From Tumbbad to Veerana: Indian Horror Films You Shouldn’t Watch Alone

Are you a fan of horror movies? Indian horror films have made a strong impact on audiences worldwide. Here are some horror films you definitely shouldn’t miss. These films are not just horror sagas, they are a blend of psychology, fear, and suspense that keeps the audience hooked from beginning to end.

Tumbbad (2018)

Director: Rahi Anil Barve

Producer: Sohum Shah, Aanand L. Rai, Anand Gandhi, Mukesh Shah, Amita Shah

Story by: Narayan Dharap

Starring: Sohum Shah, Jyoti Malshe, Harsh K, Anita Date-Kelkar, Ronjini Chakraborty, Mohammad Samad

In the cursed village of Tumbbad, Vinayak discovers the secret of Hastar, a greedy god hidden inside a goddess’s womb. By tricking him, Vinayak steals gold coins and becomes wealthy, but his greed keeps growing. When he tries to take all the gold with his son, Hastar traps them. Vinayak sacrifices himself, and his son finally realises that greed only leads to destruction.

Welcome Home (2020)

Director: Pushkar Mahabal

Producer: Paresh Rawal, Swaroop Rawal

Written by: Ankita Narang

Starring: Kashmira Irani, Swarda Thigale, Boloram Das, Shashi Bhushan, and Tina Bhatia.

Two teachers visit a remote house during a census survey and meet a pregnant woman named Prerna. They discover that Prerna’s father has been abusing her and killing the babies she gives birth to. The teachers are caught but ultimately they escape and fight back. At the end of the story, you will be relieved. 

13B: Fear Has a New Address (2009)

Director: Vikram Kumar

Producer: Suresh Balaje, George Plus, Rajesh Sawhney

Written by: Abhinav Kashyap (Hindi), Vikram Kumar (Tamil)

Starring: R.Madhavan, Neetu Chandra, Sachin Khedekar, Deepak Dobriyal, Murali Sharma, Ravi Baba

This story is about Manohar, who moves into flat 13B and begins noticing strange things in his building. A TV show called Yavarum Nalam starts showing events that happen in his real life. As he investigates the apartment’s past, he discovers a dark and disturbing history connected to it.

Veerana (1988)

Director: Ramsay Brothers (Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay) Producer: Kanta Brothers

Story by: Ramsay Brothers 

Starring: Jasmin Dhunna, Hemant Birje, Kulbushan Kharbanda

This story is about a witch named Nakita who is killed by villagers while they try to protect their community. Years later, her spirit returns to take revenge by possessing a young woman named Jasmin. Under the witch’s control, Jasmin lures men and kills them. Eventually, a holy priest helps the family fight the evil spirit and tries to save her.

Horror Story (2013)

Director: Ayush RainaProducer: ASA Productions and Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.

Written by: Vikram Bhatt, Mohan Azad, Sukhmani Sadana (Dialogues) 

Starring: Karan Kundrra, Radhika Menon, Nishant Singh Malkhani, Ravish Desai, Hasan Zaidi, Aparna Bajpai, Nandani Vaid, Sheetal Singh

This story is about seven friends who decide to spend a night in an abandoned hotel in Mumbai that was once a mental asylum. Ignoring the warnings about the place being haunted, they enter the building for fun. Soon they realise evil spirits are inside the hotel, and as the night goes on, the friends are attacked one by one, leaving only one person to survive.

1920 (2008)

Director: Vikram BhattProducer: Surendra Sharma, Bhagwati Gabrani, Amita Bishnoi

Written by: Vikram Bhatt 

Starring: Rajneesh Duggal, Adah Sharma, Indraneil Sengupta, Anjori Alagh

This story is about Arjun, who falls in love with Lisa and leaves his family and faith to be with her then they move to Palampur, but their life takes a dark turn when Lisa gets possessed by a demonic spirit. Arjun then fights to save her from the evil. 

Bhoot: Part One – The Haunted Ship (2020)

Director: Bhanu Pratap Singh

Produced: Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Shashank Khaitan

Written by: Bhanu Pratap Singh

Starring: Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, Inayah Chowdhry

Bhoot: Part One – The Haunted Ship is a story about Prithvi, a shipping officer who is dealing with the loss of his family. He investigates a mysterious abandoned ship called ‘Sea Bird’ that gets caught on Juhu Beach in Mumbai. As he explores the ship, he discovers it is haunted by a vindictive spirit and faces terrifying supernatural events.

Darna Mana Hai (2003) 

https://youtu.be/HMeQgwBm-qA?si=WJhTTPpGygfilkXX

Director: Prawaal Raman

Producer: Ram Gopal Varma

Written by: Atul Sabharwal, Rajnish Thakur, Abbas Tyrewala

Starring: Nana Patekar, Vivek Oberoi, Saif Ali Khan, Boman Irani, Sanjay Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty, Sohail Khan, Antara Mali, Sameera Reddy, Rajpal Yadav, Aftab Shivdasani, Isha Koppikar, Peeya Rai Chowdhary, Revathi, Raghuvir Yadav, Gaurav Kapur, Kiku Sharda, Abir Goswami

This story is about six friends who get stranded on a highway and start sharing spooky stories. As the night goes on, the stories become more frightening. Soon, the real horror begins when some of the friends suddenly go missing.

Krishna Cottage (2004)

Director: Santram Varma

Producer: Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor

Story by: R. M. Joshi, Abhigyan Jha and Nirav Vidya

Starring: Sohail Khan, Isha Koppikar, Anita Hassanandani, Rati Agnihotri, Hiten Tejwani, Vrajesh Hirjee

Krishna Cottage is about a mysterious cursed book written by a professor in 1990 that contains nine-and-a-half unfinished horror stories. After the books are printed, the trucks carrying them meet with strange and deadly accidents, leaving only one copy locked inside a college library. Years later, a group of friends finds the book and unknowingly releases an ancient evil, leading them into a terrifying fight against the curse.

Darna Zaroori Hai (2006)

https://youtu.be/nSy2voxFl5c?si=QUIdHR95VGvrSkdQ

Director: Sajid Khan, Ram Gopal Varma, Prawaal Raman, Vivek Shah, Jiji Philip, J.D. Chakravarthy, Manish Gupta

Producer: Ram Gopal Varma, Satish Kaushik

Written by: Sajid Khan, Prawaal Raman, Ashish Deo, Nikhil Mishra, Manish Gupta

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Sunil Shetty, Arjun Rampal, Riteish Deshmukh, Bipasha Basu, Randeep Hooda, Mallika Sherawat, Rajpal Yadav, Sonali Kulkarni, Makarand Deshpande

Darna Zaroori Hai is a horror anthology film that features six different scary stories. The film begins with five children who lose their way in a forest and reach a frightening house. There, a mysterious old woman, known as Dadi Maa, tells them one terrifying story after another, each showing different forms of human fear.

These were ten horror films that you should definitely watch if you enjoy horror movies. Each of these films shows fear in a different way and makes the story interesting for the audience. There are many more films like Vaastu Shastra, U Turn, Manichitrathazhu, Bulbbul (2020) and Kaun? (1999) that are also worth watching. Indian horror cinema has many such stories and if you like this genre, there are many more films you can explore.