Bishal Dutta Shares 5 Indian Myths He Grew Up With

As I started watching the trailer for the supernatural horror movie It Lives Inside, I believed it might be one other traditional highschool story — you recognize, the protagonist discovering their true id whereas battling a Freddie-Kruger-esque killer or being haunted by an Annabelle-like spirit — however I used to be sorely mistaken.

From the producers of Jordan Peele’s Get Out and starring Never Have I Ever’s Megan Suri, the movie follows the battle between Sam, an Indian American high-schooler, and a pishach, a flesh-eating demon from Hindu mythology — one thing I grew up listening to tales and legends about from my Indian grandparents. Turns out, It Lives Inside author and director Bishal Dutta based mostly the movie on his expertise immigrating to the US from India as a 4-year-old, Indian folklore, and even a household story his grandfather instructed him.

1.

Let’s begin by discussing the demon within the room, the pishach. It’s a shapeshifting and flesh-eating demon that originated from Hindu mythology. As Sam learns in It Lives Inside, a pishach can turn into invisible and even manipulate the thoughts to drive you to the brink of sanity. “Don’t go to sleep with a bad feeling in your heart,” Bishal shared, as these creatures pry on destructive human power.

2.

Next, Bishal spoke about his childhood in Assam, the place he heard tales of the baak. As he defined, “[A baak] is a shapeshifter that lives in swamps and will draw you in while you are traveling at night.”

3.

According to the legends, a churel is a particularly hideous witch who can shapeshift. She lures males into the woods to soak up their life drive to make herself lovely. She’s giving Mother Gothel from Tangled meets The Blair Witch Project — however Bishal revealed that you may establish these witches by their “backward feet.”

4.

If you have seen or learn Harry Potter, you would possibly discover the connection between Voldemort’s snake, Nagini, and this subsequent creature, the naagin. It’s a half-human, half-snake creature that may shapeshift into completely different species. Like Bishal, I first heard of the naagin from my grandparents and was all the time instructed you may acknowledge one by its 1) capacity to be statuesque for prolonged intervals, 2) rare blinking, and three) notably alluring magnificence.

5.

Last however not least, Bishal and I mentioned the Nale Ba legend — mentioned to be based mostly on true occasions from a village in Bengaluru, India. In English, “nale ba” interprets to “come tomorrow.” As the story goes, an evil spirit would knock on the doorways of villagers at evening whereas saying their names in a well-recognized voice. If the villagers opened the door, they might be killed and put again into mattress. In hopes of stopping the spirit from knocking, the villagers started writing “nale ba” on their doorways.