As we approach Halloween, we look at five Hollywood and five Bollywood productions whose off-screen horrors outlasted the movies themselves.
Hollywood
1. The Exorcist (1973)
Misfortune reportedly began with a fire that gutted most of the set, sparing only the possessed girl’s bedroom. Reports said nine people died during production. Studio publicity amplified the stories, turning rumours into reputation.
2. The Omen (1976)
Trouble began before shooting, when Gregory Peck’s son died by suicide. It then followed the crew: reports said lightning struck planes carrying Peck and the producer, and a charter plane the team skipped crashed, killing all aboard. Effects designer John Richardson later survived a car crash that killed his assistant, echoing a death he designed for the film.
3. Poltergeist (1982)
The legend starts with a prop: reports said real human skeletons were used in the finale. Then tragedy reached the cast. Dominique Dunne was murdered months after release, and Heather O’Rourke died at 12 during the third film. Four cast members died across the trilogy, though those involved dismiss any curse.
4. The Superman franchise
The jinx follows the role itself. George Reeves, TV’s Superman, died of a gunshot wound in 1959, ruled a suicide. Christopher Reeve was paralysed in 1995 and died in 2004 while Kirk Alyn struggled with typecasting, and Lee Quigley died at just 14. Coincidence is likelier, but the pairing made the cape feel unlucky.
5. Atuk
Here the curse is a role nobody finishes. Reports said John Belushi was linked to it before dying in 1982 of a drug overdose. In 1992, Sam Kinison died in a car crash after filming a few scenes and demanding rewrites. John Candy died in 1994 of a heart attack before filming, and Chris Farley, attached later, died in 1997. In 1998, Phil Hartman, slated for a supporting role in the film, was shot and killed by his wife. Each loss pushed the project further from ever reaching the screen.
Bollywood
7. Love and God (1986)
Shooting for the film started in 1963. The lead, Guru Dutt died in 1964 as K Asif began the shoot, so Asif restarted with Sanjeev Kumar in 1969. Asif died in 1971, leaving it unfinished, and Kumar died in 1985. Others pieced it together, and it was released over two decades on and flopped.
8. Pakeezah (1972)
Kamal Amrohi made it for his wife, Meena Kumari, but their marriage broke down in 1964 and filming stalled for years. When it resumed, Kumari was in poor health. The film became a classic, but she died weeks after release.
10. Karma (1986)
Reports said crew members were injured, equipment failed and footage was lost, forcing reshoots. No single disaster, but each setback fed whispers that the film was jinxed.
11. Madhoshi (2004): Starring Bipasha Basu and John Abraham, this psychological thriller seemed cursed from the very beginning! Technical glitches, endless delays and reported tensions haunted the sets, and when the film finally hit theatres, it bombed spectacularly, as if its bad luck had followed it right to the box office.
12. Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993):
This Sridevi and Anil Kapoor-starrer was meant to be a blockbuster, but its journey turned into a real-life horror story! Director Satish Kaushik reportedly fell ill during filming, while producer Boney Kapoor suffered massive financial losses, Even Anil Kapoor’s career momentum took a hit. The film eventually flopped, leaving behind a trail of misfortune that made its grand title seem almost ironic!
