Move over staid horror films, it is time to indulge in some Zombie business on the big screen, says Shibaji Roychoudhury
This year, Bollywood will see two back-to-back films based on zombies. While Rise Of The Zombies is a pure horror flick, the upcoming Go, Goa, Gone is more of a zomb-com. ROTZ is already running in theatres near you. The film explores the concept and origin of zombies and how a person turns into one.
“We have never explored horror beyond ghosts, spirits, witches and occasional genies as we are very superstitious or because of the stories we grew up with. But one can’t undermine the fact that our youth is glued to the western culture and concepts, of which zombies are a huge part,” actor luke Kenny says.
Kenny is convinced a ROTZ series (trilogy) is the right approach for this fresh genre. “Other than the urban youth, Indians are unfamiliar with the concept of zombies. Hence, we can’t randomly show a zombie in a film without explaining it is. Also, this series, despite being in Hindi, is not like a conventional 2-and-a-half-hour Bollywood film. It’s just a 90-minute film,” Kenny, who has play the zombie in ROTZ, he tells you.
ROTZ may or may not do well, but Saif Ali Khan’s production house Illuminati Films, too, will introduce zombies to Bollywood in their upcoming project Go Goa Gone.
It won’t be an out-and-out horror flick but a a zom-com. After 99 and Shor In The City, director-duo of Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK (Raj & DK) are back with their unorthodox ways and this new genre. “It would have been too much of a conventional approach if we simply went for a full-fledged zombie horror film. We like the idea of creating the unthinkable. Horror-comedy is not new in India. Bhool Bhulaiya was a psychological horror comedy, a fresh genre and was very well received by both the audience and critics,” Nidimoru points out.
As per the duo, the industry is now open to experimentation and innovation.
“When we approached Saif with our idea, he instantly agreed to both produce and act in the film. This may be a new genre, but, we believe that with the right ingredients and packaging, the film will do well at the box-office. Saif has been super-excited about both the film and his role as a zombie slayer ever since the inception of the film,” he says.