Horror king Shyam Ramsay dead at 67

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Shyam Ramsay, one of seven Ramsay Brothers, who pioneered the horror genre in Bollywood in 70s, is no more.
Ramsay Brothers

TIL Staff

Shyam Ramsay, one of seven Ramsay Brothers, known for making low-budget adult-rated horror flicks in 70s-80s passed away in Mumbai on Wednesday after a bout of pneumonia. He was 67. Last year, his brother Tulsi Ramsay died after complaining of chest pain.

The popular Ramsay Brothers kickstarted horror genre in Bollywood in 1972 with Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche that was shot over the span of 40 days in a government guest house on a budget of Rs 3.5 lakh. The film was a hit and post that there was no looking for Ramsay Brothers, whose films were combination of sex, horror and suspense.

Few people know that Ramsay Brothers took inspiration from their father F.U. Ramsay. The Ramsay senior had delivered flops like Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh (1954), Rustam Sohrab (1963) and Ek Nanhi Munni Ladki Thi (1970), but his sons got their superhit idea at the screening of one of the films. They noticed viewers’ response to a particular scene where they were all screaming and came up with the idea of making full-fledged horror flicks.

Guest House, Veerana, Purana Mandir, Purani Haveli, Darwaza and Bandh Darwaza were among the 30 horror films from the stable of Ramsay Brothers. Most of these movies were made in 70s and 80s and on a shoestring budget.

In 90s, with the advent of satellite era, Ramsay Brothers changed their target audience and shifted their focus to TV shows. Their show Zee Horror Show was widely watched and soon many such shows followed.

Veteran filmmaker and critic Khalid Mohamed posted his condolences.

“THE KING OF our HORROR MOVIES…SHYAM RAMSAY at age 67 passed away last night, following a bout of pneumonia. The seven Ramsay brothers were a phenomenon, no one to date spins out spine chillers the way they did,” he wrote.

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