Time to get spooked with 'Machli Jal Ki Rani Hai'

Achhli Jal Ki Rani Hai is an upcoming thrillerhorror film directed by Debaloy Dey This is a sort of comeback for Dey who made his directorial debut in 1993 with the Salman KhanSridevi starrer Chandra Mukhi Thereafter Dey moved onto TV serials only to return with this spooky flick which has been shot in locations like Panchmarhi and Jabalpur The director who has great fascination for the supernatural talks to us about his film and getting Swara on board ExcerptsQ What is the inspiration behind the filmA The film is partly based on a true incident a story I heard from a friend whose father had a supernatural experience while working in a tea estate However I have added a lot of fiction to it The script has Bollywood elements in itQ How does it differ from the usual horror films A Itrsquos not an outandout horror film per se Thatrsquos why we have positioned it as a paranormal thriller It will surprise and shock the audience in equal measure I would say that our characters are a lot more relatable than what we have seen in the horrorcumsex films of late Anyone can identify with Ayesharsquos Swara Bhaskar problem and feel that it can happen to him or her as well Thatrsquos the philosophy of the filmI believe that every film should be comprehensible for the common man I watch all my films at Chandan which is a single screen theatre and my ideology is to cater to such an audience If you hear their comments carefully yoursquoll learn a lot more than whatrsquos taught in film school laughs out loud My film has songs and usual filmi momentsThere is a large section of the audience that love horror films because of the vicarious pleasure they get from being scared Fear is an universal feelingmdash Debaloy Dey directorQ What made you select Swara Bhaskar for the lead role A We were auditioning quite a few girls but none of them gave me the vibe that they were truly fit for the film There is a lot of action in the film so I needed someone who was a good actress and physically fit as well Finally when we approached Swara I told her in detail what was expected of her so that she did not feel uncomfortable later on I gave her the worstcase scenarios She said she would think it over Three days later when we met Swara had my character Ayesharsquos background ready with her Swara had already visualised Ayesha and deconstructed her I was very impressed with her sincerity Working with her was a fabulous experienceQ What techniques have you adopted in this filmA We have worked a lot on the sound and lighting The scary scenes in the film happen during the day which is not de rigueur If you see the film in 71surround sound you will get a better effect We shot the film in Panchmarhi Madhya Pradesh I have tried to capture the forests in various shots to add to the eerie ambience of Machhli Jal Ki Rani HaiQ Horror films normally do decent business Whatrsquos your take on the genreA There is a fixed audience for horror films That is a huge advantage for a producer When you go to a festival like Cannes and try to sell your films the first question is lsquoDoes your film have sexrsquo the next one is lsquoDoes it have horrorrsquo Horror films have evolved since the times of the Ramsays People get a vicarious pleasure out of getting scared and are disappointed when your film isnrsquot scary enough