Film Trivia Flashback
2 Horror Films That Crossed Borders and Boundaries
Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Evil Eye demonstrate how horror films transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries through remakes and diaspora storytelling.
Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk
Horror cinema has increasingly transcended traditional geographical and language boundaries, as evidenced by these two films released within days of each other across different years.
Nineteen years ago, Bhool Bhulaiyaa established itself as a psychological horror comedy that remade the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu for Hindi-language audiences. Directed by Priyadarshan and starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan, the film transformed a regional story—itself based on a 19th-century tragedy from Travancore—into a pan-Indian phenomenon, demonstrating how horror narratives could travel across linguistic and cultural contexts while retaining their emotional core.
Six years ago, Evil Eye demonstrated a different kind of border-crossing: an American supernatural horror film directed by Elan and Rajeev Dassani, written by Madhuri Shekar based on her Audible Original audio play, and executive produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas through her Purple Pebble Pictures banner alongside Blumhouse Television’s Jason Blum. The film, starring Sarita Choudhury and Sunita Mani, exemplified how diaspora storytelling could merge American and Indian creative forces to explore supernatural themes through a culturally specific lens.
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Prince Johal is the Press Release Editor at Studio CarryOnHarry, handling wire and press-release coverage. Prince Johal is an Indian esports competitor who, competing under the handle HI_ISTLER, won bronze in Carrom 3D at the 2011 World Cyber Games World Championship Finals in Busan, South Korea — to date, India's only WCG podium finish.
