For shrieking out loud

His very name evokes horror, in more ways than one. That one name can conjure up several images of rundown castles, blood and gore, severed hands and heads, shady looking chowkidars, nubile young bathing victims and continuous crashing lightning and thunder.

The unknown legend, filmmaker Shyam Ramsay, has made a comeback and this time with a horror comedy. The man who pioneered the horror genre in Bollywood (more than 30 horror films and 700 episodes for television) talks about his gory obsession:

Gaon ki gory
I've always wanted to make only horror films. I remember being very impressed with films like Frankenstein and Werewolf in my teens. My father was a film producer who made historical films. My first film Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche was more of an enthusiastic experiment. I must have been 20 then. India had never seen a gory film like that. And it really clicked. I just kept making horror films.u00a0

Time for comedy
I know that today's youngsters find my films very humourous, although, they made a lot of profits in their time and their DVDs sell like hot cakes even now. But those films were made for a different generation and with a primitive technology.

In those days, audiences loved all that gory make-up, these days it looks tacky. Today's youngsters are sharper; they're not scared that easily anymore. They're already exposed to a lot of gore and the technology can do a lot more now.
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That's why I haven't made a film in a long time. But the main audience for this genre is the youth. My new film is a complete departure for me. At a level, it's almost a spoof of my earlier films. But I've updated the look and feel of the film. The spooky B-grade look doesn't work anymore. However, the film will be a complete entertainer like all the rest of my films.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

Ghost-buster
I believe in ghosts. If there is good, there is bound to be evil. Supernatural forces exist, although I haven't experienced them yet. I'm very fascinated by the supernatural. I watch a lot of scary films. The Exorcist and Omen are my all-time favourites. I also follow the I Know What You Did Last Summer and Friday The 13th or RGV's Bhoot and Vikram Bhatt's 1920 kind of films. These days, I've been enjoying the Scary Movie series.u00a0