ACE filmmaker Priyadarshan once reflected on why Bhool Bhulaiyaa can not be called a horror comedy. In an exclusive interview with IANS, he was asked "You all have been pioneers of horror comedy in India, and now, it has become a hit genre. So, how do you feel when you hear such comments?" Reacting to this, Priyadarshan shared, "We just started it. Then the people, I mean others, took over. We just started with Bhool Bhulaiyaa. The filmmaker further pointed out that he considers Bhool Bhulaiyaa not to be a horror film, but a psychological thriller. Shedding further light on the genre, Priyadarshan went on to explain, "So, but it's a very, very nice psychology, I'll tell you something. In a tense film, a little bit of small humour also works in a big way because they are a little tense in the theatre. So, a small sequence of humour will work.

 

But in an out-andout comedy, you have to really work hard on humour. The most difficult thing. This is something everybody has to accept. I have suffered a lot making comedy films on this. And when I watch my own films, which have become huge hits, when I see them again, I don't feel like laughing. Then finally I think, 'you know, it's gone.' But in the theatre, I see the response. Because ten times you can't see the same scene. But there are people watching it twenty times, thirty times.This is the most difficult thing." The Hera Pheri maker went on to admit that every time he tries humour and horror, he ends up getting a shiver. "I mean, it's very, very difficult, I can say that", Priyadarshan concluded. Priyadarshan will next helm Haiwaan, a psychological thriller starring Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, and Saiyami Kher, slated for release on September 11, 2026.