Niren Bhatt Opens Up About Varun Dhawan-Kriti Sanon's Bhediya, Says Its Not A Werewolf Film
Horror comedy Bhediya, headlined by Varun Dhawan, is not just a werewolf movie, says its writer Niren Bhatt who promises to deliver a unique Hindi film of an international standard.
Horror
comedy
Bhediya,
headlined
by
Varun
Dhawan,
is
not
just
a
werewolf
movie,
says
its
writer
Niren
Bhatt
who
promises
to
deliver
a
unique
Hindi
film
of
an
international
standard.
The
aim
is
to
depict
a
never-seen-before
world
to
the
audience
in
the
upcoming
film,
said
Bhatt,
known
for
films
like
Bala
and
Made
in
China.
"Bhediya
is
a
visual
film.
We
created
so
many
visuals,
this
is
how
the
creature
would
look
and
this
is
how
the
conversion
would
happen.
We
have
tried
to
create
a
film
which
would
stand
out
internationally
in
this
genre.
"The
effort
was
to
create
something
unique
and
path
breaking.
It
is
not
a
werewolf
film,
it
is
a
completely
different
genre
that
we
are
trying
to
define
in
Hindi
cinema," the
screenwriter
told
PTI
in
an
interview.
Backed
by
producer
Dinesh
Vijan,
Bhediya
is
said
to
be
part
of
his
horror-comedy
universe
comprising
Stree
and
Roohi.
Bhatt,
also
known
for
his
work
on
web-series
Asur
and
the
long-running
TV
show
Tarak
Mehta
Ka
Ooltah
Chashma",
said
he
was
toying
with
the
idea
of
Bhediya
for
a
year.
Both
he
and
director
Amar
Kaushik,
with
whom
he
previously
worked
on
Bala,
approached
Vijan,
who
came
on
board
instantly.
The
makers
released
the
teaser
of
the
film,
also
starring
Kriti
Sanon,
early
this
year.
Bhediya
is
expected
to
arrive
next
year.
Like
Stree
and
Roohi,
Bhediya
too
has
its
roots
in
a
popular
folklore.
The
story
is
inspired
by
fairy
tales
and
legends
from
Arunachal
Pradesh,
where
the
film
was
shot.
Working
on
the
film
came
with
its
set
of
challenges
for
the
Bhavnagar-born
writer,
especially
while
writing
about
the
culture
of
the
Northeastern
state.
"I
was
writing
about
a
culture
I
didn't
know
about," he
added.
Bhatt,
42,
said
he
has
attempted
to
address
the
discrimination
faced
by
the
people
of
the
Northeast
while
incorporating
comedy,
supernatural
and
adventure
as
elements.
"The
biggest
challenge
was
to
incorporate
the
culture
and
the
lens
through
which
the
rest
of
India
is
looking
at
North
east,
the
prejudices,
the
alienation
of
those
people,
the
casual
discrimination
and
what
do
they
go
through,
etc.
The
root
of
this
discrimination
is
the
thinking
that
they
are
not
part
of
India,
even
if
they
are,
you
are
not
interested
in
them
because
they
are
so
far."
The
location
plays
a
crucial
role
in
storytelling,
he
said,
adding,
Arunachal
Pradesh
served
as
the
perfect
setting
for
Bhediya,
which
is
set
in
the
jungles
of
the
state.
"We
studied
the
whole
place
during
our
stay,
rewrote
the
script
and
began
shooting.
It
is
the
first
film
to
be
shot
entirely
in
Arunachal
Pradesh."
Apart
from
the
main
leads,
the
secondary
cast
and
crew
including
musicians
and
technicians
hail
from
Arunachal
Pradesh,
Bhatt
added.
The
writer
is
currently
basking
in
the
success
of
his
two
shorts
--
Abhishek
Chaubey-directed
Hungama
Hai
Kyon
Barpa
and
Vasan
Bala's
Spotlight
--
which
he
adapted
for
the
Netflix
anthology
series
Ray,
based
on
master
filmmaker
Satyajit
Ray's
stories.
Chaubey's
segment
stars
Manoj
Bajpayee
as
Musafir
Ali,
a
ghazal
singer
modelled
on
the
legendary
Ghulam
Ali
and
Gajraj
Rao
as
Aslam,
a
former
wrestler,
whereas
in
Bala's
portion
Harshvarrdhan
Kapoor
essays
the
role
of
a
film
star
with
Radhika
Madan
playing
a
godwoman
called
Didi.
While
Hungama...
is
based
on
Ray's
short
story
'Barin
Bhowmick's
Ailment',
Spotlight
borrows
heavily
from
the
director's
1996
film
Nayak,
Bhatt
said.
The
screenwriter
said
he
has
always
been
fascinated
with
Ray's
work
and
he
grew
up
watching
the
master
director's
films
and
reading
the
Gujarati
translations
of
his
stories.
"As
a
short
story
writer,
Ray's
stories
are
not
intended
to
be
great
pieces
of
literature.
They
are
supposed
to
be
pulpy
stories
for
teen
adults.
He
was
(also)
an
illustrator
and
filmmaker,
who
had
a
very
keen
eye.
So
his
stories
are
adaptable
in
that
sense
because
he
created
visuals
with
his
words.
There
is
a
great
human
conflict
at
the
core
too,"
he
said.