MUMBAI: Ssshhhh…koi hai is today the trademark dialogue of any horror-related conversation, thanks to the namesake show some years ago. In the early years of television in India, when the genres were just adapting, horror was a popular resort for producers (even films). The horror escapades of the 1990s don’t have strong contenders today. But is it that the horror value is lower or have we just become smarter?
For years, TV shows such as Zee horror show Aahat, Woh, Ssshhhh… Koi Hai, X Zone, Fear Files etc, worked their magic on audiences but lately people laugh them off as horror comedy. If we were to revisit earlier shows, we would probably even kid ourselves for being scared in the first place.
The Zee Horror Show of the Ramsay Brothers and Aahat of Fireworks Productions gave goosebumps in the early 90s and, in late 90s, we sampled Woh, another horror TV series, on Zee TV.
Zee TV predominantly relied on horror shows in the 90s with a string of series like Saturday Suspense and X Zone. The earliest success in the genre was Aahat, which first aired in 1995 on Sony Television. Star Plus began its horror journey in 1997 with the show called Kohra and hit the right notes with Ssshhhh… Koi Hai in 2001. The poor graphics, amateur sound effects and logic-defying sequences didn’t stop us from being scared while the shows reigned the ratings chart. In 2015, Bipasha Basu, an actress known for her horror film roles, anchored a show Darr Sabko Lagta Hai that only attempted to scare people.
Bodhi Tree Multimedia is currently producing Fear Files season 3. The studio’s founder, Mautik Tolia, said that the horror genre is still alive and the show picked well with 2.3 and 2.5 [ratings] at the 10.30 pm time slot.
However, horror content carries the baggage of restrictions. Tolia says, “The one major constraint with horror shows is that they have to be shown on the television after 10 pm as per the broadcasting guidelines. This also hampers repeat value during the day and so time slots are fewer.” Weekends were a popular time for this genre earlier but now with the advent of big budget shows, horror cannot sustain viewership.
Regular shows today have some horror or supernatural elements interspersed. Daily soaps like Ek Deewana Tha, Brahmarakshas, Kavach, Kaal Bhairav Rahasya etc. and, in earlier days shows like Woh, Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat, have scored higher success than the proper episode format horror shows. Tolia adds that these shows are actually categorised as supernatural horror. He says that some shows have done phenomenally well like Naagin, Brahmarakshas, Kavach and more.
The maker of Sony TV’s thriller romantic horror show Ek Deewana Tha Prateek Sharma, who is the founder of LSD films is now into the idea of romantic horror. “With Ek Deewana Tha, the idea was never to scare the viewers. Our intention was to give a thrill and supernatural drama but with the core family surrounding drama to make it more appealing.”
Sharma says that the volume of horror shows has increased and this could be a reaction to the increased exposure to international content and all major Hollywood films and shows releasing in India. But he feels Indian content needs to evolve. Today we rely on special effects and graphics rather than scary faces.
The disadvantage is from the advertising side since brands aren’t very friendly to these shows. “Traditionally horror content does have fewer buyers and also because of its late night viewing. People will not notice kids’ related brands advertising during these shows,” says Tolia. He adds that this problem is solved in shows where it is blended in the normal series. But he adds that if a horror show manages to really spook you and make you return, the advertisers will also come chasing.
Though horror may have died down in popularity, the genre is still alive in regular shows where it is used for impact. This also allows shows to circumvent the limitations that a pure horror show has to endure.
Also Read :
