Two years ago, the story of a family whose daughter is ensnared by a stranger’s dark magic during a vacation, became a huge box-office hit. The Gujarati horror-psychological thriller Vash not only won two National Awards — one of them being for its protagonist Janki Bodiwala — but also spawned a Hindi adaptation, Shaitaan, starring Ajay Devgn, R. Madhavan, and Jyothika, with Janki reprising her role. Shaitaan, too, was a box-office blockbuster.

Now, Krishnadev Yagnik, the director of Vash, has repeated the magical success of his first film with Vash: Level 2, which released last week both in Gujarati as well as in its Hindi dubbed version. t2 caught up with Yagnik for a brief chat.

Most memorable feedback so far for Vash: Level 2

That would have to be from my mom. My mom was like: ‘Tu sach mein hi mera beta hain, na?!’ (Laughs) I was like: ‘Why are you asking this?’ She replied with: ‘I can’t watch your films, they are too scary!’ She wants me to make a comedy film so that she can watch. It is a funny kind of feedback but it shows that the horror in the Vash films has really hit home.

The pressure going into Vash: Level 2 after delivering Vash

Yes, there was some pressure at the script level. I was worried that people wouldn’t find it as scary as the first film. But once we locked the script, I knew that we had a compelling film in our hands.

We didn’t want to repeat any sequences in Vash: Level 2 which had been there in Vash, no matter how successful they had been. We avoided scenes like: ‘Chai patti kha jaa’ or any other kind of vashikaran scene. We wanted to keep the second film fresh even though it had a connection to the first.

The key to crafting a psychological thriller where style doesn’t overpower substance

You have to have a solid concept in hand, one without any frills, and which stays true to what it wants to do — which in the case of the Vash films is to craft a compelling, scary film. If you keep your focus completely on the script, then the dialogues and the screenplay that will do justice to it automatically flow.

Receiving the National Award

Before Vash, I had been making films for 10 years, but hadn’t got as much recognition. For your first-ever award to be the National Award is always special, a total pinch-me moment.

Favourite films in the genre

I love Don’t Breathe (2016). I like films that perhaps may not have a ghostly presence but have that constant feeling of dread. Every sound, and even the silences, in these films have some sort of impact on the mind of the viewer.