Indian horrors: remakes and "works on a free theme"

Indian cinema in general, and Indian horrors, even though they adopted much from European and Hollywood movies, still remained closely connected with the ideas of the Indians about fundamental values that radically differ from the western ones.

Close links with the past and features

Throughout the history of its existence, the Indian horror film industry has experienced not only the strongest influence, beginning with the Hindu epos "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana" and the oldest Sanskrit dramas, folk theater, ending with Hollywood sign films and even the MTV repertoire. Indian horror films differ from others in that they do not focus on the psychological growth, the development of the character, but the process of its interaction with other heroes and especially the cascade of emotions experienced in this case. In addition, all manipulation with the viewer of filmmakers in India is easy to do - if in Hollywood horror authors gradually and unobtrusively hint, arrange clues as the storyline develops, forcing suspense, then in Bollywood horror films they can either openly alert the viewer to the forthcoming turn of the plot , Or leave in utter confusion and ignorance until the final minutes. And virtually all directors without exception, shooting Indian horrors, love to kill the main characters at a time when it seems that the danger has passed - to aggravate the experiences of the audience.

Remakes and compositions on a free theme

It is certainly worth noting that borrowing Hollywood stories for the Indian film industry is not something reprehensible and unacceptable. The point is, as already mentioned, the plot is secondary to the performing skill of the actors, encouraging those watching to empathize and share their emotions and feelings. The best Indian horrors are remakes of cult European and Hollywood horror films. A vivid example can serve as a film "Mahakal".

"Nightmare on Elm Street" in Indian

In 1993, directors Shiam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay presented to the viewer the interpretation of the cult film about Elm Street. Of course, the customs and traditions of India left a significant imprint on their work, significantly changing not only the visual, but also the ideological component, so it is sometimes quite difficult to establish a connection between this project and the American horror film. If from the "Mahakala", which has a timing, exceeding two hours, to cut out all fights, dances and songs, we will get a standard one and a half hour horror. In general, the film can definitely be called an interesting and high-quality mystical thriller. As the storyline develops, the viewer will observe familiar situations from the original picture, but this is only half the history presented. The second part of the picture is an author's essay on a free theme. The fact is that Mahakala in Indian mythology is a small god, a guardian of monks and other spiritual ministers. But the Indian horrors are for that and horrors, to represent the long-known in the new distorted light. In this work, this deity (funny and colorful character) is positioned as a demonic entity that sacrifices itself to beloved children and adolescents. So it would be wrong to imagine "Mahakal" as a full-fledged remake, it is rather a free interpretation, and very successful.

What scare the Indian filmmakers?

You can safely watch Indian horrors in Russian, dubbing does not spoil the impression. The fact is that in terms of intimidation of those who look at them, much attention is paid to sound design and music, sometimes the Hollywood original can envy him. The piercing wails and squeaks frighten the viewer much better than any sudden moment. Indian horror films sometimes do not frighten the European viewer because actors, demonstrating an overly emotional game, add comedy to what is happening, which frankly undermines the horror component of history.

The immense theme

Scenarios of Indian horror - the topic is immense. Indian thrillers and horrors, in addition to the above-mentioned classical and folkloric stories borrowed from epics, use an infinite number of melodramatic variations that exploit the themes of souls' relocation, ghost communication, diverse maniacs and hundreds of other topics that never come to mind in European cinema. A good example of this will be the creation of director Vikram K. Kumar "13B: Fear has a new address". This full-fledged thriller was released in 2009, benefiting from similar sustained tension, growing and depressing more and more with every subsequent minute, pleasant actors and a fairly fresh storyline. Although some filmmakers call it a distorted variation of "Poltergeist". According to the plot, a large family of Manohar moved to a new apartment number 13 on the 13B floor. All would be fine, but on TV a strange series was broadcasted with the soothing name "Everything is good" and everything that happened in the TV program began to repeat in real life with family members. The main character told his fellow policeman about oddities. And then it began: massacres, ghosts and crazy, detectives, maniacs, esotericists and many other mysterious incidents. A significant feature of the picture should be considered the complete absence of bright colors, songs and dances. Musical accompaniment strictly offscreen, in strict accordance with the genre policy and the plot of the film.

Collaboration

The fact that Indian horrors are known outside the country is evidenced by the fact of the appearance of co-production paintings. An example can serve as the 2010 film "Nagin: Snake Woman", India and the United States took direct part in its production. The basis of the script was the Indian legend about the woman-snake Nagin, the embodiment of the keeper and defender of nature, in particular, reptiles. Time does not dominate it, it is immortal thanks to a special talisman stone. The hero of the picture George States dies of cancer, so decides to find a keeper, take away her talisman and gain immortality. But meeting with a female snake does not bode well for him or his team. For this picture is characterized by an unusual manner of narrative, radically different from the canons of Indian cinema. Joint production with the US made visible adjustments. The comic element is reduced almost to nothing, but the bloody moments and scenes of violence have increased. In some places the picture is really cruel and gloomy.