’No vulgarity in Ragini MMS’

Ekta Kapoor gets candid on the controversy surrounding the promos of her horror movie Ragini MMS

'No vulgarity in Ragini MMS'

Ekta Kapoor gets candid on the controversy surrounding the promos of her horror movie Ragini MMS

She is clearly the woman on top. And it shows. Vivacious, supremely confident, and ambitious (and newly introduced to the eat-every-two-hours diet that B-town seems to be following religiously) -- that's soap opera queen-turned-successful producer Ekta kapoor for you. The Kapoor scion was in town to promote her upcoming flick Ragini MMS. And she claimed to be a "typical mass MiD DAY reader". "I read Hitlist regularly. I love MiD DAY," she told us. We bring you excerpts of the interview:

On the job: u00a0Ekta Kapoor at MiD DAY Delhi office on Tuesday.
Pi/Subhash Barolia

The Censor Board made you tone down the promos for Ragini MMS.
In the movie, there is no vulgarity or no overt sexuality. The way we view it, you are not supposed to be comfortable with sexuality. That is the big problem. You have to make it in a way for people to be comfortable with and that is the problem. Once you go into the raw version, it becomes problematic. But these are real people. If you ask me, the big problem would be the conversation in the film. How people talk to each other.

Even with shows like Roadies and Splitsvilla running on primetime television, your film promos are shocking people.
Well, I am clearly shocked. We are projecting it as paranormal horror. And we are saying it very clearly in the promos. It is about a couple, who go out of Mumbai for a weekend. They book a bungalow because they clearly can't afford a hotel. Like typical youngsters do. The guy decides to bug the house. It is about what happens to the girl and what she experiences.
You can relive their experience. As if you were part of the house and you feel the spirit. You get to see the film through various cameras. It's voyeuristic horror. It's about a couple who are really together. They are not going to talk like 'haan, tumne chhua'. The guy is a bit of an MCP, constantly making sexual jokes. And the girl is like 'Don't be a psycho'. You have to actually feel the horror happening. It is not like Hindi movie horror.

What are the similarities with Paranormal Activity. Are you trying to break new ground with Ragini MMS?
A lot of people have been telling me, is it like Paranormal Activity. I'm like 'please'. It's the format. Like it's not Bisleri which is just a brand, the product is bottled water. Paranormal Activity and Love Sex aur Dhoka are similar category because they are shot with one camera. They actually claimed it to be real footage. We are not doing that. We are actually telling a story with a format where we are saying the guy is bugging the place. We are showing it the way it is done.

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