Vishal Furia on what makes a horror hit: Claustrophobia, metaphor, heart

Vishal Furia is among the few Mumbai filmmakers doggedly pursuing the horror genre in a market where scares are packaged with laughs. Furia scored a hit with his feature debut Lapacchapi in 2016. In 2021, he remade the Marathi rural drama in Hindi as Chhorii.Nushrratt Bharuccha played Sakshi, who is desperate to protect her unborn daughter from feudal ghouls.

Chhorii 2, which was released on Prime Video like its predecessor, continues Sakshi’s story seven years later. Her foes include the shamanic Daasi Maa (Soha Ali Khan), who serves as the gatekeeper for an undead monster who needs to marry Sakshi’s little girl.

Furia’s upcoming film Maa, starring Kajol, will be his first theatrical release in close to a decade. Maa promises “mythology and horror with some action,” Furia told Scroll. “Releasing it in theatres will be good for the horror genre.”

But what about Furia’s own favourite horror movies? Here’s his list, arranged in chronological order.

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

“You can say Lapacchapi is inspired by Rosemary’s Baby, but it is very subtle and difficult to communicate to Indian audiences. In Indian horror films, visuals are more important than suggestion.

When I was writing Lapacchapi, the visual I had in mind was a mother holding a baby and a ghostly woman stretching her hand towards the baby from behind the mother. I wrote...

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