Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt says his 2002 horror blockbuster "Raaz" taught him that he had it in him to scare the audience.
After the success in horror flicks with the Bipasha Basu-Dino Morea starrer "Raaz", Bhatt made more films in the genre, such as "1920", "Haunted 3D", "Raaz 3D" and "Raaz Reboot".
"Telling scary stories was a passion for me right from childhood. I would regale my cousins and my friends with scary stories but I never thought I could make good scary films till I made 'Raaz'. 'Raaz' taught me that I had it in me to scare the audience and then as I experimented more with the genre the more it became apparent to me that this would work for me," Bhatt told IANS.
In fact, one of his personal experiences also found a place in "Raaz".
"There was a time when we were shooting at an abandoned factory in Mumbai and it was said to be haunted. It was three in the morning when a part of the crew and I were sitting at an isolated place and we heard these terrible screams. It was a scream that imprinted itself on me in such a way that I had to recreate it. It was that scream which I recreated in 'Raaz'," he shared.
Bhatt's romance with the horror genre continues with his upcoming film "Ghost".
"'Ghost' is my scariest film because I wanted it to be that way. I worked hard on making it scary. There are more spooks in this film than any other film I have made. Jump scares and the fearful anticipation finds more place in 'Ghost' than other films," he said.
The genre might be the same, but "Ghost", starring Sanaya Irani, is different from his other films.
"I have never made a film based on a true story. 'Ghost' is based on a true story. In the year 1981, there was a court case in the US. It was dubbed by the media as, 'The Devil made me do it Case'. A man by the name of Arne Johnson was arrested for murdering his landlord and in the court his attorney claimed that it was not Johnson who had committed the crime, but he was possessed by a spirit who made him kill.
"The judge threw out the argument but the research got me thinking. What if someone was actually framed by a spirit? How would you prove that in the court? The whole thing got me going and the script of 'Ghost' was born," shared Bhatt about the Vashu Bhagnani production, which will release on October 18.