‘Desi vampires: not a bad idea if executed properly’

With the West making increasing forays into the world of the supernatural,when do our desi vampires make our blood boil by hitting the small screen? “It’s not a bad idea if executed properly,” feels director,Deepak Ramsay. “Maybe we’ll try it in the future if our budget allows it,but it’s difficult to predict whether the concept will hit the jackpot with Indian audiences.”

Producer B P Singh feels there could be another reason. “It will only work in Hollywood and not in India because most of us are not familiar with this word. If you go through Indian literature you will not find the word mentioned anywhere.”

And what about the vampire’s avatar as a romantic hero? “The vampire was born from the Dracula and was initially a terrifying figure. I can’t see how he can be a romantic figure to women. He wants to suck your blood,for God’s sake,” exclaims Singh.

It’s difficult to pinpoint when the vampire transmuted from the spine-chilling figure of Anne Rice stories to the seductive hotties in Twilight,Blood Ties and True Blood on whom women pin dangling hopes of nocturnal escapades,chaste kisses that do not light up the vampire’s blood lust and,of course,the ever-present danger of the vampire getting the sudden urge to knock back a few pints of your A-negative.

The vampire in his new form,feels Abhimanyu Singh,head of Contiloe Films,is the extreme of the quintessential bad boy,the urge to tame who has defined women from time immemorial. He attributes the vampire’s “not so colourful” aspects to the mushrooming of the interracial (or should we say interspecies) love affairs between vampires and innocent girls who fall for their power. “They are unattainable; hence they are fascinating to women.”

This is precisely why vampire stories,he feels,could work in India. “India is a country of deep-rooted beliefs. Good and evil has always existed side by side. We have been accepting of so much so why not vampires?”

But which desi hero can fill the shoes previously occupied by such worthy candidates as Robert Pattinson. Ramsay has a suggestion. “Hrithik Roshan. Only he has the look,the presence,the feel and the attitude that will fit the bill of a vampire.”

He is deadly alright.