Kajol calls horror emotionally draining, says she misunderstood the genre before Maa

India Today

6 hours ago

Actor Kajol has shared that she isn't a fan of horror movies and plans to watch her upcoming film 'Maa' only for professional reasons. The actor called working in the horror genre emotionally draining and admitted she had misjudged it before filming for 'Maa'. Despite being part of the project, Kajol shared she hasn't yet seen the complete film and has only viewed scenes 'with lots of green screens' to avoid getting scared.advertisementIn an interview with PTI, Kajol said, 'I don't watch horror films. I have watched a lot of big films. I'm not a horror film aficionado at all. I haven't watched 'Maa' yet. Only in parts with lots of green screens behind me so that I don't get scared, and no background music, or anything like that. I really have to watch it, for professional reasons.'The actor admitted she initially assumed that filming a horror movie would be similar to working in any other genre, but she soon realised how wrong she was. 'It was a very interesting experience, actually, it was not something that I had done before. I always assumed working on the horror genre was the same as working in any other film, and I was completely wrong,' she said.advertisement
Describing the emotional challenges of acting in horror, she added, 'Horror has a pitch when you are acting, and the pitch is completely different from regular movies. It's not a rom-com, it's not a love story, or it's not a drama. Vishal and I used to have long conversations where we were like, 'no, this is not the pitch. You have to keep it at this pitch.' And that was really emotionally draining, to keep it at that pitch constantly.'Interestingly, Kajol revealed that 'Maa' did not begin as a horror project. 'We didn't start out to do a horror film, but by the time the script came out, we realised that the characters and situations had become so big, that we needed a bigger platform to do justice to them, and to climax for them,' she said. 'As it was, the audience would not have been satisfied if we had come out with a very simplistic ending. So, that's why we had to attach the horror tag to give it that kind of staging,' the actor added.The film proved to be a learning experience for the actor. 'From doing action, to working with VFX, all of it, and even the dramatic scenes. I love the music of the film, so it all came together really nicely,' Kajol said.advertisementWhile Kajol has taken on various OTT projects in recent years, including 'The Trial' and 'Do Patti', she remains loyal to the magic of the big screen. 'Cinemas still have magic, somewhere down the line. You just don't have that same vibe or feel when you're watching a movie at home. It's something that only a cinema theatre can give you,' she concluded.Directed by Vishal Furia, 'Maa' marks Kajol's first venture into horror in her over 30-year-long career. The film shares its universe with the 2023 supernatural thriller 'Shaitaan', which featured her husband, actor Ajay Devgn. Kajol stars as Ambika, a mother determined to protect her daughter Shweta from harm.'Maa' also features Indraneil Sengupta, Kherin Sharma, and Ronit Roy. The film is presented by Jio Studios and Devgn Films, produced by Jyoti Deshpande and co-produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak.- EndsMust Watch