'Roohi aims to generate curiosity about horror comedies'

Hardik Mehta, whose directorial 'Roohi' is yet to release, said that the film aims to further generate curiosity about horror-comedies, a genre that allows creators to subvert the folklore to present a contemporary story.

The film, which will release theatrically on March 11, reinterprets the iconic scene from 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge' (DDLJ) where Shah Rukh Khan's Raj wills Simran (played by Kajol) to 'palat', that is to turn back if she loves him. In the trailer, however, the character played by Kapoor, who is possessed by the ghost, rotates her neck to 360 degrees after Sharma says 'palat'.

Mehta said it was done to give a new twist to the memorable dialogue while honouring the classic horror trope with a bit of laugh.

"Horror films have always used this twisted neck or turning around the neck for horror effect but here we have subverted that and

combined the DDLJ mainstream memory of 'palat' and given a witch 'palat' moment. It was something not done before. In our universe, the chudail is filmy," shared the director.

Mehta also said that there is a lot of interest in this genre.

"We all have grown up listening to so many folk tales and rumours about ghosts and witches and each region has specific folklore. That helps establish folklore, create curiosity and subvert it in today's 21st century, where you can be rational about few things but you can also give up your rationality after few times," he added.

The director further stated, "There is a witch called 'mudiyapairi', who targets grooms and as they fall asleep, she abducts the brides."