Showing posts with label Paranormal Activity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paranormal Activity. Show all posts
The low budget is the hero of Zora-Rajiv Rai
8:05 AM
After 21 years, filmmaker Rajiv Rai returns to Hindi cinema with a thriller and tighter budget. After the Bobby Deol and Kajol-starrer ‘Gupt’, Rajiv Rai came under the radar of the underworld
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; August 8, 2025)
He ruled the late 1980s and 1990s with back-to-back blockbusters. Known for crafting high-octane thrillers that kept audiences on the edge of their seats, Rajiv Rai — the filmmaker, writer, editor, and producer behind big hits like Yudh (1985), Tridev (1989), Vishwatma (1992), Mohra (1994), and Gupt (1997) — suddenly disappeared from the spotlight. Now, 21 years later, he returns with Zora, a suspense actioner featuring a fresh cast, one song, and made on a low budget.
Of course, it is a daunting task — ask any filmmaker. But for Rai, this is an attempt to re-enter the industry doing what he does best. About his film Zora, he says, “It is a whodunit, but different from Gupt.”
The film is made on a shoestring budget of Rs. 2 crore, using Rai’s own equity and four cameras. “The low budget is the hero of the film. In my day, I have directed some lavishly mounted movies, but today it is hard for me as a producer to deal with a big-budget movie loss. So, I have only one song in Zora. The cost of all the actors, including the junior artistes, is Rs 25 lakh,” says the director.
He adds, “The film is a case study like Hollywood films The Blair Witch Project [1999] and Paranormal Activity [2007] [which were made on a small budget].”
Despite his long-standing connection with actors, Rai never considered approaching them to star in his comeback film. “If I asked them, maybe they would have done it, but I would have spoiled my relations. [In fact], actor friends from the industry even offered to work for free. People often criticize them, but the actor community is not so bad,” shares the director, who cast six to seven new actors from various states.
However, it is the exhibition sector — theatre and OTT platform owners — that disheartened him because they couldn’t accept a project with newcomers. “It is very hard to get the exhibition sector to showcase a movie like Zora. Everybody says they want a change, and no one wants a big-budget movie, but nobody is willing to make that change. I cannot sell [the film] on an OTT platform either as they want well-known faces too,” he admonishes.
I can't succumb to the pitfalls of stardom-Vicky Kaushal
8:11 AM
Fronting this week's release Bhoot, Vicky Kaushal on why he felt the need to experiment with the horror genre
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 22, 2020)
"I scare easy," laughs Vicky Kaushal, emphasising that he hasn't watched a horror movie since Paranormal Activity (2007). Not the sentiment you would expect from an actor who has fronted this week's release, the supernatural thriller, Bhoot — Part One: The Haunted Ship. But Kaushal says he was so taken by the script of the Bhanu Pratap Singh-directed project that he gave his nod."This film was nowhere on my radar, and yet, here was a director who had the conviction to sell a horror film to a man who would never watch one. I had second thoughts [about doing the film] till I went through the script. The empty ship [MV Wisdom] that had appeared on Juhu beach out of nowhere [in 2011] had all of us talking for weeks. The film may be a paranormal affair, but it hits close to home," says the actor.
Working on his first horror film was a learning experience for Kaushal. "There's an entire science behind a horror film. There are tricks you play. This is not a quintessential Dharma film. It's a true blue scary movie, one with the aesthetics of Hollywood horror."
Many may view a paranormal film as an unsafe choice, but he disagrees. "In 2020, you don't know what a Friday looks like. Had we been able to predict [the success of] Uri? There's no dearth of Indians who pay money to watch [the likes of] The Conjuring [2013] and Annabelle [2014], so doing this film was a no-brainer."
While the success of Uri: The Surgical Strike turned him into a superstar, Kaushal asserts he wouldn't want to compromise on his acting by choosing run-of-the-mill films. "This is what I aspired for. But now that I am here, I can't succumb to the pitfalls of stardom, and choose films basis trends. I choose by instinct. My priority is to work with the best directors."
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