Between the bloodlines

As Ghoul streams into our living rooms, co-producer Vikramaditya Motwane and actor Radhika Apte tell us what lies behind the shadows

A VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE: A still from “Ghoul”

For long, Hindi cinema’s horror tales have largely been drawn from Christian and Hindu myth. The Islamic idea of Satan has hardly found space in the mumbo jumbo that is served to the Indian market, which has been whetting its appetite for blood and gore with Hollywood stuff. Of late, there has been a slight shift. First Pari, and this past week Ghoul have brought this neglected ‘other’ from afterlife to a more mainstream space. The best part is that both look beyond the usual tropes of the genre to delve into our social fears, making them all the more disturbing. If Pari was about Rukhsana, a daughter of Ifrit (a deadly spirit), falling in love with a Bengali boy Arnab and teaching him a lesson or two in humanity along the way, Netflix’s s mini-series Ghoul, drawn from an Arabic folk tale, has a distinct layer of Islamophobia tucked inside a dystopian tale.

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“The catalyst was that we always felt that horror genre has been underserved,” says Vikramaditya Motwane, one of the faces of Phantom Films that has co-produced it with Blumhouse Productions. “Horror films, particularly the Hollywood ones, do very well in India. For some reason, we don’t make such films. Part of the reason is the Ramsay hangover. Now, there is an attempt to break free from that image.” He admits that there was a time when Indian filmmakers wove different themes in the genre in films like

Mahal ,

Madhumati and

Bees Saal Baad . “But that was a long time back. Of late, no A-lister has attempted horror. Shah Rukh Khan came closest when he did

Paheli .” The truth is the genre has largely remained a hunting ground for those who either slipped or could not make it to the top rung.

Perhaps that’s why Patrick Graham, the British director who has been working in Mumbai for some time, was given the charge of

Ghoul. “ Patrick loves the genre and having spent enough time in India, there was never a danger of him losing the plot, ” says Motwane . The idea to partner with Blumhouse, says Motwane, was to join hands with the best in business. As for the form, he says, in a series, one gets time to “expand the character arcs”, making it a “richer experience.”

Clash of ideas

Set in near future when the ‘nationalist’ agenda is at its peak, with words like

pavitra and

wapsi slyly slipped into conversations,

Ghoul is essentially a bloody clash of ideas where a ‘nationalist’ Nida Rahim, a bright young recruit working with armed forces, turns over her father as she suspects him to be involved in seditious activities. However, as she reaches Meghdoot, the interrogation centre or the hell in the horror text, she discovers that a sword of suspicion hangs over her as well. After a point, it becomes hard to decide whom to fear more: the men and women in uniform or the ghoul in the skin of the alleged terrorist.

Motwane describes it as a dystopian future. “It is a popular theme in literature and is a great cinematic device.” Indeed, but it disturbs much more when you could find few strands of contemporary reality in such tales. “We have always lived in such times. 1984 was written in 1948 and people could relate to it,” he reminds, and adds, “Of course, it generates more fear, as it plays on the mind.” Especially for people, who are not into it just for horror. “The Blumhouse horror is not just about bhoot bangala and chudails ; it has gone beyond that. A film like Get Out is not a traditional horror movie.” Motwane goes on to add that after films like A Quiet Place, the concept of horror has become “so much broader than just supernatural.” “The idea is to explore fear. Here there is also a sense of military horror. There is also a sub-genre of dystopian horror...and it all comes together,” says Motwane, tying Ghoul to the global trend.

And minority fear? “I don’t think it is a genre space. That’s trying to read too much into it. It is about putting a person from minority community into a majority institution to see how he or she would react,” says Motwane.

Political comment

Like Motwane’s last film Bhavesh Joshi , which was dressed as a desi superhero venture, Ghoul could be seen as a political comment in the garb of horror. “All filmaking is political; it has always been the case. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro was very funny but it was extremely political as well.” The last film that Motwane went to watch in theatre was Sanju and he remembers how it was preceded by a trailer of Mulk , followed by a trailer of Gold, followed by the national anthem. “Now tell me, is it not political? It is in your face. Whether it is from one side or the other, you are being forced to take sides. How could you be neutral in these time?

You can’t.”

True to the moment

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In horror genre, female characters usually don’t get a fair deal. “Yes, they are mostly cast for sex appeal. Ghoul is different in that sense. Here it is the female protagonist who stands against the spectre,” says Radhika Apte who plays the “obedient” Nida Rahim in the series. “I liked the idea because it was original and my character arc was strong and very different from who I am.” She sees Nida as an obedient officer who stands against her father without realising that she has been brain washed. “We all follow some ideology or the other but sometimes we forget to question and get brain washed. It is applicable to household also – you become an extremist.” Radhika sees it as a dystopian tale where some people are against the government. “It is not just about Muslims. Nida’s father’s literature was read by people of other religions as well. Similarly, Nida’s superior Da Cunha is a Christian nationalist. However, because of the current political discourse, some can draw comparisons,” says Radhika.

Radhika’s eyes are perhaps her biggest assets. From showing restraint in Sacred Games to be extremely expressive in Lust Stories , her eyes effortlessly capture the moment. “I don’t know, if you are present in the moment, whatever you think reflects on your face,” she gushes. Has it something to do with her training in theatre and dance. “Not really, it is very internal. That is why cinema is such a difficult, no, dangerous medium because if you are lying, the camera catches you. You have to focus on being true to the moment.”