Ramu admits to being a major horror short-story buff. “I love the horror genre. I used to love the short stories by Hitchcock. The horror genre stretches the imagination. It also stretches the filmmaker’s ability to tell a story using optimum technical devices like sound effects. If you make a horror film within a reasonable budget, it’s bound to work. People said Bhoot wouldn’t connect with people. But it did. The idea is to make what I want to make, and make it cost-effective.”

And then Ramu drops a bomb. “I’m starting my third multiple-story horror film, Darna Mangta Hai, in July. It will again be something totally different from Darna Mana Hai and probably Darna Zaroori Hai too if it doesn’t work.” Henceforth the various storytellers in the Darna series will be selected through an all-India contest. “I want to make it a kind of series. And I’ll need a team to help me select stories. Yes, we’ll have a contest to select the stories and directors. And, no, it doesn’t matter whether Darna Zaroori Hai works or not. I’ll still do Darna Mangta Hai. The idea is to continue making what I want to. My failures and successes are more visible because of my volume of work.”

Speaking of the episode Ramu has directed, he says, “I take a great pride in the story because I thought there was nothing left for Mr Bachchan to perform. But to get him to give expressions that he has never given?I don’t remember seeing him express fear onscreen. The story is bizarre ? they all are. I’m grateful to Mr Bachchan for not thinking I’ve gone completely wacko. There are bouts of humour in the storytelling. But half the time you don’t know whether to be scared or giggle. None of the stories have titles, by the way. So they’ve to be identified by the actors.” Then the parting shot. “This is our first film in six months. But now we’ll be releasing films every month till year-end. After Darna Zaroori Hai it’s Darwaza Bandh Rakho, then Shiva.”