This TV set will scare you!

By Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama News Network

Recall the horror movies churned out by Ramsays a few decades ago. Skeletons and skulls, a blood-thirsty spirit, a graveyard, scary faces... a Ramsay movie would be incomplete without them. But horror/eerie films have undergone a drastic change over the years. Today, storytellers are weaving stories around a doll, a tree, a mansion... even a television set. Yes, in 13 B - FEAR HAS A NEW ADDRESS, a television set is not merely an appliance to entertain and enlighten you. It plays a pivotal part in scaring you as well.

"Vikram [the director of 13 B] and I were keen to work with each other, but we could never lock the right script that would excite us. One fine day he saw a news bulletin, where television sets distributed by a politician resulted in his winning the elections. That incident triggered off everything," actor R. Madhavan informs me, "In 13 B, television is not just an appliance, it's the focal point of the story."

13 B is the address of the residence that Madhavan and his family reside, in the movie. "But it's not about a haunted home, not remotely similar to RGV's BHOOT or VAASTU SHASTRA. In 13 B, things happen at 13 hours [1 p.m.], on the 13th floor, which houses Flat No. 13. I can assure you one thing, you haven't seen something like 13 B in Hindi movies before," Madhavan states.

Why is Madhavan seen so less in Hindi films these days? In these 9 years, starting with REHNAA HAI TERRE DIL MEIN, the talented actor has acted in barely 7 films so far. 13 B is his eighth Hindi film. "Frankly, I would be doing gross injustice to my [Tamil] producers if I play second or third lead in Hindi films because I get to play solo leads there. Plus, the stories/concepts I work in give me ample scope to exhibit my talent. I wouldn't mind Hindi films if I came across exciting scripts," he explains.

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