Sandesh Shenoy is a huge fan of horror and science fiction movies. Sandesh, who runs Cyclopean Eye Productions, a Metal and Electronics music label, decided to show his love for the genre with Bollywood Crypt. “It is a merchandising company that focuses on promoting Indian and South Asian horror movies,” says Sandesh.
The 41-year-old says Bollywood Crypt was an idea in the making for about three years. “I wanted to contribute to my favourite genre like we do with my music label where we promote artistes from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nepal and other South Asian countries to the West by releasing merchandise and arranging shows.”
Sandesh, who lives and works in Jayanagar 3rd Block, decided to launch Bollywood Crypt with merchandise from Ramsay Brothers’ Bandh Darwaza (1990) and Veerana (1988). “I was a big fan of their movies since childhood. I got in touch with Tulsi and Deepak Ramsay and they thought my idea was novel.
“The moment I spoke to Tulsi Ramsay on the phone, I was bowled over by his easygoing nature and humility. When I met him, I realised he had excellent knowledge of movies, politics, contemporary culture and was extremely witty. Deepak, like his father, is a humble person and has been extremely supportive of Bollywood Crypt.”
Sandesh counts Bandh Darwaza as his favourite Ramsay horror movie. “Nothing comes close to the movie’s atmosphere and sets.” The towering Anirudh Agarwal nails the role of the vampire, Neola.”
Apart from Ramsay films, Bollywood Crypt also boasts of tie-ups with Pakistani horror films Zinda Laash (1967) and Zibahkhana (2007). “I have known Omar Khan, the director of Zibahkhana for some time now. I first watched Zibahkhana and Zinda Laash sometime in 2017. When I started Bollywood Crypt, I asked Omar if he would be interested in collaborating with me and he agreed immediately.”
The brilliant art work is done by Slasher Dave from the American Death Metal band, Acid Witch. “I am a big fan of Slasher’s work. I felt he was the perfect person to capture the 80’s feel of Veerana on a T-shirt. I got in touch with him and he was excited to work on a foreign horror film project.”
Sandesh says, “Slasher is a big horror movie fan, especially of those from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. All I had to do was send him a YouTube link to the movie with screenshots of the characters. He put two sketch samples within a week and asked me to choose the one I liked. The entire artwork was done in a matter of days.”
Sandesh says future plans for the Crypt include merchandise for two cult European movies. “I am hoping I can get Gulshan Grover (who was the helper in Veerana ) to wear a Veerana T-shirt and Anirudh Agarwal to wear a Bandh Darwaza T-shirt someday.”
Bollywood Crypt (instamojo.com/bollywoodcrypt/) has T-shirts, coffee mugs, key chains and fridge magnets within a price range of ₹269 to ₹ 700.
