Pizza gets a slice from Exorcist
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 28, 2014)

Well we seem to be becoming a rather 'inspired' lot when it comes to making movies. After copying plots and posters, we are now recreating entire scenes. A recent case in the long list is the Bejoy Nambiar-produced Pizza.

As one can see from the stills above, the makers have ripped off the famous spider-walk scene from William Friedkin's horror film, The Exorcist (1973), in a bid to scare the Indian viewers.

In the original film we see contortionist Linda R Hager spiral down an apartment staircase. The Pizza makers have done away with the stairs and the character is seen re-enacting the scene on a murky floor.

When we called up director Akshay Akkineni to wonder if he had been "inspired" by The Exorcist, he denied it upfront: "It may look similar, but we've used it in a different context."

On probing if the original scene had been a reference point, as is apparent, Akshay said, "I know what you are talking about, but no, it wasn't. I've seen The Exorcist and I remember the scene in question. But in my film it features a child. While shooting we learnt that she is a good gymnast, so we decided to showcase her skill, giving it a horror spin. When you see the film, you will understand what I mean."