Real Life Horror Inspires Reel Version
Horror-comedy Darling 2, which hits screens this Friday, is actually inspired by a real life story. The film’s director Satish Chandrashekaran, says, “I studied engineering. My college friends and I would often go on trips. We made it a habit to go on trips at least twice a year. So, even after we started working, we would go on fun trips. The incident which inspired this film’s script happened on one of those trips.”
The director says his friends planned a five-day trip to Topslip in Pollachi in 2011. The place is sparsely populated and has dense vegetation. “We decided to meet at a resort, spend the night there and then drive to this place the next morning. What happened at the resort that night sent shivers down our spines. It was so scary that we cancelled the trip.
But what happened that night? “The place we stayed was like a dormitory. The moment we stepped in, we started experiencing weird things. Wherever I went, I felt like someone was following me. I could hear voices, and they increased when I paid attention to them. I was scared, but I was also worried my friends would mock me if I told them what I was experiencing. My ego kept me from disclosing the strange happenings. Interestingly, even they experienced weird things, but chose to keep mum,” says Satish.
One of his friends who was to drive the next day, said he needed rest and went to bed early. “He covered himself with a blanket. We thought he was asleep, but got to know later that something was suffocating him. He couldn’t even call for help. He couldn’t even raise his hand to lift the blanket off himself,” Satish narrates.
“Another friend who was sleeping at the end of the room said he felt as if somebody kept calling him to turn around. When he decided not to turn, he got hit on his back,” says the director, who adds that the friend who covered himself with a blanket was very affected, forcing them to cancel the trip.
“I wondered what would have happened if the guy who got affected had been possessed, and we, without realising, had taken him on the trip. That’s how the script for this film began,” says the director.
It’s been several years since the incident, but does Satish still fear spirits? “Absolutely. When we write a script, we keep thinking about it. So, naturally, your fear keeps increasing,” says the director.
Since the story is based on what happened to him and his friends in real life, Satish says he was particular about making the bonding between the friends come across in the film.
“The film features Maya, Kalaiarasan, Rameez Raja, Kali Venkat, Muniskanth, Arjunan and Madras Johny. As they gelled well, there was a sense of friendship and camaraderie among them, and the bonding came across well,” says Satish.