Tusshar Kapoor may have done a lot of comedy films, but his favourite genre is horror. So much so that he doesn’t miss a single horror film, be it Hindi or English! The actor was recently spotted at a suburban theatre, where he had gone to watch the latest horror release, IT. “Once I put my son Laksshya to sleep, I go and watch movies in the theatre. I love watching films, and horror in particular. I like the fact that these films delve into the unknown and deal with supernatural elements. We are all intrigued by happenings that we are clueless about. It is a stressbuster for me,” he says.
And while scary films usually spook people, Tusshar feels relaxed! “Incidents in such films are not something that are natural, but they are presented in a realistic manner and made believable. I feel relaxed and I get good sleep after watching them,” he smiles. His favourite horror films are The Exorcist (1973), The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, The Conjuring, and the Spanish film, Orphanage.
Usually, he goes to these scarefests with his group of friends. Ask him what he thought about IT and he says, “I loved it. I had seen the original 1990 TV series and the film was a little predictable. I am a veteran in this genre,” laughs the actor.
What about the horror films in Bollywood? “The market is not really big here. Maybe, because a lot of stars shy away from doing it. The producers also are not very mainstream. Only a few like Vikram Bhatt, Ram Gopal Varma and my sister (Ekta Kapoor) have made them. But we should make more such films here,” says the actor who had starred in Kuch Toh Hai.
Tusshar’s top five horror films
Exorcist: It is apparently based on a true story. The film is very hard-hitting and you actually feel the presence of a demon there on celluloid. It does not look made up or created.
The Orphanage. A Spanish film, it showed the relationship between a parent and child against the backdrop of horror. Its USP was the emotional connect.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose: Again, based on a true story, this is more realistic and frightening because this was something that actually happened. It was a strong courtroom drama interspersed with a flashback. What set it apart from others was that one starts questioning everything — real, medical and spiritual after watching it.
The Conjuring: Simply because among a number of bad horror movies, this stood out and brought back the faith in the genre. A cult movie, it started a new trend of horror like the Annabelle franchise, the Insidious, etc.It brought back old world horror, which I had grown up on. Before that, a lot of movies like the Japanese horror were bloody and gory, but with Conjuring, the Bible and the demonic presence were back.
The Shining: This Jack Nicholson movie based on Stephen King’s novel was so eerie. It had so many layers, when you watch it, you can interpret it the way you want to. It is really spooky as it goes into psychology. The production design in the hotel, the performances, everything made it an unforgettable movie.
