6-5=2 introduces a new genre of horror
Inspired by the Blare Witch Project, 6-5=2 introduces a new genre of horror, named the found footage genre. After the Kannada version by KS Ashoka released last year in November on a shoestring budget of Rs. 30 Lakhs, it is said to have turned the Kannada film industry upside down by making 40 crore.
In this genre of horror, the film makers aim to try to convince the audience to forget they are watching a film and try to convince them that they are watching real footage recorded by real people, who have either died or gone missing. The features of the genre include natural acting, lack of credits and shaky camera work.
The only other film in Bollywood in this genre was the 2012 film Question Mark, which dealt with a similar theme. In Question mark, which is directed by Yash Dave and Allison Patel, the film follows a college group who are travelling to a hillstation. The reason is to shoot a project film. They stay at a run down bunglow and realize it is haunted, but can not escape the paranomal activity.
Similarly, 6-5=2 in both its Kannada version directed by K.S. Ashok and its Hindi remake by Bharat Jain tells the story of six friends who encounter paranormal presences during their mountain trek, which are intermitantly recorded in a video recorder.
According to Bharat Jain, who will produce and direct the remake, the inspiration of the film came from a personal experience in 2001. He says that he went with ten friends for a mountain trek, of which two went missing and remain so till date.
It is great to see Indian films finding new and less cliché ways to strike fear into the hearts of its audience. The Hindi remake will be out this weekend on November 14.