Shaitaan has seen a strong opening at the box office, which is pretty unusual for Bollywood’s spooky thrillers. Let’s talk about whether this will inspire additional directors to produce the same kind of movie.
You won’t find enough supernatural thrillers if you scroll down and look at the list of Bollywood movies that have been shown in theaters over the past 20 years. Several factors contributed to the poor box office performance of most released films, chief among them being their low budgets and unappealing material. However, Shaitaan, starring Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Jyotika, and Janki Bodiwala, has stunned everyone with its narrative and presentation and has made an approximate business of Rs 55 crore. The first reception has been far better than anticipated, which is good news for all those who aspire to write supernatural thrillers in the future.
Horror and supernatural thrillers are two genres that Bollywood hasn’t done enough work in the last several decades. While there has been some excellent work in the horror-comedy genre, not many directors have produced films that make you shudder while providing lighthearted reprieve in between.
The films Pari (2018), Tumbbad (2018), Pizza (2014), Haunted – 3D (2011), 13B: Fear Has a New Address (2009), 1920 (2008), and Bhoot (2003) spring to mind when we think of some truly superb supernatural thrillers from Bollywood in the last 20 years, yet there is a significant gap between these productions. If we closely examine it, the filmmakers Vikram Bhatt, R Madhavan, and Ajay Devgn have mostly been in charge of this genre. However, the list of subpar supernatural movies grows the more you look at them.
Thus, rather than number, quality is the greater issue here. While more filmmakers should try their luck at the genre, more care must be taken to ensure that the viewers/audience is consistently introduced to high-caliber horror and supernatural thrillers.
The fact that these movies could do better than how they perform, for example, The fact that Shaitaan doesn’t rely on jump scares is one of the key reasons it has connected with the audience. Rather, it places you in an audience that you never would have imagined. The picture succeeds because it makes you feel afraid even when there isn’t a secret bad spirit. Therefore, before they dive into the genre and create a new picture, we need more actors and filmmakers who either understand it or at least aim to.
Also, The majority of horror and supernatural thriller films are not doing well, which puts all the filmmakers in a difficult situation when trying to secure the proper funding for their projects. One shall recall Tumbbad. It took Rahi Anil Barve, a writer and filmmaker, 21 years to see his vision come to life on screen. Anil wasn’t very happy with the result, so actor Soham Shah had to go through the entire process of reshooting. To finish the movie, Soham also had to sell his car and house.
Furthermore, The correct mood is mostly created by the music and background soundtrack, and most movies in this genre have suffered in this area. More attention to crafting original, eerie music with captivating voices can produce the precise enchantment needed for this.
The true question at hand is whether or not filmmakers will feel more comfortable investing time and resources in horror and supernatural thrillers in light of Shaitaan’s popularity. We believe that they ought to.
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