Celebs share their eerie moments on Bhoot Chaturdashi

They are a part of showbiz and have either made horror films or have been a part of it. But even as they made sure that the audience was hooked to their spine-chilling stories, they have sometimes been left gathering their wits. On Bhoot Chaturdashi today, a bunch of celebs tell us about their brush with the supernatural.
‘I could hear the sound of a man writhing in pain’
When I was new in the film industry, I used to work long shifts.Sometimes, my shoot would get over at 3 am and the next call time used to be at 5 am. I didn’t have enough time to go home and get some sleep. For a quick nap, I would stay over at Indrapuri Studio. We were told that Makeup Room No. 2 was haunted and no one would use it. I sometimes slept in the next room and would hear weird noises coming out of Room No. 2. Sometimes, there would be faint laughter and on other occasions, sound of wails would fill up the air. I used to cover myself up, trying to sleep. Again, when I used to stage plays at a north Kolkata theatre, I had heard the story of an actor taking his life. One part of the theatre was considered haunted. Every time someone went there, he/she would hear the strange sound of a man writhing in pain. I too have experienced that.
— Prosenjit Chatterjee, actor of Rajmahal and Nishitrishna, among other horror films
I felt the presence of someone in my Behala flat

After marriage, I moved to a highrise in Behala. There, I would feel the presence of someone. It felt as if a woman in distress was there and would wander about the flat. In the night too, I sometimes couldn’t sleep as I could hear a faint wailing sound. It became such a trauma for my family that I had to seek help. I asked someone who investigates paranormal activities to come over. That man said a woman was burnt to death in the same place where the highrise was constructed. I had to finally change my house.
Soham, actor of Golpo Holeo Sotti
‘Florence is reputably haunted’

While we were Europe-gallivanting this Durga Puja, my wife, Bidipta, my dear friend and contemporary novelist, Smaranjit Chakraborty, and I spent three nights in Florence, the birthplace of Renaissance. It is possibly the most beautiful city I’ve ever come across. One evening, the three of us were walking to pick up tickets for the Uffizi Gallery. There came a juncture when the sidewalk narrowed to the point where we could only walk in single file. I was the last in the line. All of a sudden, the first person in that line stopped, turned and looked backwards and then the three of us did the same. Something had run between our legs; something invisible. It was the oddest thing! It didn’t feel like wind, it felt like it had substance; I could feel it brush my legs as it ran through. It wasn’t frightening, but was indeed very strange. It was unexplainably weird, like an invisible dog ran past us! I still think about it. Perhaps someone else has experienced the same thing. Florence is reputably haunted, it is an ancient city built on the Etruscan ruins. Perhaps all the primeval stones still harbour some kind of energy from the past; shades and movements that occasionally, under the right circumstances, reveal themselves to us.
Birsa Dasgupta, director of Shob Bhooturey and Golpo Holeo Sotti
‘The time on the wrist watch stumped me’

In Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy, there were four stories. I was part of Brown Shaheber Diary. There was a dusk shot, in which I, along with Biswajit Chakraborty and Abir Chatterjee were supposed to walk towards the camera. As part of the shoot, Abir had to ask me, ‘Anil babu, dekhun toh apnar ghorite kota baje?’. I was given a watch and shirt owned by the great Satyajit Ray for the shoot. The watch was not in working condition and the time showing on it was something around 10 am. My reply to Abir’s line was, ‘Paanchta ponero baje’. But when I took a look at the watch and was about to deliver my line, I saw it was 5.15 pm on the watch and was completely stumped. It gave me goose bumps. For the next 10 minutes, no one on the set could even utter a word. There was pin-drop silence.
Bhaswar Chatterjee, actor of Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy
‘I heard the sound of piano in the middle of the night’

There’s some sort of a thrill in getting scared. It happens more in the countryside during Kali Puja and the whole of winter when the days become shorter. In my younger days, I would get scared of ghosts. On a certain winter holiday, I went to my pishir bari on the city’s outskirts. There, I heard the sound of piano in the middle of the night. This happened many times. My pishi was old and she couldn’t hear the sound. Once, I mustered a lot of courage during daytime and opened the piano. There was a mamma rat, which would feed its babies with paper shreds. After that, I realised fear has got to do with one’s inner darkness. Even then, while climbing up the flight of stairs, I would always sing to myself just to alleviate that fear of mind.
Paran Bandopadhyay, actor of Bhooter Bhobishyot, Gosaibaganer Bhoot
Light bounced off the walls after blowing out a candle

I had always considered myself a non-believer of ghosts and goblin stories. Being a Bengali with the treasure trove of stories of the supernatural from our urban legends to mythology, somewhere deep down, I always felt sakchunni or daini were just metaphors for ideas. Yet, a good 20 years ago, when I was in my teens, on the night of Bhoot Choturdoshi, I was told not to go out alone till the candles were lit. This was the first time that I was going to burst firecrackers on Kali Puja. I was in my mother’s Howrah house — one of those big old houses. I wanted to go up to the thakur ghawr and look at the firecrackers at midnight after everyone went to sleep and carried a pack of matches, so I could light a candle instead of turning on the lights. After doing what I wanted, I was on my way back to my room. That’s when I saw that the flame was still on. I thought maybe I had forgotten to blow out the candle, so I went back up and blew it out properly. It was clearly extinguished and as I was heading down, I could again see the light bouncing off the walls. I got scared went up to check and the candle was off but as I began my descent, the reflection was back. If I had told this story, people would give me a hundred explanations or think I was making it up. But the memory still haunts me. Years later, when I decided to write a horror film, Bhoot Choturdoshi for Shabbir to direct, I remember this basic idea was my driving force — that there is a presence of some supernatural element out there that we can’t really explain.
Mainak Bhaumik, filmmaker and writer of Bhoot Chaturdoshi
‘I had an out-of-body experience’

For Samsara, we went to shoot in Umsning in Meghalaya. We were staying at a resort. The entire area was dark. After a evening’s gathering, we went to eat dinner at the dining space. It was at a considerable distance from our rooms. So, we walked in small groups to our rooms. Three of our unit members were walking behind us and suddenly, there was a loud thud. As I turned, they claimed in unison that someone had pushed one of them, who fell to the ground. It was deeply disturbing. The next morning, I went for a recce to that place again and found a tree branch hanging unevenly. I told the team that it could be that the man was hit by the brunch, but they refused to buy my logic. For the same film, we also shot at a golf course in Kolkata. There was a night shoot and we felt the presence of an extra energy. Nothing could explain the feeling. The entire unit was waiting far and only a few of us were at a deserted corner. We had to shoot the interiors of a rest room at the golf club and it was eerie. The entire golf course could be seen from that, and it really wore a strange look that night. Also, it was 2 am and even though the temperature in Kolkata was a little above 10° C, it was 7 degrees at that place. Even the roots of my hair felt cold in January. Another time, I had an out-of-body experience. I felt as if I was hanging from the ceiling and could see myself lying prostrate on the bed, beside my son. I also felt I was again falling and when I woke up, everything felt normal in the bedroom. It was a strange experience, which is hard to forget.
Sudeshna Roy, director of Samsara (along with Abhijit Guha)