20 years back, director Vikram Bhatt played the gamble of making Raaz and it has so far been one of his best decisions. On February 1, Raaz completed 20 years of its release and in an interview, Bhatt recalled how people had questioned his choice of directing a horror film. Their concern was also because horror films, released before Raaz, took on the role of a B-grade movie. Hence, people assumed that Bhatt was also onto making a similar film. Bhatt told Hindustan Times that no one believed in the small film, and they thought he was making a mistake.
The director recalled, “There was a big producer who came to me and said, ‘Kya yaar, tu flop hero aur Ajnabee ki vamp ke saath picture bana raha hai! (What man, you are making a film with a flop hero and the negative lead actress of Ajnabee).
Raaz propelled Bhatt to fame and indeed acted as a game-changer in his career. According to the director, the film had put him on the road of making horror films and he continues to do so. Raaz helped Bhatt to find his genre. He stated that in every filmmaker’s life, there comes a film they find hard to beat, Raaz is that film for him. Referring to the movie as “a badge of honour,” Bhatt said that it is still remembered, and fans continue to talk about the scenes and the songs. In a way, Bhatt believes Raaz was a bigger hit than his 1998 directorial Ghulam featuring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji.
He credited producer Mahesh Bhatt, music director duo Nadeem-Shravan and of course the spectacular cast, Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu, Malini Sharma, and Ashutosh Rana for the success of the film.
The audience loved Dino and Bipasha’s chemistry in the film, and even as individuals, they nailed their screen time. But the duo was not Bhatt’s first choice. The director wanted to have actor Anil Kapoor on board, but he refused to be a part of a horror film. Actor Lisa Ray was roped in to play the female lead. Bhatt had worked with Lisa in Kasoor (2001) so she was clearly the first choice for Raaz. Lisa had shot for a portion of the film, but owing to some personal issues, she couldn’t continue to do the film. The team was left in a lurch as they didn’t have a heroine. Later, it was Dino who came in and suggested Bipasha’s name. At that time, Dino and Bipasha were dating. When Bhatt met her the first time and narrated the film, she fell off the sofa. Bipasha’s reaction made him realise that she definitely can be 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 said.
