Bengali horror movies

There are two kinds of horror movie fans, one who believe in ghosts and the other who do not. This is probably the reason why horror films are so popular throughout the world.

It is unfortunate that our Bangladeshi film industry has very few horror films. With ridiculous costumes and bizarre stories, most of them ended up being more humorous than scary. One cannot help but wonder whether the directors, writers or the actors actually had any idea about the horror genre. 

Had real ghosts watched these movies, they would have started doubting their very existence!

On the other hand, our neighboring Kolkata is gradually getting better at making horror films. Films such as 'Bhooter Bhabishyat' and 'Goynar Baksho' have garnered mass attention from audiences across the globe. Soon to be released 'Bhooth Pori', where our very own Joya Ahsan is the lead, has already created a lot of buzz in both countries.

Not only Kolkata, Bollywood too is also making decent horror films.  

So where does Dhallywood stand in the horror genre? It is said that the first horror film 'Rajbari' was released in 1984. Directed by Kazi Hayat, with Sohel Rana and Anjana as the lead actors, the film was actually a hit among its viewers.

After a long break, in 2007 and 2008, two films were released consecutively; one called 'Rokto pipasha' (Bloodthirst) and the other 'Daini buri' (The witch). The former was directed by Masud Parvez Rubel while the latter was directed by A K Sohel.

Then in 2014, Shahin Sumon released 'Shey raatey brishti chhilo' (It rained that night) which, as the name suggests, was showered with insults. The same year, Ahsan Sarowar's 'Amra korbo joy' (We shall overcome) was released and it too failed to get any attention.

Sumon Dhar's 'Omi o ice-creamwala' (Omi and the ice-cream man), a story about a friendly ghost, was released in 2015 but the audience accepted it more as a children's movie.

Janantul Peya starred 'The story of Samana', which also released in 2015, was yet another flop.

In 2017, Akash Acharya released his horror film 'Mayabini' which, again, gravely disappointed the audience.

Last year's film 'Shopner ghor'(The dream house) directed by Tanim Rahman Angshu also limped at the box office although the director claimed it was more about black magic than about ghosts. Black, white or grey, the story failed miserably to create any magic.

Many believe last year's hit 'Debi' to be of a horror genre but Director Anam Bishwas refuses to do so. According to him, 'Debi' is more befitting as a supernatural or even a thriller film.

However, not all hope is lost as shooting for two new horror films is going on in full swing. Let us see whether 'Pretattya' (The evil spirit) and 'Danger zone' succeed in shaking us (and ghosts) in our boots!