First vampires, now daayans

First vampires, now daayans

Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj talk about their supernatural thriller Ek Thi Daayan

    Supernatural thriller Ek Thi Daayan, starring Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kalki Koechlin and Huma Qureshi, has been inspired by a short story written by Mukul Sharma (Konkona’s father). When Mukul narrated the story to Vishal Bhardwaj, he envisaged a movie script. And when Ekta heard it, she agreed, almost immediately, to produce the film along with Vishal.
    The film has been directed by debutant Kannan Iyer. Ekta says, “Indians love folklore, but there has been no recent film on the subject. Surreal, intriguing and enigmatic folklore enjoys a strong mass connect. If America’s obsession with vampires can give rise to a series of vampire flicks, why not a first-ofits-kind daayan (witch) film in India? Dark, diabolical women fascinate us...”
    Says Vishal, “Our film is laced with horror, romance and music. It is fascinating to choose a subject that taps into the unknown.”
    Keeping with the ‘spirit’ of the film, the media will be taken in a bus from the gates of Film City (Mumbai) to inside the studios, where surprises have been planned for the launch of the film. Interestingly, the media invite reads ‘Bus to hell’.
    What remains to be seen is which of the leading ladies will be the ruthless daayan in Bobo’s (Hashmi) life. Or, is there a secret fourth that we don’t know about?
    Ek Thi Daayan, presented by Balaji Motion Pictures and produced by Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures, releases April 18.

Konkona Sen Sharma

Huma Qureshi

Kalki Koechlin

Emraan Hashmi