There are some very special but still strange occasions in Bengal that are very hard to make any sense of. Bhut Chaturdashi is one of them. It falls on the day before Kali Puja, and has many eerie, disturbing legends associated with it.
One way of celebrating Bhut Chaturdashi has always been having a horror movie in theaters and watching it with family. Bhut Chaturdashi has always been the Halloween of Bengalis and watching a horror movie has been a part of it.
But the scene is changing fast and for the past few years, there are not many horror movies releasing during Bhut Chaturdashi. Just like it had been a custom for the Feluda film to release during Durga Puja, it was also customary for the Bengali horror movie to release on Bhut Chaturdashi. It is not like horror stories are not being made. But they are coming out on OTT.
This time it is ‘Nikosh Chhaya’. And just like Hoichoi has hijacked Mahalaya with its own Mahishasur Mardini programme, it hijacks Bhut Chaturdashi with the sequel to Parnasharvarir Shaap. There is no doubt that audiences are going to love it. And the festivals (at least the smaller ones) are losing some of their essence and people are more liking to watch a movie on their TV during these. But it is still good that the horror stories are still coming out and the Bhut Chaturdashi streak is still on.