Actor Arulnithi still fondly remembers the time he watched (2013) in a packed theatre. “When the ghost entered the screen, people were whistling and hooting. This is the kind of response you would expect for a mass hero, but here it was for the ghost.
It is one way of getting excited for the fear that you are going to feel,” he recalls with a smile plastered on his face. Interestingly, just two years later, his horror-thriller went on to become a similar hit among audiences and fans of the genre. The film is now moving onto the next stage to untie and tie all the loose ends through a sequel, , even as the legacy of the first film holds its base strongly.
“When the first part was released, I used to watch it in nearly 50 different theatres to gauge the audience’s response. People saw it as a full-fledged horror film that naturally incorporated humour, without it feeling forced. It provided them with a sense of relief,” he notes.
Although the first part earned accolades for the story and performances, the sequel was an idea that charted its own course in the last nine years. “I requested director Ajay Gnanamuthu for a sequel many times. But he was clear in his view.
He told me that he was waiting for the right story to begin the project. Since the original film gained critical accolades, this shouldn’t look like it was made to capitalise on the original’s popularity. While there was a promising business angle to it, we were also careful to not disappoint fans of.