The Return of the Ramsays

Lately, however, she has been having sleepless nights. “I don’t know how the audience will receive my work,” she says, referring to her directorial debut, Phir Se Ramsay, a five-part horror web series that was launched on 101 India on March 24. Each 10-minute episode is a standalone story, released every three days.

The first episode revolves around a man, who is obsessed with the afterlife. After he is killed by his glamorous wife, he returns as a zombie to seek revenge. The episode ends with a rap track that’s a tribute to Shyam and titled after him. “The series is a throwback to the cinema of the Ramsays. It isn’t really my style, and I hope the audience doesn’t think this is all I have to offer them,” says Saasha, who started assisting on the sets of Ramsay productions at the age of 15. She has also worked on Zee Horror Show as well as Neeli Aankhen, about an ichhadhaari naagin (shape-shifting snake) on Sahara One.

Saasha feels ready to carry forward the Ramsay legacy but, at the same time, is keen to distance herself from it. “I will be honest. I got this genre as a legacy on a platter and I willingly took it. My idea of horror is different from what we are known for. To me, silence is spooky and the unseen is to be feared. My style is more like The Conjuring,” she says. Yet, her feature film debut will be a sequel to Veerana, which revolves around a witch who later takes over a girl called Jasmin. It was one of the biggest hits of the Ramsays. “That’s for two reasons. Firstly, the The Conjuring space has already been taken by my dad who is making a film titled, The House, which is similar. Secondly, I love the character of Jasmin; she is very intriguing. For a film to be successful, it needs a soul, and Jasmin is that soul, and I intend no pun here,” she adds.

Saasha has already written the script, but adds that the sequel will have a new storyline and a contemporary setting. “My Jasmin is written with a female gaze. She will have blue eyes and be a deep, grey character. I get very annoyed with people who laugh a lot, so she will be someone who doesn’t talk much but says it all. Eroticism will be a huge factor in my films as well, but I know where to stop,” says Saasha, who is a fan of Vishesh Films, the production house owned by Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt.

Saasha believes that the digital space is very tricky and tough for the horror genre. “In a theatre, people go for a horror film with the mindset of being spooked. They prepare for it and the ambience adds to that,” she says.
The digital medium, she points out, is used by people at various times, especially when they are travelling. “They may not be prepared and many may not have their headphones on, which I believe is a must for horror. The sound for first episode of Phir Se Ramsay was mixed using one of the best technologies. When the chopped-off head of the villain goes down the fish tank, one can hear the bubbles. But, no one paid attention to such details,” she says.