NEW DELHI - Long written off as fringe, horror is back in India's Bollywood, reinvented with comedy, mythology and big stars powering a box-office renaissance.
"There are new stories, fresh talent, and all of this is leading to a resurgence," said director Deepak Ramsay of the renowned filmmaking family, which has created around 30 horror titles over the decades.
"Films that were once niche are turning out to be blockbusters."
Once dismissed as pulp, bigger budgets, sophisticated special effects and A-list casts are pulling Bollywood horror out of the shadows.
"There is a huge audience wanting to watch such movies," said director Aditya Sarpotdar, whose film "Thamma" -- touted as India's first vampire movie -- releases this October.
Billed as a "bloody love story", it stars popular actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna, and blends Bollywood's signature song-and-dance numbers with werewolves and sharp fangs.
Ramsay credits some the genre's new-found success to prosthetics and computer-generated effects that have "gone to the next level", noting that budgets have also shot up.
From as little as $25,000 to make a horror film, "now budgets are closer to $9 million", he said.
A slow shift began in the 2000s, with Ajay Devgn starring in the 2003 success "Bhoot" ("Ghost"), while Akshay Kumar led cult hit "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" in 2007, a landmark that mixed psychological thriller and comedy.
The broader popular rise began in 2018 with "Tumbbad" -- the first Indian film to open Venice Critics' Week -- and "Stree", which drew on folklore and mythology to captivate audiences.
Today's filmmakers are increasingly blending genres.
"There's a very thin line between horror and comedy," Ram Gopal Varma, who directed "Bhoot", told AFP.
"The moment you get scared, your first reaction after the shock is to laugh."