Agreeing with this, producer Anil Sunkara states that ghosts and paranormal activities provide some goosebumps moments for viewers. “Our film ‘Ooru Peru Bhairavakona’ also delved into the ancient Garuda Puranam’ which mentioned the life of human beings after death. It was all about spirits who return at a specific time to resolve their issues,” he adds.
However, these movies are giving more emphasis to black magic and supernatural tricks. “We aren’t promoting black magic since the audience is intelligent enough to understand that it is just a movie and has nothing to do with real-life,” says leading producer Bogavalli Prasad, who earned over Rs 40 crores for his film ‘Virupaksha as it revolved around black magicians and evil spirits and revived this genre.
Renowned writer Gopi Mohan acknowledges that the genre is back in the spotlight and attributes it to the curiosity factor, “Once the trailer of such films is unveiled, audiences are curious to know what is in store for them in the movie. With action and romantic films becoming predictable, supernatural thrillers have taken center stage and spell box office magic.” He further adds, “Most of the revenue for these kinds of films is generated in single theaters in towns and villages, where some people believe in black magic and talk about evil spirits. Besides, such films break the monotony of song and dance routines and clichéd comedy tracks, but instead rely on the content and keep the audience glued to their seats,” he adds.
He claims that the massive success of ‘Kantara’ which talked about folklore gods and their brief appearances to resolve people’s issues has inspired a few Telugu filmmakers. “Invoking gods and spirits is going to happen for some more time since even digital platforms are embracing such films. They are dubbing them in various languages and making money since supernatural thrillers breach language and regional boundaries,’ he points out.
From an actor’s perspective, pretty actress Nandita Swetha, who is playing a ghost role in her next film ‘O Manchi Ghost’, says “We go through a lot of mental stress and body pain for all those screams and unusual antics and end up with sleepless nights,” says actress Nandita Swetha, who also played a ghost in ‘Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada’ and received praise.