<p>Pawan Kripalani is a self- confessed lover of thriller-horror genre but the director says with "Phobia", he also wanted to explore the violence in society and its impact on people.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The movie has opened to good reviews with critics praising the gripping storyline and its lead Radhika Apte's powerful performance as a woman scared to step out of her home. Apte's character develops agoraphobia after escaping a rape attempt by a taxi driver.<br /><br />"Within this story, there is the larger issue of our own urban spaces and how violence in the society is getting to people. Subtextually, I wanted to make a comment about it," Pawan told PTI in an interview.<br /><br />The director, who has previously helmed "Ragini MMS" and "Darr @ The Mall", loves watching movies in the horror- thriller space but rues that Bollywood does not churn out good stories in the genre.<br /><br />He counts Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby" among the movies that influenced him while growing up.<br /><br />"I enjoy horror, psychological thriller. They are siblings. At the base level, they both are playing with the emotion of fear. I like being in that space. I am not going to step away from this place till I feel I have made the perfect film."<br /><br />Incidentally, Apted was the first person that Pawan approached for "Phobia" role.<br /><br />"Radhika was the first person, I narrated the story to. She is a great actor. The movie's story is very dependent on the actor as that person is in every frame, so I needed a performer like her.<br /><br />"We were working on something else but when I told her this story. She instantly came on board. She told me write the script I am in it."<br /><br />Next on Pawan's radar is a horror comedy but he says it is too early to talk about it.<br />He also thinks that "Phobia" can be developed into a franchise with subsequent movies exploring other such stories.</p>
<p>Pawan Kripalani is a self- confessed lover of thriller-horror genre but the director says with "Phobia", he also wanted to explore the violence in society and its impact on people.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The movie has opened to good reviews with critics praising the gripping storyline and its lead Radhika Apte's powerful performance as a woman scared to step out of her home. Apte's character develops agoraphobia after escaping a rape attempt by a taxi driver.<br /><br />"Within this story, there is the larger issue of our own urban spaces and how violence in the society is getting to people. Subtextually, I wanted to make a comment about it," Pawan told PTI in an interview.<br /><br />The director, who has previously helmed "Ragini MMS" and "Darr @ The Mall", loves watching movies in the horror- thriller space but rues that Bollywood does not churn out good stories in the genre.<br /><br />He counts Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby" among the movies that influenced him while growing up.<br /><br />"I enjoy horror, psychological thriller. They are siblings. At the base level, they both are playing with the emotion of fear. I like being in that space. I am not going to step away from this place till I feel I have made the perfect film."<br /><br />Incidentally, Apted was the first person that Pawan approached for "Phobia" role.<br /><br />"Radhika was the first person, I narrated the story to. She is a great actor. The movie's story is very dependent on the actor as that person is in every frame, so I needed a performer like her.<br /><br />"We were working on something else but when I told her this story. She instantly came on board. She told me write the script I am in it."<br /><br />Next on Pawan's radar is a horror comedy but he says it is too early to talk about it.<br />He also thinks that "Phobia" can be developed into a franchise with subsequent movies exploring other such stories.</p>