This story is from January 22, 2008

Supernatural syndrome is catching up

Priyanka Sen / TNN / Jan 22, 2008, 00:00 IST

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'Supernatural' seems to be the flavour of the season as quite a few filmmakers are veering towards this genre. TOI explores the trend.

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Still from Paheli Themes packed with supernatural elements are in, and how!
Big B would be seen playing the role of an angel and a friendly ghost in his forthcoming movies God Tussi Great Ho and Bhootnath, respectively. Kunal Kohli's next venture, where Rani Mukerji plays the role of an angel, will be another one in this genre.
Also in the pipeline is Nagesh Kukunoor's supernatural thriller Tasveer featuring Ayesha Takia and Akshay Kumar.In this age of sci-fi, action, comedy and romance what makes these themes pull in the audience? NT checks out.
Entertainment galore!

Today, the audience looks for entertainment and these concepts are being encashed upon by the makers of commercial flicks for purely financial reasons, feels filmmaker Kunal Kohli.
"The salability factor of such movies is huge in India as the Indian audience still loves to see movies having a supernatural element. Movies based on mythology, fantasies and magic have always been a huge hit among the Indian masses. That could be because they are generally religious and superstitious people. Filmmakers are driven by commercial reasons when they experiment with this genre," says Kunal.

‘Make concept believable’
Making the audience believe in supernatural powers, ghosts and angels is not an easy task today, feels actress Ayesha Takia. "There always exists a curiosity among the masses to explore the unknown, hence people still go out and watch such movies. Such themes should be dealt with finesse and filmmakers should make the concept believable," says Ayesha.
‘Plenty of comic relief’
Jackie Shroff, who played the role of a friendly ghost in Bhoot Unkle, says that the supernatural genre is no longer limited to black magic or spooky thrillers-- with women in white or ghosts huddling in dark. "Comedy and light movies spun around supernatural themes have also been quite popular among the audience. The entertainment quotient in Salman Khan's Hello Brother or Sanjay Dutt's Vaah! Life ho toh aisi, was quite high," adds Jackie.
‘Something different to project’
Amol Palekar, whose film Paheli revolved around a supernatural theme, says, "Personally, I am an atheist and have no faith or belief in supernatural forces. But as a creative person I feel that in this age of action and romance, such movies come as a whiff of fresh air. People still love to watch movies based on the supernatural themes. And if the movie has a message, then there is nothing like that."
‘Make more movies for kids’
Jackie Shroff says that the fantasy genre, which has elements of time travel, wizardry, supernatural feats and a blend of the real and the surreal, have always fascinated kids, but it is sad that the filmmakers are not making such movies keeping children in mind. "Children have always been fascinated by such magical mysteries and I feel that more filmmakers should make movies for children based on such themes," he adds.

End of Article

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