20 years of Raaz: Bipasha Basu, Dino Morea, Vikram Bhatt talk about the film that redefined the horror genre in India

Raaz is one of the most loved horror films by the Indian audience. It is one of the films that come to the minds of people as soon as they hear the words 'horror films'. Led by Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu, the Vikram Bhatt directorial of 2002 was not only a game-changer for the actors and the filmmaker but also redefined the genre in Indian films. Until then, the genre was reduced to B-grade films and was sleazy with stereotypes in the '80s and '90s.

It has been two decades since the film Raaz released. Only a film old, Bipasha decided to choose the role as she also wanted to see if acting is something that she'd like to pursue. She plays the role of Sanjana Dhanraj, wife of a wealthy businessman who is haunted by the spirit of her husband’s lover. The glamourous diva set the tone for the rest of her career with this film. The Vikram Bhatt directorial became the second highest-grossing film of 2002 and Bipasha won over the hearts of the audience as well as the critics. The actor walks down memory lane and shares some anecdotes about the early days of her career. 

Basu shared a few pics of the film and wrote an emotional note, thanking the makers for the film which helped her touch millions of hearts. Check out the post here:

She issued a press statement saying that Vikram Bhatt would often play pranks on her to get an on-camera reaction. She recalls Bhatt ringing a gong unexpectedly to get her reaction. "The first time he used the gong, I was absolutely caught unaware while walking in pin-drop silence and it was so scary that I shook and screamed loudly! I thought my soul left my body! After that, the gong became my biggest villain! He would use that gong at any point to get a crazy reaction out of me!,” she says. The other cast and crew members would also discuss scary ghost stories, which Basu says made her job easier. "In the night, everyone, including Saroj Khan, Ashutosh Rana and Vikram Bhatt, would narrate the scariest ghost stories that they have experienced. It was quite crazy and made my job of getting scared a little easier. I definitely had my share of spooks during the filming of Raaz!,” she adds. 

The film was shot in Ooty and had many night scenes where Basu would wake up to the eerie sounds and walk into the forest. She says while the location was a beautiful bungalow in a dimly-lit area, the weather was chilly. "This would make the surroundings in the night so scary! And I had to walk alone into the wilderness in the cold wearing a nighty!,” she says. 

Basu and Dino were not the first choices for the movie. Bhatt had approached Anil Kapoor who refused to be a part of the film. So, he later finalised Dino who was just a film old then. In an interview with Hindustan Times, Bhatt said that he had shot a few portions of the film with Lisa Ray. She was the first choice for the filmmaker after he worked with her in Kasoor but she couldn't continue working due to some personal issues. Dino then had suggested Basu, whom he was dating, to Bhatt. Unaware of her or her work, he decided to give her a try and met her to narrate the film. "The first time we narrated the film to her, she fell off the sofa. That made me realise that she definitely is the heroine of Raaz. I thought that if in a narration, she can fall off a sofa, she’s definitely the right fit for Sanjana,” he told the national daily. 

Dino adds that his off-screen romance with Basu helped their on-screen chemistry. Speaking about the experience working with Basu, he told HT that it was fantastic. "It makes shooting far easier when you know the person and you already have a romance going. The off-screen romance helped us have that chemistry on screen,” he says. The audience too fell in love with their chemistry and the duo even won a ‘nayi jodi award’. He further said that he said yes to the film immediately after the narration as he found it interesting and an honour to work with the Bhatts that early in his career. "When Vikram Bhatt (director), narrated the story and I found it to be very interesting that they decided to make a supernatural film with love angle and the topic of infidelity,” he said. 

The actor posted on his Instagram, thanking the entire team for giving him a 'memorable' film. Check out the post:

The film also features Ashutosh Rana and is co-produced by Vishesh Films and Tips Industries. The film spawned two sequels, Raaz: The Mystery Continues and Raaz 3. It also led to a fourth instalment Raaz Reboot which released in 2016.