'Raat' to 'Bhoot' and 'Vaastu Shastra' – Bollywood's iconic horror films

Bollywood fans were treated with the trailer of ‘Bhoot – Part One: The Haunted Ship’ today which featured Vicky Kaushal embarking on a horror ride, as he starts investigating a dead ship. The trailer was packed with horror elements with a female scary spirit dominating the clip and giving the chills. The film will explore Vicky’s creep trip on the haunted ship and will also feature Bhumi Pednekar in a pivotal role. Over the years, Bollywood has presented some truly scary experiences on the silver screen and here’s taking a look at the most iconic horror films. From Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Raat’ to Sushmita Sen starrer ‘Vaastu Shashtra’ – here’s a throwback of scary entertainers of Bollywood.

Ram Gopal Varma wrote, directed and produced this super-natural thriller in 1992. ‘Raat’ was a Hindi-Telugu bilingual and featured a girl being possessed by a spirit, who attempts several murders. An eerie look and peculiar eyes defined the protagonists when under the influence of the ghost, the popular character of Mini was essayed by Revathi in ‘Raat’. From the chilling visuals of arms emerging from a bed to Revathi’s character sitting in a theatre – ‘Raat’ was packed with horror elements and continues to shock the audience even today.

Ram Gopal Varma delivered yet another ace in the horror genre with ‘Bhoot’. The film released in 2003 and featured Urmila Matondkar as the possessed lady, while Ajay Devgn played her helpless husband. It featured the story of how a ghost seeks revenge, by possessing Urmila’s body. Directed and written by RGV, ‘Bhoot’ was yet another excellent execution of horror genre by the filmmaker. Urmila’s change in behavior once she is possessed was indeed scary.

This 2004 release narrated the story of Sushmita Sen and her family getting caught in a haunted house. Sushmita, her husband and son shift to this new place where all the trouble begins. Their son starts making imaginary friends, their house help is killed by ghosts, Sushmita’s sister and her boyfriend are also murdered and eventually the actress loses her husband too. The film ended with Sushmita’s son eyes turning the eerie black, which hints the presence of a spirit. ‘Vaastu Shastra’ was produced by Ram Gopal Varma and directed by Saurab Narang.

Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor gave a unique twist to a folk legend known as Nale Ba (Come Tomorrow). It was about a female spirit who knocks on people's doors at night and hence it is painted outside all the doors – come tomorrow. Directed by Amar Kaushik, ‘Stree’ featured several chilling elements when the face of the ghost is unveiled, Flora Saini essayed the spirit. Rajkummar added a few hilarious moments to the otherwise horror film. There have been talks of the 2018 release getting a sequel.