Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 19, 2016)

Kalki Koechlin and Ali Fazal who feature in the first of the three web series being rolled out by Eros, recently wrapped up shooting for the first episode in Goa alongside Tom Alter, who plays a local drug lord.

Directed by Ayush Raina, the series is an account of how the Russians and Italians arrived in Goa and established a drug racket with the help of the locals.

While Ali plays Tom Alter's adopted son and henchman, Kalki is seen as a Russian tourist in the show. A source reveals, "It's a tongue-in-cheek plot. The title is yet to be finalised."

"Even the actors don't know how the series ends. Ayush insisted that it be a surprise for the cast as well," Ali chuckled.

Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; December 10, 2015)

A romantic-horror flick woven around the ‘haunted’ Mukesh Mills has been abandoned a year after it went on floors. Sources say the cast and crew of Haunting At Bombay Mill are upset not only since they were kept in the dark about the decision to shelve the project, but also because their dues have not been cleared.

Says a source, “Uncertainty loomed over the project after director Ayush Raina was shown the door following creative differences with writer Prawaal Raman (director of Main Aur Charles). The latter was willing to wield the directorial baton, but we hear the film isn’t working out anymore.”

The film’s producer, Vikram Kakkar and Raman remained unavailable for comment. A unit member says, “It came as a shock to us since the project was nearing completion. We have repeatedly requested the makers to clear our payment, but they are not listening to us.

Kainaat Arora, who was part of the star cast, also blames the makers for failing to clear their dues. In a text message to hitlist , she says: “All I can say is I was at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.”

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 22, 2015)

In 2011, The National Commission of Protection of Child Rights in Clause 16.1, laid down that there should be age appropriate regulations on the number of hours a child could shoot in a day, with younger children spending less time in the studio. This was to ensure that 'minor' actors are not over-worked. While not every filmmaker is scrupulous about following these guidelines, Ayush Raina, the director of an upcoming horror film, Haunting At Bombay Mill, has come up with an innovative plan to keep his child actor daisy fresh through an eight-hour shift.

He has cast identical five-year-old twins, Shubh and Shresth Saxena, to play the same character, Yash, Sachiin Joshi's son in the film.

The duo usually arrive on the sets together to keep each other company. They are briefed simultaneously and given the same lines to learn. Then, the one high on adrenalin is called, while the other naps in the vanity van or frolics around.

"Very often we've opened the innings with one and ended it with the other. This way a three minute sequence shot over a day or two isn't tough on the child. Though the guidelines aren't specific to any age bracket, I personally think it's unfair to make a child work long man hours. When I started this film I wished I had two of them and my wish came true," laughs Ayush.

A horror film based on a real-life encounter of the paranormal kind kicks off in a mill next week.
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 9, 2014)

On June 12, in an interview to Mirror, Vikram Khakhar had revealed that he had joined hands with Main Aur Charles director Prawaal Raman to set up a production company which will focus on the genre of horror. The new banner has tied up with Team Pentacle, a group dedicated to Paranormal Research and UFOlogy in India, to make horror films based on real life investigations. The debut film, Haunting at Bombay Mill, being helmed by Horror Story director, Ayush Raina, will go on the floors on December 15.

The story written by Prawaal, takes its cues from an incident which happened in May this year. Chinmay Tiwari, a 32-year-old psychic and paranormal investigator of Team Tentacle, collapsed during a tour of one of Mumbai's oldest mills, after he felt a strong negative energy.

"His colleague and founder of Team Tentacle, Shishir Kumar, saw Chinmay gasping for breath even as the Electro Magnetic Fluctuations (EMF) went haywire because there was a electromagnetic interference which the investigators call 'intelligent' reading," explains Prawaal.

This was one of the cases documented in the files which caught his eye because incidents of hauntings in Mumbai's mills have long fascinated the film fraternity and sparked off hearsay stories. "And this one actually happened to a paranormal scientist in the midst of research," Prawaal points out.

Using the incident as the background, he spun an emotional love story set against a haunted mill. "I had goosebumps even when I read the script. I will be shooting the film in a week from now," says Ayush.

Vikram had promised that the films will be high on technique but made on a budget that will make them financially viable, which means no A-listers. While Prawaal is wary about revealing the cast, he admits that they have signed Nandu Madhav. He played Dadasaheb Phalke in the 2009 Marathi film, Harishchandrachi Factory, India's official entry for the 2009 Oscars.

"And we have shortlisted Feryna Wazheir who impressed me in Rang Rasiya and Kainaat Arora who fits one of the roles to the T. The girls should make their presence felt and the film, which will have its mahurat in a real mill, should send shivers down the spine." says the writer-director.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 19, 2014)

Mirror (June 12) was the first to report that an upcoming production house is teaming up with Pentacle, a leading Indian paranormal research society to make movies inspired by real-life incidents documented by the organisation.

Now, we have learnt that Ayush Raina who had previously directed Horror Story, will be helming the first film, Vetal. It will be done in collaboration with a British studio. The Hindi-English bilingual will be flagged off in October. The supernatural thriller will be shot extensively in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Confirming the same, Ayush said: "We have locked the script which is a mix of mythology and folklore. We pitched it to a UK-based studio which has expressed interest in collaborating with us. We will make use of cutting-edge technology in terms of prosthetics, make-up and action."

The director is tight-lipped about the cast. All he was willing to reveal was, "It is possible that we may get a few English actors on board."

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 12, 2014)

Vikram Khakhar who is gearing up for the release of the Randeep Hooda-starrer, Main Aur Charles, have now set up a vertical which has tied up with Team Pentacle, a group dedicated to Paranormal Research and UFOlogy in India. He plans to produce horror movies based on real life paranormal investigation; three directors have already been roped in to helm a film each under the newly-formed banner. They are Prawaal Raman (Darna Mana Hai, Darna Zaroori Hai, Error 404, Main Aur Charles) Vivek Agnihotri (Chocolate, Hate Story) and Ayush Raina (Horror Story).

"The idea is to do something different within the genre and that's how the thought of exploring the paranormal world came about. Shishir Gupta, the founder of Team Pentacle, has given us 150 case files which we are presently sifting through. We will shortlist around 20 investigation reports from which my directors will pick out three to develop into film scripts over the next few months. Pre-production should begin around September-October and I'm hoping to come out with the debut horror film in the first quarter of 2015," informs Vikram.

The films will be high on technique but made on a budget that will make them viable in the market. "If we can't recover our money what's the point of making films?" points out Vikram. However, he adds that the fate of the banner will not depend on the box-office performance of the films.

"Irrespective of how they fare, the productions will continue," he asserts. While these stories are sourced in reality, Vikram doesn't plan to shoot them on actual locations or get the families who've been through the ordeal to face the camera.

"Since the stories are unique and we will be adapting them for the screen, we will use actors to recreate the horror. And by that I mean good artistes who look the part and not A-listers," he says.

Vikram is also open to fiction. He says, "Anything that can arouse spine-chilling horror is welcome."