Bipasha Basu and her love for horror genre

Bipasha Basu has been known for her bold and sexy image. But what is more interesting is her apparent liking for the horror genre due to which she has done six horror flicks in her career till date. Her upcoming film Alone will be her seventh film in the same genre! Bipasha herself has confessed recently in an interview with IANS that she is the queen of horror films. We explore her journey in horror movies so far...

Raaz gave Bipasha her first commercial success in her Bollywood career. She played the role of a victimized wife Sanjana who saves her husband from the evil spirit in this movie, and Bips pulled off the role very convincingly. It was the second highest grossing film of the year 2002, and the first installment in the Raaz series. Bipasha got her first Filmfare best actress nomination with this film.

Raqt released in 2004 when Bipasha’s career was going through a rough patch. The movie was written and directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. After giving super hits like Jism, Bipasha’s career graph was going down, so in 2004 she worked in this horror flick where she played the role of a tarot card reader Drishti, who can see future through her eyes. The film is an unofficial remake of the 2000 Hollywood thriller, The Gift. The movie bombed at the box office.

Bipasha's Darna Zaroori Hai, which was a sequel of Darna Mana Hai, was a commercial success. Bipasha’s role in the movie was appreciated, but the movie failed to get box office success in spite of having other big names like Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor. Darna Zaroori Hai is about six stories and a main story that connects them together. Tales about the unknown and the mysterious always hold an attraction for the audience. But Bipasha’s movie failed to haunt the audience and entertain them.

Raaz 3, being the third installment in the Raaz series, was very promising since Bipasha was again being the part of the film. It was a much anticipated movie because Bipasha was doing a horror flick after long gap. The film garnered overwhelming box office collections and was declared a super hit at the box office. It emerged as a major commercial success in India and is the highest grossing film in the Raaz trilogy.

Aatma, being the fifth venture in Bipasha’s career in horror genre, was highly anticipated. Even though the performances were appreciated, Aatma failed to garner good box office collections. The presence of critically acclaimed actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui also could not help the movie much, but Bipasha's love for the horror genre remains intact. The movie tells the story of a mother and her daughters, played by Bipasha Basu and Doyel Dhawan, who are haunted by the spirit of Bipasha’s husband (Nawazuddin Siddiqui).

The last released horror movie of Bipasha is Creature 3D. This movie was India’s first monster science fiction thriller. In spite of having a very ambitious subject, the movie didn’t create any magic in the box office. Creature tells the story of Ahana, played by Bipasha Basu, and her fight with brahmarakshas (monster) in order to save her forest hotel from the monster. This movie could have turned into a masterpiece if it would have been backed with more research. But nevertheless, Bips still loves horror genre and loves to experiment with every horror film that comes her way.
- Sangeeta Choudhury