Filmmakers Vikram Bhatt and Mahesh Bhatt, who have collaborated on many horror films, would have started their new project had the lockdown not been imposed. The two have been planning a film titled Cold, which is being written by Mahesh with Suhrita Sengupta and will be directed by Vikram. The team was three days away from commencing their shoot inside a cold storage facility when film shoots were halted in Maharashtra in April this year.

Vikram, who has helmed films like Raaz (2000), 1920 (2008) and Haunted (2011), believes that this film is a departure from the usual horror films that one has seen the Bhatts associate with. He says, “Raaz was the only film in the series that Mahesh Bhatt wrote. We decided to come together this time as the original Raaz team, where he writes and I direct. The whole idea is to reinvent the horror genre because reinvention is needed. What we did with Raaz was novel at that time — the songs, tropes and a mix of things. But now, we need something novel because circumstances have changed. Three films — Raaz, 1920 and Haunted, have been benchmark horror films for me. The love story was woven within the fabric of the genre.”

Talking about his new project, Vikram adds, “Cold is a different kind of scary film, which has an emotional spine. We have kept away from the tropes and trappings of the old formulas where we use sound effects and interspersed the story with romantic songs. That mishmash of genres has been consciously kept aside.”

Giving an insight into the film and the prep for it, the filmmaker says, “Cold will keep you at the edge of your seat. The title comes from the fact that the spirit or the eerie element makes the apartment colder every day till the water in the taps freezes towards the climax. We were creating a set inside a cold storage facility when the lockdown happened. We will have to rework and replan things on that front now. The set will have to be redone.”

Considering he has helmed many horror films when asked what scares him, Vikram shares, “You know it’s scary, but just before I fall asleep, there are times I think of the horror elements that I want to include into my film. I get so scared with some of the thoughts that I put on the lights immediately. I really scare myself before I put it to paper and then on the screen.”