EXCLUSIVE | 'Haunted 3D' director Vikram Bhatt on the recent horror blockbuster 'Obsession': 'It's basically my film Raaz and...'

Vikram Bhatt has been a part of the Hindi film industry for more than 35 years. He has assisted late filmmaker Mukul Anand before he became a director himself. Some of his most noted works are Fareb, Ghulam, Kasoor, Raaz, Awara Pagal Deewana, 1920, Haunted 3D. And the new film in the Haunted franchise called Echoes Of The Past has also done well at the box-office.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Vikram Bhatt spoke about the success of his new film that comes after the turmoil he went through in his personal life, why the current Hollywood sensation Obsession reminds him of his own 2002 blockbuster Raaz.

Edited excerpts from the interview

Does the success of Haunted 3D: Echoes of the Past feel worth it after everything you went through?

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(Laughs) Your question feels more like does the story end well. I had a series of misfortunes. And it’s a bit of a reward that God has given me for all my pains and for all my trials and tribulations. I think he still wants people to suffer. So he said ‘Let’s not get rid of him so fast.’

Your prediction in an interview about the success of Haunted has proven to be true. So what gave you that confidence that the film will click?

So the confidence I have is with my audience. I have a relationship with my audience. I know my audience. They know now. But trade pundits don’t know. It was obvious they would think Haunted would be the last choice. Because, you know, I didn't have stars. Um, and it was horror and it was already being trolled. And then there was a NCLT case. It was an uphill task but I had faith. I had faith that the film might not appeal to the critics. It will appeal to my audience.

And I have never been a critically acclaimed filmmaker. All the films that the media now calls classics were panned at that time. Then after the years, they wish that I don't have an elephant’s memory, and I don't remember the reviews, but I do. don't care for them. They go out to do their jobs. The reviews have never bothered me.

What’s your take on the success of Obsession?

I haven’t seen Obsession but someone was telling me the story and I said back and laughed and thought this is Raaz. It’s basically Malini of Raaz in the whole film. My take is that if you make a good horror film, people are going to come. This one was really good.

Why do you feel this genre works without big stars or with newer actors?

When you have big actors, you cannot possibly have them getting scared and running around. Either make it look like a comedy. where they are comically scared. But in a real life story, if you have an A plus hero, who already has a larger than life persona, like an Allu Arjun or a Ram Charan, it’s not going to work. There’s a resistance from A listers. And secondly, as I have seen, people come to feel the sensation of fear. They don't come for any actor. This is the genre.

Where the sensation and the story are more important. Then the actors who are playing it because like in a love story, it's very important that the lovers win your heart. You have a good boy and a good girl is important. 
But in this one, not that, you know, they are not important, but the sell is not the pillar story. The sell is horror.

If Fareb was your birth as a filmmaker, 1920 was your reincarnation. What are your memories of both the movies?

It has been exactly 30 years since so I’ve stuck around. I remember Mukesh ji (Mukesh Bhatt) called me and said ‘60 days, 60 lacs. Can yo do it? ‘ I said ‘If I can’t, no one can.’ I had four flops, I was desperate and scared. I just needed a hit. But I remember I was lying drunk with a friend of mine at three in the morning. Those were my alcohol days. And as I lay in my stupor, looking at the stars, I remember having this strange insight. I told myself to get up and get through this. I also realized erotic thrillers are going to be the new thing. And we actually ran the shop with them for 10 years.

Before 1920, I had a string of flops and people had forgotten me. They had written me off they had written my obituary, they just had to print it. I remember I took a year off and did some soul-searching. Wrote the film. No one thought making a film in a period setting was a good idea. 
I did. And then when the film was ready, there were no takers. No one wanted to buy the film. Finally, Reliance, released it on commission. Rest is history. So I have come back from the dead many a times. I am a cat with 9 lives. Some more to do.

Why are you disappointed that despite giving back-to-back hits in the early 2000s, the Media was more interested in your personal life and relationships?

Actually, not really. Because in the year 1998, my personal life took a break, fortunately. My relationship with Ameesha Patel started in 2003 or 04. In my phase of Kasoor, Raaz, Awara Paagal Deewana, it was not really burdened by any personal relationship that the Media was talking about. But they are going to make News that sells.

You were making a film called Mulaqat, which was the only time when Akshay Kumar and Rani Mukerji were supposed to do a film together. Why did the film not get made?

It was a great script. It would have done really well. But Mukesh ji and Akshay had a fallout during Sangharsh. And we were supposed to do this immediately. Akshay did say we could work together but at that time, I couldn’t just up and leave Mukesh ji. That’s not something I can do. And then it just fell apart.