BOMBAY TIMES (June 10, 2019)

Over the last decade or so, Karan Johar has added several firsts to his banner, Dharma Productions, which was founded by his late father, Yash Johar. The company has backed family dramas, comedies, action entertainers and suspense thrillers while trying to strike a balance between conventional and unconventional spaces.

After flagging off Student Of The Year (a high-school franchise) and …Ki Dulhania (a romantic-comedy franchise with Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt), Karan will now back a horror franchise. The first film in the eerie series is titled BHOOT — Part One: The Haunted Ship, directed by debutant Bhanu Pratap Singh.

Karan was keen on the title BHOOT, which he felt was apt for the genre. Film buffs would recall that Ram Gopal Varma had made two films under the same title in the early 2000s. Though Karan and RGV share a history of indulging in a tussle of words on social media, it’s learnt that KJo reached out to the latter, requesting for the title for his new franchise. And, RGV instantly honoured his request.

Thanking his gesture, Karan told BT, “I made an unreasonable request to Ramu, asking him for his franchise title BHOOT and he graciously and magnanimously agreed to give it to us without even blinking an eyelid. All of us at Dharma are blown away by his generosity and are eternally grateful to him. We aspire to make sure the title is in the right hands of horror.”

BHOOT — Part One: The Haunted Ship marks director Shashank Khaitan’s debut as a producer. It’s also Vicky Kaushal’s second outing with the banner. The film, shot at some lesser-explored locations in Gujarat, has also been backed by Karan’s mother Hiroo Johar and Apoorva Mehta (CEO, Dharma Productions). The makers plan to release the film on November 15, 2019.
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Hiren Kotwani (DNA; June 10, 2019)

Over the years, Karan Johar and his banner Dharma Productions have become synonymous with rom-coms and family entertainers. Now, the maverick filmmaker is set to create his first horror franchise with Bhoot – Part One: The Haunted Ship.

Starring Vicky Kaushal,  the movie is helmed by debutant Bhanu Pratap Singh, who has earlier assisted Shashank Khaitan on Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014). This is Vicky’s second film with the banner and the first in this genre. Shashank is also producing the movie along with Karan, Hiroo Johar and Apoorva Mehta.

The idea for the script came from Bhanu, a horror enthusiast, who was also Shashank’s batchmate at a film school, before he assisted the latter on the Varun Dhawan-Alia Bhatt rom-com. Later, he started working on the concept and developed it with the Dhadak director, who suggested taking it to Dharma Productions. Bhanu, who was initially apprehensive since the production house hasn’t made any films in this genre after Kaal (2005), narrated the plot to KJo. Shashank tells us, “Karan loved it. Bhoot – Part One: The Haunted Ship is based on a true incident that took place in Bombay. The shooting is complete. The post-production is underway and the film will open in cinemas on November 15 this year.”

Based on a ship, as the title suggests, the movie also has a good dose of VFX, work on which is underway.  The filmmaker adds, “The intent is to create a series. We’re looking at making more authentic films, even horror comedies. Bhanu and I have discussed a few ideas. It’s an exciting time to take the franchise ahead.”

The makers also approached Ram Gopal Varma as he had the rights to the title. After all, he had helmed the 2003 hit Bhoot. “It was extremely gracious of RGV to give the title to us,” Shashank concludes.