‘Bhoot Chaturdashi’: Why this film can bring back the horror elements to Bengali cinema

Despite Bengal having a rich heritage of spooky stories, those tales haven’t been translated into cinema as it should have and it’s hard to find out a true-blue horror film. Well, writer Mainak Bhaumik along with his once assistant, now debutant director Shabbir Mallick plan to offer a horror movie which is true to its nature. Yes, we are talking about ‘Bhoot Chaturdashi’ that hits the theatres this Friday, May 17. But what’s unique in this film? Why people will watch it? Here are a few facts which may grab your attention and make this new-age horror flick a weekend watch.

Mainak Bhaumik who has offered a number of slice of a life drama or urban new-age drama, was working on a horror subject for long and penned a story for his long time assistant Shabbir Mallick who is making his directorial debut with ‘Bhoot Chaturdashi’. Mainak in a recent chat said: “I wanted to explore myths, superstitions, local beliefs and we have so many of them. I was looking forward to a new genre coming out of urban dramas like Bibaho Diaries, Ghare & Baire, Generation Aami. I thought it would be great if an entire team of fresh talents take over and bring fresh blood. So it happened, I only wrote the story and asked Shabbir to direct the film.”

“Half of the world loves getting scared,” that’s what Mainak Bhaumik who has written the story believes. But sadly, Bengali cinema has always enjoyed a love-hate relationship with horror movies. The filmmakers are never equipped with the necessary resources to amaze viewers with special effects and advanced CGI needed to give a satisfactory experience. Most of the Horror films made it recent past have failed to attract the audience. Howeever, ‘Bhoot Chaturdashi’ is never pushing for any social messages that we often see in films. It’s a proper horror movie for people who love horror flicks and religiously watch them. Let’s see if a fresh approach to the horror genre can open up the door to horror films in Bengal.

Four friends visit an abandoned house near Bolpur in order to shoot a documentary. But what starts as a fun trip turns out a haunting experience as a series of strange events start happening. What happens next forms the crux of this horror flick. Ena Saha who believes in ghosts says an incident during the shoot terrified her. “It was so scary. I felt that someone was like breathing down my neck. It was nerve racking experience and it scared me very much,” revealed the young actress. Deepsheta Mitra who normally doesn’t believe in paranormal things also says an incident during the shoot make her realise there was something, like a paranormal being present at the spot. “I was standing some distance away from the crew. Suddenly it felt like someone just pulled my hand. I later told maa about this but she said the long shooting hours made me feel like that. But I believe there was something unnatural,” said Deepsheta.

The story sees four young friends on a road trip to make a documentary as they experience some supernatural incidents. The trailer showed us all the necessary elements to scare. Some spooky shots, well created visual effects, eerie background score, all add to the intrigue factor. Another interesting point is the story revolves around a folklore related to Bengal and the concept hasn’t been copied from any western horror flick.

Just like the director the lead cast also belongs to a new generation of actors. The four leads are Aryann Bhowmik, Ena Saha, Deepsheta Mitra and Soumendra Bhattacharya. It will be interesting to see how these young actors pull off such a difficult task of making a horror film realistic and believable. “I am playing a young guy Rano who is interested in filmmaking. Ena Saha plays my girlfriend here. They go for a road trip with two of their friends and end up in a haunted house. They want to shoot a documentary and also Rono want to propose his girlfriend. However, things start getting messy when they enter the house. I am really excited to work in such a horror flick,” Aryann had told us while giving a peek into his character in ‘Bhoot Chaturdashi’.