished by a B grade hero like a Deepak Parasher, Hemant Birje or other such notables with a Padre, priest or then pandit guiding them every step of the way with either divine incantations or then trishuls, shaktis, chakras or then such other divine tools of choice........
Ram Gopal Verma and Vikram Bhatt proved to be the icing on the cake and such sorry efforts like the recently released Bhoot 2 or Raaz 3 had the audiences rollicking in the aisles with misplaced mirth and inappropriate guffaws at all the wrong places, instead of quaking in their boots with real and undistilled fear as was the original intention......
When will our desi Spielbergs and Coppolas' realise the fact that the story and screenplay is king in any noteworthy film making effort, you've gradually got to set the background, stage and then scare the pants of an unsuspecting audience, as for hackneyed themes and woebegone ideas like the female protagonists levitating or then being possessed by evil spirits; well all one can say is that the wary and weary audience has already had more than it's due share of the same.......
Being inspired by foreign films is as natural as eating and drinking in the case of a significant majority of both existing as well as wannabe Indian film makers; so why don't you get inspired by such sterling efforts as The Omen, Psycho, The Exorcist, or the recent Paranormal Activity and spare us the mind numbing churlishness of a Raaz 3, Bhoot 2 or then the return of 1920...........
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