With the runaway success of Bhatt's Raaz, horror gained prominence with stars instead of starlets showing interest in chasing nagging spirits out of their abode.
As always Bollywood looked overseas for inspiration. Be it for the Urmila Matondkar-starrer Naina, a scene-to-scene rip-off of Chinese supernatural hit, Jian Gui aka The Eye or Sushmita Sen's Vaastushastra, which took bits and pieces from every conceivable South East Asian horror flick like Ju-on: The Grudge and Acacia.
Previously too, Hollywood's Child's Play gave birth to the horrific (for all the wrong reasons) Paapi Gudiya whereas the elegant spirit of Ghost was reduced to a wishy-washy romance between Rahul Roy and Sheeba in Pyaar Ka Saaya.
Besides originality, these films lacked lustre, conviction and a good, old-fashioned scare.
Also Read: Vikram Bhatt's 'horror' leading lady
Advertisement
