Shyam Ramsay and daughter Sasha talk about all things macabre

Shyam and daughter Sasha PicRane AshishIts a Thursday evening and we are scheduled to meet Shyam Ramsay at Bandras Peter Dias Road After a point Google Maps gives up on us and its only after being guided through several labyrinthine gullies and a steep narrow staircase that we arrive at 101 Indias office where Ramsay and his daughter Sasha are waiting Youre coming to meet the Ramsays so a little eeriness is part of the deal he jokes Jovial and easygoing Ramsay doesnt come across as the man who spooked generations of IndiansClad in a blue shirt and denims hes the delightful Punjabi uncle you would instantly take to I remember when the British series Hammer of House released in 1980 I realised in India theres no horror genre Theres mystery and suspense but no ghosts in our movies We needed our own demons says the 60yearold one of the seven Ramsay brothers who moved to Mumbai when their father Fatehchand U Ramsinghani made the move from Karachi post PartitionLong before Twilight made vampires fashionable it was the Ramsays who whet our appetite for the macabre and a dose of sleaze with desi chudails and blood sucking monsters with films like Do Gaz Zameen ke Neeche 1972 Purana Mandir 1984 Veerana 1988 Purani Haveli 1989 and Bandh Darwaza 1990A still from Phir Se RamsayAfter a rather quiet existence post Zee Horror Show that gave television one of its most celebrated cheesy horror shows in the 90s the Ramsays are back This time with fresh blood and renewed vigour Handing over the mantle to daughter Sasha a third generation of the Ramsays he will release a fiveepisode webseries titled Phir Se Ramsay reviving the genre that the family spawned for over four decadesThe noughties have no idea about the kind of movies my father made It was more than horror it was a subculture But the youth need to remember that they are reliving an era So youll see a lot of witches zombies sprawling mansions with evil spirits thunder and lightening and black cats We dont want to change that because its a tribute to the time says Sasha who along with her dad has been bingewatching horror films of all genres as research We watch all kinds of films and keep having arguments about it Dad being himself knows exactly when to introduce the jumps Im still learning admits Sasha who has worked as an assistant director in her fathers films like Dhund The Fog 2003 and Ghutan 2007 and will be directing Veerana 2Ramsay whose favourite films include The Exorcist 1973 and The Conjuring part 1 2013 says he recently watched Darr The Mall directed by Pawan Kriplani There was no darr just a mall he jokesHaving grown up in a household where horror films were staple dinner table conversations Sasha says the love for gore is in her blood We would wake up with creepy dentures evil masks and green lenses strewn around the house she laughs After watching Veerana best remembered for the beautiful seductress who kills men at the behest of a witch Sasha then nine years old had several sleepless nights I was scared Ultimately dad had to take me to the shoot of another horror film clean up the actress makeup to convince me that this isnt real she recallsWhile the horror in the films may have been made up Shyams belief in the supernatural is real I believe in ghosts and the existence of spirits I have experienced it Even as a young boy I would wander off to deserted spots Darkness fascinated me Parties werent exciting he says The films were shot on the outskirts of Mumbai where fantastical sets and havelis had to be recreated We built an entire graveyard for an episode he revealsWith evolved sensibilities technology too has been upped Actors no longer need masks or gaudy makeup as graphics and special effects take care of everything I used to import masks and makeup We have used VFX because todays generation is sharp They should experience fear when they watch and not think its mockery he saysCyrus Oshidar founder of 101 India feels its important to present the Ramsay legacy to the youth These movies were a big part of our growing up years It was not just a bunch of movies but a cultural movement Just the way Quentin Tarantino has his place so do the Ramsays How relevant will it be We dont know but we want to celebrate it The zombies are as much part of our culture as SRKs song and dance he says