Ramu To The Future
Several conversations ago, you said Darna Mana Hai was not really a scary film...
I think that, with Darna Mana Hai, what went wrong was the stories were not scary enough. It was not consistent to the genre. That is something we have taken care of in the sequel.
So this one's seriously scary?
At least it's very specifically to the point of the main theme.
Is it harder to work in this short story format for a horror film? In the sense that every time you are introducing us to a new set of characters, giving us background, and trying to scare us. Isn't this more difficult than making a full-fledged horror film?
If you look at the Twilight Zone series or Alfred Hitchcock Presents or The Pan Book of Horror Stories, the format of a short story has been done. It is not that we're inventing something new. Maybe it's the first time for Bollywood, but it has been done. In fact, I personally like short stories more because the attention span and concentration create a much bigger impact. I remember Stephen King once said, 'A short story is like a kiss; a novel is like having an affair.' (Laughs) I think that's the difference. It's got a hit-and-run element to it.
But isn't there a danger of repetition? There's a certain stereotype to horror films now - shadowy lighting, sound effect-driven 'moments.' Don't you think each story is going to feel like the others?
Not really, because they're uniquely different in nature. And very well-performed by all actors concerned.
Where did all the stories come from?
Different people. The seven directors all either wrote stories themselves or got them from other writers. It's a combination of material from many sources.