Counted among the best-known Indian horror films, Raaz completes two decades today. Actor Dino Morea, who starred in the 2002 film, shares that besides the movie’s story and music, his onscreen chemistry with actor Bipasha Basu Singh Grover, his then girlfriend, still remains a talking point. “When people saw our chemistry on the big screen, they immediately fell in love with us,” he says.

Morea adds that working with her was “fantastic”. “It makes shooting far more easier when you know the person. Our off-screen romance helped us have that chemistry on the screen,” he shares.

Back then, the horror genre was still reeling from the stigma of being reduced to B-grade films. So did Morea have any apprehensions about choosing it as his second film? “No. I was getting to work with the Bhatts, who had made some fantastic films. It was an honour for me to be getting a big film,” he shares.

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While Raaz was a turning point for Bipasha Basu Singh Grover, the actor wasn’t the first choice for the lead character, Sanjana. She tells us, “It was being shot with Lisa Ray and Dino Morea. I had gone for the first day of shoot, as Dino was my boyfriend then. It so happened that Lisa couldn’t do the film, and Mukesh (Bhatt, co-producer) requested me to play the role.”

She was just a film old when she said a yes to this horror film. And she says it helped her decide that she wanted to pursue acting, which was never her long-term plan, as she got a pivotal role when other female actors only played love interests. She adds, “The success of Raaz is why I decided acting is the profession I want to be part of, that it is fun. It made me realise I have potential as an actor.”

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Vikram Bhatt, who directed Raaz, recalls how no one believed in the film. “Everybody thought I was making a mistake. A big producer said to me, ‘Kya yaar, tu flop hero aur Ajnabee (2001) ki vamp ke saath picture bana raha hai’,” Bhatt shares.

He also reveals that the film was first offered to actor Anil Kapoor, who refused to do a horror film, and that actor Lisa Ray had shot for a portion of the film: “We were left in a lurch after she left. When Dino came in, he said, ‘Why don’t you try out my girlfriend, Bipasha? She’s lovely!’”

Talking about how Raaz was a game-changer in his career, Bhatt says, “In every filmmaker’s life, there comes a film which is hard to beat. Raaz is that film for me. It’s a badge of honour.”