India's first horror show ran for 9 years, became a cult classic despite controversies.
Today there are several horror shows and supernatural thrillers that keep the audience hooked to their TV screens, however, do you know which was the first ever horror television show in India that became a cult classic?
Well, the first-ever horror show in India was made by the Ramsay brothers and it became a base for all the other horror shows like Aahat, Shhh...Koi Hai and more. The show was banned in Pakistan and even got into controversies, but later became a cult classic. It is none other than The Zee Horror Show.
After establishing the horror genre as mainstream with movies like Saamri and Veerana, the Ramsay brothers then thought to bring the genre onto the small screen and conceived the first horror TV series in India, the iconic Zee Horror Show. The show was initially a 24-episode deal but later ran for 9 years and became a cult classic.
The first episode of the show was titled Dastak and starred popular television actors Pankaj Dheer, Shagufta Ali, and Archana Puran Singh. Archana Puran Singh played the role of a woman who was killed by her husband and came back to take revenge as a ghost. Her scary avatar in the show earned her praise. Not only this, over the span of 9 years, the show also starred many Bollywood actors like Pallavi Joshi, Javed Khan, Gogga Kapoor, Sajid Khan, and Raj Kishore among others.
With the success, the show got entangled in controversies. Many people accused this show of spreading superstition. The dispute escalated so much that the matter reached the court. After this, the timing of this show was changed. Along with this, the name of this show was also changed from The Zee Horror Show to Anhoni.
The show was also banned in Pakistan. A Pakistani channel Apna Channel broadcasted Season 1 under the title Apna Horror Show from June 2015. However, in October 2016 Pakistani government banned Indian shows and this show stopped airing. The show returned in August 2017 and was shut down in 2018 for the same reason.
Well, despite the controversies, the show turned out to be a major hit and then the show which was earlier decided to be of only 24 episodes, ran for 9 years and developed the cult status. The show is one of the most memorable and successful TV shows in history and its success spawned other successful shows in the genre, from Alif Laila to Aahat.
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 "Archana Puran Singh's still from India's first horror show")
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