Raza Murad on Shyam Ramsay: He was the last word in horror

He was a humble, courteous and polite person. I was fortunate to have worked with him in ‘Bandh Darwaza’ (1990) and a TV show, Naagin. He was a thorough gentleman

He was a humble, courteous and polite person. I was fortunate to have worked with him in ‘Bandh Darwaza’ (1990) and a TV show, Naagin. He was a thorough gentleman and always had a smile on his face, even while handling any stress or tension on the sets.

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While shooting ‘Bandh Darwaza’ in Mahabaleshwar, I needed to be in Mumbai for a one-day to shoot for an ensemble film’s climax. Even though our schedule was hectic, he allowed me to go. It meant loss of three days, as it took me a day to reach Mumbai, shoot for a day and then a day to reach Mahabaleshwar again. He was gracious and never made me feel awkward about it.

His entire family, including his brothers, cousins and daughter, worked together.

They ensured they made their films on a stipulated budget, which is why their films worked and got good returns. It was quite the contradiction that such a sweet family made memorable horror films.

It is a great loss to me. The Ramsays were the last word in horror, they were the masters then. In a time when there was no VFX or special effects, they packed in the right amount of emotions, with apt background score and make-up.

As told Kavita Awaasthi