Cold: Vikram Bhatt's upcoming supernatural thriller to be shot in a cold storage

Anisha Pahuja

Being the leading man of a Vikram Bhatt production could be on the bucket list of many actors. But would one sign up for what the filmmaker now demands? Bhatt, set to kick-off his supernatural thriller, Cold, will film in a cold storage to replicate the freezing conditions demanded by the script. A Mumbai apartment, mid-day learns, will be set up in such a storage unit, with lead actors Akshay Oberoi and Anisha Pahuja, ready to take up the challenge.

Vikram Bhatt

"We want to make the most terrifying thriller ever. Cold is the story of a girl living in a Mumbai. We will set up a three-bedroom apartment in the area. The concept is that owing to a situation, the flat keeps getting colder, eventually reaching sub-zero temperatures," says the filmmaker. Bhatt means business when suggesting that the actors will be required to brave the low temperatures, because they must not "fake it". "We will work in temperatures as low as two degree Celsius, because that is part of the climax. Filming in a storage unit is necessary because we need condensed air flowing out of the actors' mouths," he says, adding that his concern is the possibility of dealing with "failing equipment".

Akshay Oberoi

His penchant for horror enabled Bhatt to create some of Bollywood's most revered horror films, including Raaz, which, at the time of its release, was considered to be a game-changer in the genre. "Cold is an idiom-breaking film. People want to feel the fear. It will keep you at the edge throughout its runtime. The attempt is to make it subtle; employing minimal VFX and trinkets that we have come to associate with horror films."