New
Delhi
(UNI)
After
the
"chills
and
thrills" of
Ram
Gopal
Varma's
Phoonk,
Horror
films
seem
to
be
back
in
focus
in
Tinsel
town
with
1920,
filmmaker
Vikram
Bhatt's
attempt
to
recreate
the
success
of
2003
superhit
horror
flick
Raaz,
drawing
in
the
crowds
in
cinema
halls
across
the
country.
A
period
horror
film
dealing
with
the
supernatural,
1920,
being
produced
by
Vikram
Bhatt
himself
along
with
ASA
Production
and
Enterprises
Pvt.
Ltd.
(of
Mumbai
Salsa
fame),
is
proving
to
be
another
hit
cinematic
venture
in
the
horror
genre
this
year
after
the
surprise
success
of
Phoonk.
What
makes
the
film's
good
showing
at
the
box
office
all
the
more
satisfying
is
that
despite
being
pitted
against
a
movie
like
The
Last
Year,
boasting
of
an
ensemble
cast
comprising
superstar
Amitabh
Bachchan,
the
current
rock
star
Arjun
Rampal
and
top
ranking
actress
Preity
Zinta,
1920
is
drawing
in
more
crowds.
This
is
notwithstanding
the
fact
that
1920
features
in
the
lead
two
new
talents,
debutantes
Rajneesh
Duggal,
a
well-known
model,
and
Adah
Sharma
in
the
female
lead.
Infact,
those
associated
with
the
film
claim
it
has
taken
a
bigger
opening
than
even
Phoonk,
the
only
other
film
of
the
horror
genre
to
release
this
year.
Set
in
the
year
1920,
the
film
traces
the
love
story
of
an
Indian
boy
and
an
Anglo
Indian
girl.
An
architect,
Arjun
(Rajneesh)
manages
to
win
an
assignment
that
involves
the
breaking
down
of
an
ancient,
but
beautiful
castle-like
house
in
a
hill
station
and
construct
a
hotel
instead.
The
house
is
isolated
in
the
wilderness
has
a
secret.
It
is
waiting
for
the
curse
to
come
true.
For
years
everyone
who
bought
the
house
and
tried
to
pull
it
down
died
under
strange
circumstances.
It
is
like
the
building
has
a
will
and
life
of
its
own.
Arjun'
and
his
wife
Lisa
(Adah)
move
into
the
house.
The
haunting
begins.
Strange
and
inexplicable
events
start
taking
place.
The
curse
says
they
will
not
survive.
They
will
have
to
depend
on
the
love
and
faith
if
they
are
to
come
out
of
this
alive.
Trade
sources
said
1920
opened
on
Friday
to
nearly
60
per
cent
collections
in
metros
like
Mumbai
and
Delhi,
which
was
slightly
better
than
those
of
The
Last
Lear.
The
collections
also
remained
steady
during
the
week
days.
The
sources
attribute
the
good
showing
of
1920
when
compared
to
The
Last
Lear
to
the
fact
that
while
the
latter
being
an
English
Language
film
is
appealing
to
only
a
particular
section
of
the
audience,
the
former
being
a
Hindi
film
is
targeted
at
the
general
audience.
This
coupled
with
fact
that
after
success
of
Phoonk,
the
audience
curiosity
for
horror
movies
genre
has
increased.
Those
associated
with
the
film,
however,
assert
that
the
encouraging
response
to
1920
is
due
to
its
unique
storyline
where
for
the
first
time
a
period
setting
has
been
blended
with
the
supernatural.
Says
the
producer
Director
Vikram
Bhatt,
''I
saw
in
my
mind
a
horse
drawn
carriage
through
the
mist
and
a
castle.
That
is
all
that
I
had
when
I
started
thinking
about
1920.
It
was
an
instinct
that
when
the
period
setting
will
blend
with
supernatural
it
will
produce
something
unseen.''
For
the
success
of
1920
is
sweet
more
so
since
it
is
first
hit
in
several
years,
with
several
of
his
directorial
venture
over
the
last
few
years
evoking
a
lukewarm
audience
response
at
the
box
office.
"For
six
years
I
have
seen
my
films
not
performing
well
at
the
box
office.
Now
with
1920,
I
am
happy
to
have
come
out
of
the
bad
phase.
It
has
been
a
long
wait,
but
at
last,
I
tasted
success.
It
should
only
get
better
from
here
on," he
said.