Ramu Se Darna Zaroori Hai?

Ram Gopal Varma's horror flick "Darna Zaroori Hai" and Mahesh Bhatt's crime thriller "Gangster" are set to collide at the box office Friday.

They are also expected to end more than a month of box office monotony created by dud comedies and high voltage dramas - "Malaamal Weekly, "Pyare Mohan", "Humko Deewana Kar Gaye", "Shaadi Se Pehle" and "Saawan - The Love Season" - that hit the screens and tumbled one-by-one.

Going by the pre-release curiosity that director Anurag Basu's latest "Gangster" has created, the Emraan Hashmi starrer is expected to win the race at the box office. Because any kind of love story lures people.

"If the audience really has a sixth sense, as they claim to have then they will definitely come to see my film," producer Mahesh Bhatt told.

"Gangster" has excited some curiosity because it is loosely based on mobster Abu Salem's affair with actress Monica Bedi, who was seen romancing Sanjay Dutt in "Jodi No. 1".

However, Varma's "Darna Zaroori Hai" faces an uphill task in enticing viewers despite its high powered cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh and Bipasha Basu.

"Darna Zaroori Hai", a prequel to "Darna Mana Hai", is a horror film and the genre is not very popular in India.

Indian movies buffs might have matured in last few years and applauded films like "Black" and "Page 3" but they have yet to match up with Varma's weird thought process.

Produced by Varma's Factory, "Darna Zaroori Hai" is a joint effort of seven directors - it has seven stories woven into one thread with each one directed by a different person.

Commenting on "Darna...", Bhatt said: "They are not offering anything new. We must remember the public wants to see new things."

His film does not boast the same cast though. Besides Bhatt's nephew Emraan, the film stars Shiney Ahujua and introduces Kangna Rawat who is playing Monika Bedi's part in the film.

A few years ago, Bhatt reaped huge profits with "Murder", starring Emraan and Mallika Sherawat, who became a name to reckon with after the film's success.

But then "Tumsa Nahin Dekha", where he repeated Emraan with Diya Mirza, sank without a trace.

Varma has also not given any big hit lately. His "Sarkar", inspired from Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's life, which had Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan in the pivotal roles, was a moderate success but wasn't a money spinner.

The verdict lies with the audience. But all said and done, Indian audiences prefers crime thrillers to horror flicks.

The acid test awaits Bhatt and Varma this Friday.