While Indian audiences lap up Hollywood thrillers, the local fare hardly holds appeal

To get the green, you’ve got to go into the blue,” said Akshay Kumar in Blue, promising a thrilling viewing. The audience, however, thought otherwise. With a budget of Rs 120 crores, a bare-chested Kumar fighting sharks, a treasure hunt amidst coral reefs and a bikini-clad Lara Dutta, the film seemed to have all the trappings of an exciting thriller. Yet, devoid of nail-biting moments, it failed to draw crowds.

This year’s biggest debacle, however, has not deterred filmmakers from producing thrillers. The next few months have a slew of renowned names experimenting with the genre, starting with Kurbaan that releases today. Sudhir Mishra’s Tera Kya Hoga Johnny, Kumar Taurani’s Prince – It’s Showtime, Apoorva Lakhia’s Hide & Seek and Rakesh Roshan’s Kites will soon follow.

All the upcoming films are touted as high on thrill-quotient, but it’s their execution and ability to introduce nail-biting moments in the story that will deliver a perfect thriller. The audience expectation has gone up following the exposure to Hollywood thrillers, with great scripts, cutting-edge action sequences and inimitable style. Even though increasingly, movies like Dhoom, the remake of Don and recently, New York and Kaminey have managed to thrill, such films are extremely few in number.

Renowned filmmaker and scriptwriter Sriram Raghavan, whose Johnny Gaddar was critically acclaimed, maintains that while technology has changed the way our films look, the scripts continue to lack fizz. “Hindi films are like a thali. There’s got to be a bit of everything. So even when we make thrillers, we try to include a comedy track, songs and so on, so that the appeal is more broad-based,” he says. Echoes Farhan Akhtar, who directed Don and is now producing and also acting in the suspense thriller Kartik Calling Kartik, “This could be the factor that makes the film lose focus or slacken the pace.”

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