PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Like most other film genres, horror has had quite an evolution ever since cinema was born. Films like George Méliès’ The Haunted Castle - widely considered the first horror project ever - in 1896 to the rise of Dracula and Frankenstein and further to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, The Shining and The Exorcist, have given rise to and helped push the horror genre.
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Among other recent horror successes was the 2013 American supernatural drama Oculus. Following suit, Bollywood has just remade the film for the Indian audience, titled Dobara: See Your Evil, directed by Prawaal Raman. The film released on June 2 across Pakistan and India and stars Huma Qureshi, Saqib Saleem, Adil Hussain and Lisa Ray in the lead roles.
Dobara: See Your Evil is about a haunted mirror and the contradictory idea a brother and sister have regarding the murder of their parents. Qureshi spoke with The Express Tribune about her latest release and the new-age horror films, saying that she loved Get Out’s approach to racism. “But at its core, Dobara is a cool horror film which deals with joint family relations. In that way, it isn't one to talk about social issues but in a totally different way, it's about family relationships,” she revealed. “It's a story of a brother and a sister who are in contradiction with each other regarding the supernatural happenings in their home. It deals with family conflicts.”
Qureshi added that remaking Oculus in India meant molding the original script to family relations in the country, which are totally different. “The family system in the US is different from that in the subcontinent. We have larger joint families and the dynamics are different.”
Asked about the current standing of horror as a film genre, Qureshi said it had taken a hit because the film-makers keep trying to dumb it down. “We don't remember that we're making a film, especially in horror genre, for adults. If we stop trying to tone it down for children, it will definitely become stagnant,” stated the Gangs of Wasseypur star.
About her preference between indie or mainstream films, Qureshi shared that she enjoys doing both. “I'm an actor so I like it to mix it up. There are no preferences as I look for interesting characters, rather than consider the scale and genre of the project.”
In her short career, Bollywood beauty has accumulated quite a few hits. But Qureshi claims that instead of conventional milestones, her goal is “to do many films and grow all old and wrinkly and sit with my children and grandchildren and show them all my films.”
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Asked if she would consider working in a Pakistani project, the Dedh Ishqiya actor said, “I would love to work in a Pakistani project, if it's the right offer.” Regarding her expectations from Dobara in Pakistan, Qureshi said, “I simply hope that Pakistani people go to watch Dobara and they like it.”
The rising star’s other upcoming project includes Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House, which revolves around Lord Mountbatten’s last few days in the Indian subcontinent before the Partition in 1947.
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