Kokrajhar, Aug. 25: Bollywood bigwig Ram Gopal Varma sought to scare audiences with Bhoot, a spooky tale of a ghost seeking revenge. Closer home, a Bodo director has come up with a film of the same name, albeit to exorcise a ghost that has haunted the lives of his fellow tribesmen for many years now.

Each year, at least half-a-dozen people are killed in Kokrajhar district alone on suspicion of practicing witchcraft. Perturbed by the trend, filmmaker Rahen, who has several hit Bodo films in his résumé, tackles the critical subject in his new venture.

Bhoot tells the story of a youth named Dwihung, who is branded a witch. Residents of the village pronounce death as punishment to him and his entire family, but Dwihung survives. He takes shelter in a nearby forest, but enters the village at night to eat leftovers.

Residents of the village believe that Dwihung and his family members have become ghosts and returned to take revenge. But in the same village lives Swmdwn, an educated youth who tries to convince the villagers that there are no witches or ghosts among them.

Though he becomes the most hated person in the village for doing so, Swmdwn continues his campaign against witch-hunting, determined to eradicate the superstition.

“Witchhunting is a big problem in Bodo society. Even in the 21st century, people seem to be wedded to superstition. The only way to tackle this menace is to generate awareness,” Rahen, who has also written the screenplay, said.

Rahen is mostly worried about murders being committed on the pretext of punishing alleged witches. “We hear about such incidents every year. Through Bhoot, I want people to realise that there are no witches,” he said.

Birgwsri Harimu Afat, the production house behind the film, has given many hits, including Boba and Behar in the Nineties. Bhoot is slated for release next month.