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Neil Bhoopalam on playing a priest in Xarax: ‘Had to pray a lot'
Updated On: 21 September, 2025 07:47 AM IST | Mumbai | Upala KBR
Neil Bhoopalam revealed that he agreed to do Xarax initially as a favour for his college senior but was convinced after hearing the story’s surprising twists. He shared the challenges of essaying the role of a priest
Neil Chandramohan Bhoopalam as a priest in ‘Xarax’
Neil Chandramohan Bhoopalam finally gets to tick off the horror genre from his wishlist with his upcoming film Xarax. The short film, written and directed by Salil Jason Fernandez, is set to have its world première at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles. It has also been officially selected at Monster Fest in Australia and Curtas Festival do Imaxinario in Spain.
The story follows a priest, played by Bhoopalam, who visits a dilapidated convent in Mumbai to perform an exorcism. Instead of unmasking the demon within the convent, he discovers his darkest desires. Fernandez says he wanted to reinvent the exorcism genre with Xarax. “I wanted to make a horror film that lingers and unsettles you long after the credits roll. Horror usually shows us demons on the outside, but I wanted to turn the lens inward. What if the real demon is inside the mind? Xarax is about what happens when a priest has to confront his own suppressed sexual longings,” explains the director.
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