The Bollywood horror film industry has a rich history dating back to the 1950s. However, due to several aspects, the mainstream looked at the horror with disdain.
During the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the A-Listers never signed a horror movie. That created a whole new set of actors who would do Bollywood horror movies, and they had a cult following.
Since the actors were new, the budgets were smaller. Because horror is a salable genre, most of these horror movies turned into revenue for the producers and financiers.
With the arrival of new talent, producers looking for a quick buck began to produce regressive and exploitative cinema, Bollywood horror became infamous. In the 1990s, directors like Ram Gopal Varma and Vikram Bhatt revolutionized the horror genre with their films.
Here are the 5 movies that changed the audience’s perspective of an Indian horror movie.
Street 1
Dinesh Vijan is directing this script by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK. Before this, no one managed to create a real horror movie with comedy elements. Stree was an instant hit and revived the horror segment in Bollywood. The film stars Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor and Flora Saini.
#2 root
This film by Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu changed the template for horror movies. Previously, horror movies were about an evil spirit that haunted the family of someone who had wronged them.
In Raaz, the reason behind the existence of the evil spirit was a crime committed or an injustice committed by those being persecuted. The bold new generation seized on this idea, paving the way for India’s most popular franchise.
#3 Go Goa Gone
Go Goa Gone answered a relevant question: why do zombies only attack western countries? With Go Goa Gone, India got its first successful, entertaining and franchise-worthy zombie movie.
Go, Goa, Gone was the first successful horror film to add comedic elements and get away with it. The intelligentsia called it black humor and the mainstream saw the incidents depicted in the film occur with them every day, aside from the zombie apocalypse of course. Today, it is on the list of most searched Indian horror movie sequels.
#4 Bet
For three decades, Indian horror makers used the wash, rinse and repeat formula. They were unable to delve into the rich Indian culture for characters and story arcs. There was this risk of hurt feelings. Somehow, Anushka Sharma had the wherewithal to tap into Islamic history and create Pari, a genuinely terrifying film.
This is only the second Bollywood horror movie that was a creepy experience to watch at the theater, second only to Stree.
#5 summer
Funny but true, this movie is still being talked about four decades after its release. That puts him on a par with Sholay, well, almost. The Ramsays did several horror movies like Purana Mandir, Purani Haveli, Shaitaani Ilaaka and many more. But Veerana is the one every Indian horror fan knows.
In hindsight, there is absolutely no reason why Veerana became so famous, other than the fact that there is a conspiracy theory out there that the main heroine, Jasmine, has disappeared somewhere. Maybe that is the reason why he is loved by horror clubs even today.