India thumped arch-rivals Pakistan by 88 runs in a Women’s World Cup clash but the game was marred by controversy as players refused to shake hands at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.The two captains avoided the customary handshake at the toss and there was hardly a glance exchanged during play.Once the formalities were done, both sides made a beeline to their dressing rooms, skipping the traditional post-match greetings, a frosty ending to a heated encounter.The animosity that brewed during the recent men’s Asia Cup in Dubai seemed to spill over to the women’s fixture in Colombo.Even before a ball was bowled, controversy struck when the toss went the wrong way.Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana’s call of “tails” was misheard by match referee Shandre Fritz and announcer Mel Jones as “heads”.When the coin landed heads up, the decision was incorrectly awarded to Fatima, who chose to field.The drama didn’t stop there. Pakistan’s Muneeba Ali was caught short in bizarre fashion.After surviving a leg-before appeal, she wandered out of her crease and though she had grounded her bat when the throw came in, it was in the air when the bails were dislodged.The television umpire ruled her out amid heated protests from the Pakistan camp.”We are very happy. This was a very important game for us. I am sure people back home are happy too. There are few areas to improve but, for now, we’ll savour this win,” said Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.India’s innings was built on a series of useful starts, with Harleen Deol’s composed 46 off 65 balls anchoring the effort.Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh provided the late fireworks, blazing an unbeaten 35 off 20 deliveries with three fours and two towering sixes to lift India to a competitive 247.Pakistan seamer Diana Baig bowled with heart, claiming 4-47 in a spirited spell.Three of those wickets came in her final burst, though she was denied a five-for after overstepping when Jemimah Rodrigues was caught behind on two.Pakistan’s chase never got out of first gear. The Indian new-ball attack swung the ball late, nipping out early wickets before the spinners tightened the screws.Off-spinners Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana shared five scalps between them while seamer Kranti Goud’s three-wicket burst earned her the player of the match award.Sidra Amin, batting at number three, stood tall amid the ruins. Her elegant 81 off 106 balls, laced with nine boundaries and a six, was a lone hand in an otherwise sorry tale.Running out of partners, she perished sweeping Rana to square leg, ending Pakistan’s faint hopes.”We gave away too many runs in the Power Play. Sidra was superb again, but someone had to stay with her till the end. Very disappointed with the result,” lamented Pakistan skipper Sana.The win sent India to the top of the table in the eight-nation tournament while Pakistan languish in sixth, still searching for their first points.

Long written off as fringe, horror is back in India’s Bollywood, reinvented with comedy, mythology and big stars powering a box-office renaissance.”There are new stories, fresh talent, and all of this is leading to a resurgence,” said director Deepak Ramsay of the renowned filmmaking family, which has created around 30 horror titles over the decades.”Films that were once niche are turning out to be blockbusters.”Once dismissed as pulp, bigger budgets, sophisticated special effects and A-list casts are pulling Bollywood horror out of the shadows.”There is a huge audience wanting to watch such movies,” said director Aditya Sarpotdar, whose film “Thamma” — touted as India’s first vampire movie — releases this October.Billed as a “bloody love story”, it stars popular actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna, and blends Bollywood’s signature song-and-dance numbers with werewolves and sharp fangs.Ramsay credits some the genre’s new-found success to prosthetics and computer-generated effects that have “gone to the next level”, noting that budgets have also shot up.From as little as $25,000 to make a horror film, “now budgets are closer to $9 million”, he said.Bollywood’s horror history runs deep.The 1949 black-and-white hit “Mahal” is widely regarded as the first Hindi horror film, when Kamal Amrohi’s supernatural tale of a reincarnated lover introduced a striking aesthetic.- ‘Get scared’ -The Ramsay Brothers pushed the genre forward in the 1970s and 1980s, with low-budget “creature” features in the style of Britain’s “Hammer House of Horror”.But despite occasional standouts, horror became associated with shoestring budgets, cheap effects and lesser-known actors.”None of the big stars would be interested because the budgets were small,” Ramsay said.And with horror films often restricted to adult viewers, “almost 50 percent of the audience would be cut off”, he added.Even so, the Ramsays had a winning formula: Blood and sex pulled in crowds with lurid gore and scantily clad women.A slow shift began in the 2000s, with Ajay Devgn starring in the 2003 success “Bhoot” (“Ghost”), while Akshay Kumar led cult hit “Bhool Bhulaiyaa” in 2007, a landmark that mixed psychological thriller and comedy.The broader popular rise began in 2018 with “Tumbbad” — the first Indian film to open Venice Critics’ Week — and “Stree”, which drew on folklore and mythology to captivate audiences.Today’s filmmakers are increasingly blending genres.”There’s a very thin line between horror and comedy,” Ram Gopal Varma, who directed “Bhoot”, told AFP.”The moment you get scared, your first reaction after the shock is to laugh.”- Biggest star -Sarpotdar said the lighter approach broadened the appeal.”When catering to mass audiences, humour becomes key,” he said.His 2024 hit “Munjya”, a 12A-rated tale of a vengeful spirit who wants to get married, turned into a family outing.”Children pulled their parents to theatres,” he said.Despite recent success, Sarpotdar believes Indian cinema has yet to give the genre its full due.”We always looked at horror as pulpy,” he said.He now has his eye on the ultimate prize: Bollywood’s biggest star.”I would love to see Shah Rukh Khan attempt horror,” said the director.”If these films are fun and entertaining, why not?”