Which Bollywood Stars Could Menace in Top 10? - Part 1

Comments [ 14 ] By Parvesh K. R. | 09 September 2012 | 8:34pm

To celebrate the annual Fright-Fest Film Festival that happened in London last month we've included a little fright for our readers too by giving you a head start with the genre's buzzing horror theme which collaborates surrounding thrillers too. Now although this month is all about feeling the heat, this time it's not about the sun shining high above the skies, but rather what happens when it goes down and your worst nightmares begin taking toll - especially if the family is out of town and you're home alone! When your mind suddenly plays tricks on you and makes you wonder whether the doors in your home always creaked so loud, or if it's an unknown force playing havoc? Did it occur that your house may have become the perfect setting for a haunted house now that you're alone? Does it make your heart pound to think you're alone; or, on second thoughts maybe not, because to think you're not, may prove to be a whole lot worse than you thought!

So what would you do if a serial killer just managed to escape your gaze - run? Or would you stand there and contemplate whether you should say the classic dialogue as they often do in our favorite scary movies - 'hello - is anybody there?' - just in the very rare case our serial killer might be there for a friendly chat. Such a scenario always ends up with the victim realizing that running is probably the best option after all as it is always famously revealed that the killer would much rather continue with his killing spree. Now that you've started running, which way would you choose? Now there's a query we see time and time again, and when our helpless victim decides to run but chooses the wrong direction, we're quick to shout out 'No! Not upstairs!' and when the outcome turns nasty, we usually say 'we told you so' which is when our nerves are finally at rest as the climax of someone's gruesome outcome due to their foolishness is now over. But the real question remains that where can you be safe in this genre? Who can protect you? Who do you believe, and just what is going on in the mind of the killer? Until this information is not revealed you are spell-bindingly compelled to bravely endure the disturbing displays our killer so pleasurably takes pride in carrying out, and in most cases we're surprised to such an extent that we can hardly believe by whom and why the killings took place. But nonetheless, we appreciate the fantastic plot-thickening and unbelievably terrifyingly convincing acts so much that we're almost petrified from the real star itself and we're obliged to believe that no other celebrity can accomplish recreating the same character to the astounding lengths as the original, but yet here we are, making a strategic list of B-town celebs that may just be able to pull it off.

Now, although this genre is probably one of the most outdone of them all it remains popular till date, simply because everyone loves a fright every now and then, right? But we'll say Bollywood is slightly weak at this approach when compared to its overseas industry Hollywood, and to kick-start the thrill we've made a list of Bollywood stars fitting the description of the some of the most famous villains and psychos to play the roles we absolutely love to hate, and if you haven't seen any of them yet, you have a fine list below to remedy that solution and join in on the fright-fest!

See which Bollywood star is chosen to torment you with Freddy's one-liners that would deprive you of your sleep in a heart beat in A Nightmare on Elm Street, and who fits the perfect description of handsome Christian Bale's experimental violence in American Psycho, down to discovering who our famous Norman Bates will be in Alfred Hitchcock's popular sixties Psycho!

We have selected a rounded list which narrows down to ten spontaneously disturbing movies in Hollywood. Although there are one far too many, we have tried our level best to let you cringe your way down to number one and finally break out into that sweat we promised you throughout this month. This first part counts down #10 to #8 on our list with the next part holding the next 3 Hollywood horror films.

Warning: Spoilers alert - read at your own risk!

10. Fatal Attraction (1987)

New York lawyer Dan Callagher (Michael Douglas) has a passionate affair one weekend with his colleague, Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) while his wife and daughter are away. But when Forrest believes she is insanely in love with him, he is soon convinced that his idea of a one night stand could destroy his happily married life. This movie is truly based on a 'fatal attraction' and just how dangerous a woman in love can be! When a guy obsesses we think it's romantic, but when a woman obsesses - we'll say it's a guy's worst nightmare come true. Anyone ever been accused of being a 'bunny-boiler' simply because of a slight infatuation with someone? Well, this is where the term originated from, when Forrest tried to forcibly work her way to her man's heart by cooking him a rabbit stew, but fortunately for her the local butcher fell short of a few we're guessing, so she decided to make it rather fondly with Callagher's daughter's pet rabbit instead!

So who fits the bill of the psychotic Alex Forrest in Bollywood? Our pick is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. We've seen her rage in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam when she was on the brink of her mental stability - or so it seemed - and even continued to nurture her love for Sameer (Salman Khan) regardless of her marriage to Vanraj (Ajay Devgn). One could easily believe she was standing upon the bridge of obsession but refused to dive in when Vanraj's true love became her saviour towards the end. According to us, Rai-Bachchan would be the perfect actress in B-town to fit into Close's shoes, because we've seen her on the edge of darkness before and having the opportunity to see her go to the extremes would prove to be an enjoyable watch. While Douglas' role would make the fright more exciting if portrayed by actor Shahrukh Khan, offering him a fair switch from the villain he once attained grand fame from in his movies such as Darr and Anjaam, and for a change having the same favor he once showered upon his heroines Juhi Chawla and Madhuri Dixit returned unto himself.

Quote it: "Bring the dog, I love animals."; "I'm a great cook."

Tagline: Thou shalt be faithful as of 1987.

9. Skeleton Key (2005)

A young hospice nurse, Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson), becomes a caregiver at an isolated plantation house in southern Louisiana due to the persuasive talks of estate lawyer Luke Marshall (Peter Sarsgaard), who convinces her to look after hostile Violet Devereaux's (Gena Rowland) husband Benjamin Devereaux (John Hurt), a stroke victim awaiting his death. However, the plot thickens when Ellis discovers dark information about the servants of the former inhabitants who lived in the attic of the house during the 1920's and their involvement as renowned practitioners of Hoodoo, an Afro-Caribbean folk magic. As this mystery unravels and turns non-believer Ellis into a firm believer of cult magic in order to find Ben a cure, she has no idea what she's got herself into.

Supernatural horrors are always a treat especially combined with old folklore magic with dark forces, and so in this movie our chosen star cast from B-town is, Priyanka Chopra as Ellis who can easily portray the happy-go-lucky dame without a care for the world of spells, potions and whatnot, but who better to make a transformation into a believer and to cure Ben - who we'd see as Irfan Khan - and gets herself involved with the magic spells only to discover that making her 'believe' was the greatest part of the plan. We've seen Chopra change avatars many times on screen but this role would do wonders with her acting skills. She would seemingly turn to estate lawyer Marshall, who we'd see as Saif Ali Khan and without effort let audiences believe they were starred opposite each other. She would explain to him her suspicion of Violet's unaffectionate behavior towards her husband, but soon realises his connection with Violet Devereaux for who the desi version would justify beautifully as Shabana Aazmi. Ellis would be brought back to her once captured by Marshall and the truth would be revealed that the servants belonging to the former inhabitants are in actual fact them. When they were caught doing a powerful Hoodoo spell with the children of their owners, they were set on fire alive - except that the spell had been done by then and it was the actual children who were lynched and the souls of the servants, Mama Cecile and Papa Justify, were retained in the bodies of their previous owners' children growing up as Violet Devereaux and Benjamin Devereux. Poor Ellis has the same fate and she finds herself joining Ben's side and realises that he is actually the real Luke Marshall, and now shares the same condition as him in Violet's previous body as Ellis.

Quote it: "You know the black one's never stay. Beggars can't be choosers. I think it suits you beautifully. It's better than Violet or Grace, even. We'll get used to it. We always do."

Tagline: Don't believe in magic and you're safe.

8. Orphan (2009)

Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John Coleman (Peter Sarsgaard) are trying to resolve their troubled marriage due to the loss of their unborn child, while overcoming Kate's drinking problem which has been tamed for a year. The couple decide to make further progress in their relationship by resorting to adoption, and visit St Marina orphanage where they are immediately impressed by an extremely intelligent 9-year old Russian girl Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) and introduce her to their children, Max, who is a deaf-mute but takes a liking towards his new sister, and Daniel, who dislikes her on the spot. Things take a turn for the worst in Kate and John's marriage when Esther begins saying and doing things a child of her age couldn't possibly be aware of, and Kate soon learns Esther isn't as innocent as she claims. Husband John doesn't believe it when Kate explains that Esther may be psychologically disturbed and feels her children are exposed to danger around her, which results in causing more damage to their vulnerable marriage. However, Kate does not let matters lie and catapults herself into discovering the truth after she believes Esther tried to murder her son Daniel when he is hospitalised. She delves further into her belongings and finds a Bible that came from the Saarne Institution in Estonia, which is a mental hospital, who reveal to her that Esther can easily disguise herself as an orphan due to hypopituitarism, a condition that reduces growth in human developments. She learns that she is a 33-year old woman named Leena Klammer, and has a grisly history of violent murders and bears scars on her wrists and neck received from her continuous attempts to escape her strait jacket, and longs for sexual relationships in father figures.

So, a 33-year old psychologically disturbed woman posing as a 9-year old orphan with violent and manipulative traits in her character would have to be Kangana Ranaut for us. Her versatile roles in her acting career prove this actress can pull just about anything off, but another obvious reason to pick her would definitely be her petite figure and ability to portray innocence across her face which could help her pass as a child on-screen. Towards the end of the movie, when the doctor at Saarne Institute reveals Esther's description, we see her removing her makeup, false teeth and body wrappings that allowed her to play the role of a child. This is how we finally see her for the mentally psyched person that she really was, who had previously killed another family in Estonia after the father refused her sexual advances made by her. Now this particular scene is one that can easily be imagined with Ranaut in character, with a flawless act and giving her yet another role to prove her acting mettle. Fuhrman received critical acclaim for her role in this movie for coming across as a calm and well composed sinister killer and simply attending to every situation against her with a controlled approach, and this is a quality Ranaut can share, as she may be one of the few Bollywood actresses who can speak volumes with her eyes without the use of speech.