From fireside chats to grandmother's tales, Indian horror folklore has now found space on silver screens and OTT projects. From Bengal's own chudails (witches) to Arunachal's forest creatures, here's a pick of 8 popular horror watches that are inspired from Indian folklores.
Directed by Rahi Anil Barve starring Sohum Shah in the lead, Tumbbad is a 2018 movie circling around the legend of Hastar. This mythological deity has an insatiable hunger and a forbidden greed for wealth. Based in Maharashtra, the movie delves deeper into the human psyche and links it with the folklore. A sequel of this major hit is expected to hit the screens later next year starring Sohum Shah and Alia Bhatt. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
This 2018 horror–comedy by Amar Kaushik stars Rajkumar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles. Influenced from the legend of Nale Ba in Karnataka, the movie revolves around a female spirit who haunts villages at nights and kidnaps men. In the movie, the setting is moved to a small town in Chanderi. Such was the popularity and success of Stree that the makers released a sequel Stree 2 and if speculations are true, then Stree 3 is in the making. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video and JioHotstar
This gothic –period-supernatural drama directed by Anvita Dutt brought Triptii Dimri to the limelight in 2020 because of her fantastic performance as the lead. The movie is inspired from the folklore o Bengali witches or chudails. Set in 19th century Bengal, the story revolves around a child bride Bulbbul and her journey from an innocent child to a mysterious woman. Also starring Avinash Tiwary, Rahul Bose, Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Paoli Dam, the original is streaming on Netflix
This supernatural drama starring Shabana Azmi, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Satyadeep Misra, Riva Arora and Leela Samson is directed by Terrie Samundra. Released in 2020, it draws from the North Indian folklores, where a ten year old becomes the main protagonist trying to break a village of its curse. Streaming on Netflix
Patrick Graham and Nikhil Mahajan direct this horror-action thriller. Released in 2020, it stars Vineet Kumar Singh, Aahana Kumra, Jitendra Joshi and Suchitra Pillai in lead roles. The drama re-imagines the popular Vikram/ Betaal folk lore in a modern setting when a British officer and his army are awakened while a decades old tunnel is reopened. Streaming on Netflix
This horror-comedy starring Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon in lead roles directed by Amar Kaushik, dropped in 2022. It is inspired by the Yapum, folklore about a shape-shifting creature from Arunachal Pradesh. When Bhaskar (Varun Dhawan) is bitten by a werewolf like creature he starts noticing changes in himself – physically and ideologically. Streaming on JioHotstar
This 2022-supernatural horror mystry starring Tisca Chopra, Saurabh Shukla and Rajesh Tailang among others is directed by Vikranth Pawar. The series is about a fictional folk belief around an entity called the Raakan associated with the village of Shilaspura. When an IAS officer comes face to face with the unexplainable, roots are shaken and new beliefs are formed. Streaming on JioHotstar
Dropped in 2024 by Aditya Sarpotdar, it stars Sharvari, Abhay Verma and Mona Singh in lead roles. It is based on the Munjya, a figure from the Maharashtrian folklore. It is believed that any boy who dies around his thread ceremony turns into a restless entity called the Munjya. It is only when the lead – Abhay- returns to his ancestral village that he finds out how the Munjya haunts his family. Streaming on JioHotstar
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