Vikram Bhatt: The more I sit at home during the lockdown, the more horror scenes I conjure | Hindi Movie News - Times of India (2024)

Vikram Bhatt is known for his mastery in horror with successful flicks like ‘Raaz,’ ‘1920,’ ‘Haunted 3D.’ Brother of visionary filmmakers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt, Vikram paved his own path in the industry. In an exclusive chat with ETimes, the director delves into how he deals with failures, his take on OTT platforms, reason behind initiating a mental health campaign, and what he feels about his daughter following in his footsteps.

Excerpts from the conversation:

How’s the lockdown treating you?
(Sighs) It seems like the lockdown has been going on forever. Since March last year till now--it feels like a lifetime.

You have started a mental health awareness campaign. Why was a need felt for the same?
So, we call it mental health awareness. But what I do is that every evening I go live, and just talk to people--who can be from any walk of life--and hear their stories. Sometimes they need a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes you have your experiences to share. Sometimes you have a word of encouragement, sometimes, they have a funny story. So all in all, you know, it's like 100+ people get together every evening, and we can talk to each other.

You started working since you were 14. What has kept you going?
I was born to a film family… my grandfather was one of the pioneers of the film industry with films like ‘Ram Rajya,’ ‘Baiju Bawra,’ and ‘Himalaya Ki Godh Mein.’ We had a studio of our own, which is sadly not there anymore. My father has been a DOP for six decades--from black-and-white to one of my last films. So, it was natural that I would be attracted to something within the sphere of films. I used to go with my father for shooting every time. And at that time, he was doing a lot of work with Mahesh Bhatt. He was a DOP with Mahesh Bhatt. So I used to observe Mahesh Bhatt, I used to see the way he directed films. (Laughs) let me tell you a funny story. I remember that when I was very young, I went with my father for an outdoor shoot. Pooja (Bhatt) was younger than me, so I used to go to play with Pooja in her room. I was like five-six years old, she was two. At that time, I would think, why does Mahesh uncle have such a big room? I would ask my father about that, and he used to say that it was because Mahesh is the director. So I asked him, ‘why don't you have such a big room?’ To which he said, ‘the director is superior to others.’ But I countered him by asking, ‘why you don’t want to be big?’ He said, ‘I'm happy being what I am.’ After that, I taught myself that if you want to be something, be the top dog. And, of course, then, I decided to be the top dog. I didn't care about making movies that happened later.
What do you look for in an artiste before signing them up for a film?
I believe that there's something called durability is acceptability. If you are sincere, everything can be learned out here. There are a lot of actors who entered the industry without even understanding the language. Like, we're talking about Sunny Leone. People knew her as a porn star, and she came in without knowing anything. Now, when you look at her, and the way she acts, is so amazing. She knows Hindi, she talks in Hindi with her whole staff, and she's learned the language on the job. So, I think the most important thing is your dedication, sincerity, and passion. That's what is important. All the big stars that I have directed and work with have that in common. Whether it's Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik (Roshan), Aamir (Khan), Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty--all these artistes are very sincere.
Your daughter is following in your footsteps. Did you have any advice for her?
I told my daughter that you have to decide, whether you want to be a director, or whether you want to tell stories. They're two very different things. You're either you're in love with being a director…I want to be a director. I want to have the perks of being a director. I want a van, I want a car, and I want fame, and I want respect. These things will never make you a good director. The only thing a director has to have is the need to make films, to tell stories. Do you really want to tell stories? That's what I told her.
How do you look at Bollywood horror films being compared to their Hollywood counterparts?
We have our own idiom of filmmaking. Whether it is horror, comedy, drama--our films come with a package of songs, dance, emotions, heroism. So, it's a different kind of art. A lot of people say, ‘why don't you make a film like ‘The Conjuring?’ I tell them to go and watch ‘The Conjuring.’ In our films, we have an emotional spine. We have a boy-meets-girl story. We have a couple of songs, and that's always been the case. We have had some spectacular music in our horror films. Of course, the idiom of horror is changing, and people want more and more scares. In my film ‘Cold,’ which is under filming, we will have 80 per cent horror. It's going to be one of the scariest films ever. That is my intention. The more I sit at home during the lockdown, the more horror scenes I conjure, and the film becomes scarier.
Apart from horror, you have tapped in to other genres too, but many of them have failed. How do you deal with failure?
‘Aap Mujhe Ache Lagne Lage’ didn’t do well, but my biggest hit is ‘Awara Paagal Deewana, which was a comedy. But the thing is that a lot of people were doing comedy. Every second director wants to do comedy. So, I want to sell fear. If everybody's going to sell laughter, I will sell fear. That's what I want to do. Everyone is different, right?
What qualities make you different from your brother Mahesh Bhatt?
See, first of all, Mahesh Bhatt is not my brother. Mahesh Bhatt is my, my guru, my mentor. I called him my friend, philosopher and guide. And he is an emotional powerhouse. His films are totally different. He makes films from subjects that have really moved him. And I make films on subjects that are very frightened to me, and there's a difference between him and me.
What do you have to say about Mukesh Bhatt?
I owe Mukeshji a lot, for whatever he's done for me in my career. As a producer, he gave me my break, he gave me ‘Janam.’ When I was down and out he gave me ‘Fareb,’ ‘Ghulam,’ ‘Kasoor,’ ‘Raaz,’ I’ve done so many films with him. I share some very nice memories of working with him. And I'll always be grateful for what he's done for my career. Of course, one moves on, because I also wanted to have my own production house. So I have kind of moved on and I'm now doing my thing.
You have made sequels to hit films like ‘Raaz,’ ‘1920’. Do you think that the audience expects a lot from the second part?
There's no doubt about that, but you see, the good thing about a sequel is that people know what kind of finger except expect. They understand that ‘Oh shit, this is what this film is going to be like.’ If I say 1920, just saying ‘1920,’ you know what kind of film it could be. If I say ‘Hate The story,’ just saying that you know what kind of ‘Hate Story’ will be. So what a sequel does is that its predetermined marketing. You don't have to market it. The entire marketing budget you have spent on the first film actually pays off in the second and third films. Most of the times the second and third films are never up to the mark, but they always make more money. There's no film as good as the first ‘Raaz.’ But then the following parts made more than the original. The same goes for ‘Hate Story.’ I think ‘Hate Story 1 was the best one, the second one was okay but not as good as the first one.
What do you want to say about the revolution of OTT, movies releasing on OTT platforms rather than cinemas?
COVID has changed everything. Watching films in cinemas was our habit. Every week we used to speculate about new releases, we used to make plans with family and friends to go out for movies. I fear that we have lost that habit. Now we're used to satellite viewing, waiting for few months to watch the movie on television. So, I think that this period is fearful for the movie business. Once we return to normalcy, once we declare 100% occupancy in theatres, which will not happen this year… I think that small to medium-budget films will find it difficult to sustain. They have to try harder to sustain and maintain the business. Big-budgeted films like ‘Radhe’ will work. But for smaller films, people will wait for an Amazon or a Netflix release, and that’s what fears me. I hope that I will be wrong, but I have this fear.

People want to know what your contribution to this pandemic is...

I would like to state that we have created a Facebook page, Shradhanjali. There they can post photos and videos of their family member who left them after battling COVID. This is because we don’t want to turn this loss into mere numbers. We aim to pay homage to our people. The link to this page is in my bio.

When are you resuming shoot?

I have no idea about that, if we resumed shoot, then everyone needs to get vaccinated, so God knows when we will resume work.
Tell us about your upcoming projects and how are you managing your life during the pandemic?
I am making a horror film ‘Cold.’ We are working for OTT with full force, and let me tell you that we will announce something around 1920 as well. Right now, I am writing new concepts, talking to various people on Zoom call. We got 5 people COVID positive in our building, so we are living in a frightful situation.
Would you continue casting newcomers in your horror films?
When you make a horror film, people come to get scared; they don’t come to watch a star. However, if I want to make a masala entertainer, actioner, I need a star. If I make ‘Ghulam,’ I would need Aamir Khan, but I make ‘1920’ or ‘Haunted,’ then I can work with newcomers.