"We don't work with stars," said director Mahesh Bhatt when asked when he would make a film with his daughter Alia. Or could it be that Alia wasn't too comfortable working in the genre her father's production house was being associated with off late, namely horror?



The man who gave us poignant, sensitive and hard-hitting films like Saaransh, Arth, Naam, Zakhm, as well as the frothy Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, has now shifted gears towards the horror genre with a liberal sprinkling of erotica.



The filmmaker, who was promoting his erotic thriller Khamoshiyan, starring Ali Fazal , Sapna Pabbi and Gurmeet Choudhary, said, "Well horror works, people want to watch it, if it comes well packaged with a tight storyline, effects, good music and powerful performances, it's like any other film. Horror, which was earlier synonymous with B-grade and C-grade Bollywood fare, is no longer viewed so and actors want to give it a shot.



Ali Fazal, who starred with Vidya Balan in Bobby Jasoos and did the forgettable Sonali Cable, had struck a three-film deal with Vishesh Films. He said, "Well what can I say am so very grateful."



If lies and liars spooked Ali out and the dark, Sapna Pabbi, it was silence that freaked Mahesh Bhatt out the most. "It's scary when people don't realize that their silence spells out a lot more than they want to give out," he said.



On the question of the recent Padma awards, Mahesh Bhatt said, "I have always said that Dilip saab deserves a Bharat Ratna, he is an institution ,a text book on acting, he is in a league of his own."