'Raaz', 'Raaz- The Mystery Continues' and 'Raaz 3' are Bhatt camp productions that have taken the horror genre to new heights in Bollywood. 'Raaz', starring Bipasha Basu and Dino Morea was the second highest grossing film of 2002. 'Raaz- The Mystery Continues', with Emraan Hashmi and Kangna Ranaut was a moderate grosser and 'Raaz 3', the upcoming of the series, sees the return of Bipasha Basu in the lead, opposite Emraan Hashmi.
Bhoot
Ram Gopal Varma's 'Bhooth' begins with Vishal (Ajay Devgn) and his wife Swati (Urmila Matondkar), who move into a beautiful apartment that was priced remarkably low, because it was believed that the flat was haunted. Undeterred the two stay on, until Vishal's scepticism is challenged by his wife's erratic behavior. Further investigation opens a can of worms of lies and murder.
Phoonk and Phoonk 2
Another RGV horror movie was 'Phoonk'. An atheist is forced to deal with his daughter being possessed by black magic. Cursed by his old enemy, 'Phoonk' ends with the murder of the woman who cast the spell. Picking up from this turn was the plot of 'Phoonk 2', where the murdered woman's ghost is back to exact revenge.
Kaun
Written by Anurag Kashyap, RGV's 'Kaun' had Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpai and Sushant Singh starrring in a twisted tale. Known only as Ma'am, Urmila is consistently harassed by a man knocking at her door, claiming not to be the murderer whose face is flashing across every news channel in the city. A police inspector comes for her protection, but is really a thief.
Vaastu Shastra
When professional commitments keep Jhilmil (Sushmita Sen), a gynaecologist and her husband from giving enough time to their son, they have trouble on their hands. The son's 'imaginary' friends turn out to be ghosts who brainwash the boy to leave home.
Darna Mana Hai and Darna Zaroori Hai
'Darna Zaroori Hai' is the sequel to RGV's 'Darna Mana Hai'. The two films are a collection of short horror stories with ensemble casts. The movies were successful in making viewers feel that the horror portrayed was real, and happening even as the stories were unfolding.
Woh Kaun Thi?
The 1965 horror flick, directed by Raj Khosla, starrted Sadhana, Manoj Kumar and Prem Chopra. One stormy night, a doctor offers a ride to a ghostly woman he meets on the side of the road. He is later shocked to discover that his bride-to-be looks exactly the same and he then sets out to find why the ghost is haunting him.
13B: Fear has a new address
Drama in reel and real life takes a twisted turn, when the proceedings of a TV soap began to get mirrored in the real life of a family who have recently moved into their new home. Manohar (Madhavan) is horrified to discover that his family is in danger, and the events are unfolding right before him on his TV screen.
Mahal
Way back in 1949, Bollywood experienced fear in celluloid for the very first time with this flick. Starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala, Kamal Amrohi's 'Mahal' was a runaway success. The story revolves around Hari Shankar, a lawyer who moves into his ancestral mansion. Haunted by its previous residents, Shankar grows obsessed with the girl who died after her love was spurned. The film also delivered the audience another fantastic first - the melodious voice of Lata Mangeshkar.
Bees Saal Baad
Directed by Biren Nag, the film begins with a lusty thakur raping a girl, who goes on to commit suicide. The men born to the Thakur's family are then cursed to death, allegedly killed by the girl's spirit. When Thakur's grandson returns from abroad to his cursed home, he is warned to keep away, lest he meets the same fate. But love makes him stay back and he eventually comes face-to-face with the murderous spirit.
