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OPINION: Will Shaitaan's opening encourage filmmakers to make more supernatural thrillers and horror films?
Shaitaan has taken a good start at the box office which is rare for supernatural thrillers in Bollywood. Let's discuss if this will encourage filmmakers to make more films in this genre.
If you go down and check the list of Bollywood films released in theaters in the last 20 years, you won't see enough supernatural thrillers. Most of the films that were released didn't do well because of several reasons, the most important ones being the less appealing content and low budget. But Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Jyotika, and Janki Bodiwala starrer Shaitaan has blown away everyone with its story and presentation and has managed to do a business of Rs 55 crore approx. The initial response is much better than anyone expected and this is encouraging for everyone who wants to make supernatural thrillers in the future.
Will Shaitaan's opening encourage more filmmakers to make supernatural thrillers?
Genres like supernatural thrillers and horror haven't been explored enough in Bollywood in the past couple of decades. Yes, there has been good work to some extent in the horror comedy genre but we haven't seen many filmmakers coming up with movies that send chills down your spine without giving you a comic relief in between.
If we recall some genuinely good supernatural thrillers from Bollywood in the past 2 decades, Pari (2018), Tumbbad (2018), Pizza (2014), Haunted - 3D (2011), 13B: Fear Has a New Address (2009), 1920 (2008), and Bhoot (2003) come to mind but the gap is huge between these films. If we look into it carefully, mostly Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan and Vikram Bhatt (filmmaker) have been handling the responsibility of this genre. But if look at the list of below-average supernatural films, then, the list gets longer.
So the bigger problem here is quality and not quantity. While we need more filmmakers to attempt the genre, there need to be special efforts to make sure the audience gets a regular dose of well-made horror/supernatural thriller films. Here are a few points that can be taken care of:
1) Music: Music and background score play a major role in creating the right atmosphere and that's a big aspect where most of the films in this genre have struggled. More focus on creating unique and spooky tunes along with hypnotizing vocals can create the exact magic required for this.
2) More understanding of the genre: One of the main reasons, Shaitaan has worked with the audience is that it doesn't rely on jump scares. Instead, it puts you in a situation as an audience where you can't imagine being. Even though there's no hidden evil spirit, you are always scared and that's the victory of the film. Therefore, we need more filmmakers and actors who understand or at least intend to understand the genre before they jump into it and make a new film.
3) Budgets: Since most of the horror and supernatural thriller genre films are not working, it puts all the filmmakers in a position where they struggle to get the right budget for their film. Remember Tumbbad? Writer-director Rahi Anil Barve had to wait for 21 years to see his vision on the big screen. Even actor Soham Shah had to go through the whole process of re-shooting because Anil wasn't satisfied with the outcome. Not only that, Soham had to sell his house and car to complete the film.
Now the real question is with the success of Shaitaan, will filmmakers feel more confident in giving their time and money to horror and supernatural thrillers? I think they should.
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