In an article I’ve read in Asia Times online, I’ve learned that Hindi film industry is turning to a new genre of films — horror movies — to lure fans back to the cinema halls.
"Films like Raaz (Secret), Makdee (Spider) and Raat (Night), which dabble with the supernatural, have all done well at the box- office. The runaway success of Raaz — it made Rs 280 million (US$6 million) on its Rs 50 million investment and is said to be among the most profitable movies made in recent years — appears to have ignited the idea that scaring sells."
But since Indian films are not shown here in our country, there’s an alternative way for your Bollywood horror films craving. This October, for the first time in Philippine TV you’ll get to see the horror series that received an amazing over-all response in Indian television, "Mumbai Thrillers" on ABC beginning Oct. 18, every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m.
In India, the series won the "Best Horror Show" Award, during its initial telecast year, in the 2004 Indian Television Awards, the counterpart of our local TV award-giving body.
"Mumbai Thrillers," unlike other horror shows, avoids gruesome violence and horrifying masks, but relies more on strong story telling, which is spread over four episodes. Yes, every story is stretched to four episodes, so you have to catch it two nights (Tuesday and Thursday) every week and in two weeks you’ll know the whole story.
The show is an anthology series of stories based on the supernatural & paranormal, fantasy premises, laced with the razor edge of a thriller. It deals with stories of ghosts, ghouls, witches, reincarnation, spirits, vampires, out of body experiences, life after death and other aspects of the surreal, magical and mysterious which traverse the boundaries of the supernatural genre.
Dubbed in Tagalog, this horror series is expected to keep the Filipino audience glued to their seats. It also offers the local audience a glimpse of contemporary Indian lifestyle set amidst present-day settings, one they can easily identify with.
