The Hollywood supernatural horror film Obsession took cinemas in India by storm upon its release and went on to become a sensation. The film emerged as a global success, and filmmaker Vikram Bhatt has now reacted to its popularity, revealing that he found similarities between the film and his 2002 blockbuster Raaz.
Why Vikram Bhatt thinks Obsession is Raaz
In an interview with Firstpost, Vikram reacted to the global success of Obsession and said, “I haven’t seen Obsession, but someone was telling me the story, and I sat back, laughed and thought, ‘This is Raaz.’ It’s basically Malini of Raaz throughout the whole film. My take is that if you make a good horror film, people are going to come. This one was really good.”
He further explained why the horror genre can work even without major stars, saying, “When you have big actors, you cannot possibly have them getting scared and running around. Either it starts looking like a comedy, where they are comically scared, or it doesn’t feel believable. In a realistic story, if you have an A-list hero who already has a larger-than-life persona, like an Allu Arjun or a Ram Charan, it’s not going to work. There’s a resistance from A-listers. Secondly, as I have observed, people come to experience the sensation of fear. They don’t come for any actor. That’s the nature of the genre.”
About Obsession’s success
The film, starring Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette in the lead roles, collected ₹77.95 crore in India. It emerged as one of the highest-grossing horror films in the country. Directed by Curry Barker, the film also features Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter in supporting roles. Obsession has reportedly grossed over $300 million worldwide, making it a major commercial success.
About Raaz
The film stars Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu in lead roles, alongside Malini Sharma and Ashutosh Rana in supporting roles.
Raaz follows Aditya (Dino Morea) and Sanjana (Bipasha Basu), who travel to Ooty in an attempt to repair their troubled marriage. However, their new home harbours a dark secret — a restless spirit with unfinished business. As the haunting intensifies, Sanjana uncovers a chilling truth: the greatest threat may be the very man she is trying to save. The film was both a critical and commercial success, emerging as the second-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2002.
About Vikram Bhatt’s recent release
The filmmaker’s latest release, Haunted 3D: Echoes of the Past, is a spiritual sequel to Haunted – 3D. The film stars Mahaakshay Chakraborty, also known as Mimoh Chakraborty, alongside Chetna Pande, Gaurav Bajpai, Hemant Pandey, Shruti Prakash and Praneet Bhat. Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, the film has collected over ₹20 crore worldwide within 10 days of its release.