Darna zaroori hail

Count Dracula may not like it! 110 years after Bram Stoker created him, Dracula still continues to intrigue people across the world and while the foreign versions of the vampire's films have done well.Bollywood might have played its part in petrifying the audience with a fair share of horror flicks, but one character that still manages to evoke bloodcurdling screams is Dracula.Bram Stoker's exceptional vampire may have completed 110 years of its reign of terror, but the vicious Count still continues to inspire filmmakers in Hollywood as well as India. While Bela Lugosi's potryal of this frightful visage had been a runaway hit, the Indian parallels haven't been popular. Kanpur Times finds out why the desi Dracula failed to blaze similar trails of terror.
If filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt is to be believed, any kind of duplication is a risk. "Particularly if the replication is that of an infamous character like Dracula, one can't create an impact by merely recreating a character that looks like Dracula. There are several things that go into making the vampire, you see," reasons Bhatt and goes on to explain , "Even if we don't talk of Dracula and consider the case of any other daunting character out of an Indian horror film, the desi touch is a must to make it popular." While Bhatt thinks his film Raaz is an ideal example which clicked with the viewers because they could relate to it, he insists that, "The Indian requisites must be kept in mind, whether one is portraying God or the Devil."
While Bhatt prefers the desi touch, actor Archana Puran Singh believes an Indian equivalent will have to be well etched to be successful. "Dracula is an English character straight out of English legends, which is why the indigenous Dracula has never been very appealing. We have our traditional chuddails and bhoots, so culturally and traditionally Dracula is alien to us. If the vampire is imitated in our films, it has to be well-etched out, not the half-baked character usually shown in B and C grade films. If the filmmaker is not aware of the character's background, the story spells disaster," she points out.
Agrees actor Puneet Issar who feels that the standard of Indian horror films is decidedly poor. "I did Purana Mandir, which was a hit in its time. However, to make a film on a character like Dracula, which is a British concept, one can't rely on a simple mask, false teeth and a wig. It has been done in the past and the results have been quite hilarious. If you want to scare the audience, you need to create that ambience with a strong script, cast, background score and above all the right location, which is usually missing here."
For actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda who has also worked in horror films, there's a lot that still needs to be explored in this genre. "It's not just the Indian film industry that has failed to explore the genre well, even foreign creations haven't been thorough. There are shortcomings everywhere, which is why despite acting in horror films I personally don't like such films," says Kharbanda. But when it comes to Dracula, even Kharbanda finds "something intriguing about him". "Though the character hasn't been explored well in our films, he remains fascinating because of his uncanny power and the antihero image," he says. Why did the desi versions fail to click, you wonder? Because no one in their right mind would want to see a Darawani Raatein, (Fright Night), Khoonkhar Bhediya (Werewolf) or Paap Ki Maut (Evil Dead)!