Vikramaditya Motwane: Pari was one of the first steps in the right direction

Vikramaditya Motwane talks about his Netflix show Ghoul, Indian horror genre and more

Vikramaditya Motwane says literature has always inspired filmmakers and choosing a dystopian backdrop for Ghoul simply put the story of the Netflix India Original in perspective. Motwane, whose last collaboration with the streaming service was the megahit Sacred Games, has co-produced the three-episode series through Phantom Films, along with Ivanhoe and Blumhouse.

"Literature is always used. Dystopia is a very interesting setting. Whether it's '1984' or 'Fahrenheit 451'... Dystopia is a wonderfully cinematic setting. It was really interesting to put the story of 'Ghoul' in this kind of setting," Motwane told PTI in an interview.

Ghoul follows a prisoner who arrives at a remote military interrogation centre and turns the tables on his interrogators, exposing their most shameful secrets. When asked if the series sends across a message in today's time, the producer said writer-director Patrick Graham had penned the script long back.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the current state of affairs. Patrick has written it, I don't think there was even this government (when he wrote it)."

Starring Radhika Apte and Manav Kaul, Ghoul is Netflix's first horror series and is based on Arabic folklore. Motwane admits horror genre in India is yet to come out of the shadow of Ramsay Brothers, famous for their B-grade horror films in the '70s and '80s such as Puraani Haveli and Tahkhaana.

He says, lately Pari, also based on Arabic folklore, was an exception. "Horror movies make a lot of money in India. Even if you look at the box office, 'Conjuring', 'Anabelle', 'It', etc, they all make some decent money. But nobody has been making new, interesting unusual horror.

"Pari was one of the first steps in the right direction. And 'Ghoul' is pretty much the same in the genre - it's cool. It's not just about the chudail (witch) or bhoot bangla (haunted house) and all those typical things we associate with horror films from the Ramsay Brothers," he says.

The producer says the Arabic link between Pari and Ghoul was a mere coincidence. "When I was reading about Pari, 'I was like oh it's here too. It's just one of those things. Somewhere on the story level it worked. This story goes beyond horror," he says.

Also featuring Ratnabali Bhattacharjee and Mahesh Balraj, Ghoul is currently streaming on Netflix.

Also Read: Ghoul Web Series Review - Ghoul Is Cool

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