51 minutes agoAuthor: Kiran Jain
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Soham Shah, who recently directed a psychological thriller film named 'Kartam Bhogtham', is known for his unique vision towards craftsmanship. The film stars Shreyas Talpade and Vijay Raj in lead roles. He is now working on his next web series 'Blood Moon', which is based on a novel written by him.
In a recent conversation with Dainik Bhaskar, he shared his views on this project and the horror genre.
How did you get the idea of turning your novel 'Blood Moon' into a web series?
This is a simple but very scary story. In this, a family goes to a place, and strange events happen to them there. The story is of the era of 2024-25, that is, of the current era. This is a project that comes in serious horror. For a long time, no big film has come in serious horror. That's why I wrote this novel, which has a feel a bit like films like 'Conjuring'. Its 10 episodes have been written and talks are going on with OTT. As soon as we get the green light, we will start working on it.
What was your thinking behind designing the story and its characters?
I have prepared this novel from my experiences of many years. I have been staying in a hotel in Matheran for about 25-30 years. I designed the back story of that hotel in such a way that what must have happened to that hotel, which has become like a ruin today? No one is ready to buy it, no one comes to stay there. The question is what happened in the past that the hotel has reached this condition today?
Many such stories that you hear or experience in real life become a part of your stories. For example, I myself was once in Matheran when a big news broke around 10-11 am. A director named Manish Shah from Ghatkopar died while horse riding there. He fell off the horse and suffered a brain hemorrhage on the spot.
This incident gave rise to many theories about Matheran – that horses go mad there, people do not wear helmets, and many such incidents create an atmosphere of fear. In the last one and a half years, four to five such deaths have taken place in Matheran.
Can you tell us more about the location of this web series?
This is a completely location-based web series, which will show the most haunted places of Mumbai. 13 places are included, such as Mukesh Mill, Mahim's Chawl, and a famous high-fi building, in which a flat on the fifth floor is said to be haunted. I have researched what was the back story of these places, why they are considered haunted. All these stories are related to the energy of that place.
How difficult is it to make horror movies?
The horror genre is very difficult. Just like in comedy, there is no guarantee when people will laugh, similarly in horror, there is no guarantee when people will get scared. It is not easy to scare the audience, especially when 300-400 people are sitting in the theatre and watching together. But if the suspense and story are right, then it is very fun and intriguing.
