Interview with Nuhash Humayun on Dui Shaw | 바카라�Horror a tool to explore South Asia바카라�s darker side바카라�

Few months after his latest project, the anthology Dui Shaw (2024-present), released on Chorki, it바카라�s now headed to IFFLA (Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles) 2025. Ahead of the screening, Nuhash Humayun sat down with Outlook바카라�s Debanjan Dhar for an exclusive chat, where he spoke about his vision of horror, navigating a troubled production, branching out from Bangladesh into global storytelling. Edited excerpts:

This is a more socially rooted anthology than Pett Kata Shaw. There바카라�s a whole range of anxieties around capitalism, skewed social systems, modern-day greed, hierarchies, exclusionary violence. I was curious about your relationship to horror, specially how you view its role. Jordan Peele says horror is catharsis through entertainment바카라�a way of working through one바카라�s unaddressed pains. Have there been shifts in your understanding of the larger purpose of this genre?

Specially with Dui Shaw, horror was a tool to explore the dark side of South Asia, the darker issues we바카라�re dealing with, not just in Bangladesh, but in the subcontinent. What are our fears? If you바카라�re not doing horror sincerely, you바카라�re not addressing your fears. When I바카라�m starting a project, I ask myself: what am I afraid of? What truly terrifies me? Sometimes the answer is simple, like the dark or ghosts in the water, or something primal. However, sometimes it can also be deeper, philosophical. If I hear a sound in the middle of the night, what am I afraid of? Am I afraid of ghosts or people? I바카라�m afraid of people, religious violence, what capitalism and power do to people, dynamics that happen in a home. If I바카라�m not addressing these things, I바카라�m not being sincere. I don바카라�t think it바카라�s exactly social responsibility. Horror is fun and entertaining. Our stories try to do that, while not forcing down messages. They are addressing at least some of what I am afraid of, what society itself is wary of.

Were you always sure that this time too, you wanted certain running threads throughout, characters walking through the stories, visual motifs like the masks, for example?

I was writing the stories at the same time and wondered what if I could link them. The masks came up then. It바카라�s symbolic. What are the masks we wear, what happens when we take them off? Certain characters from the first season were so delicious and there was so much interest around them I toyed with bringing them back.

But you started with Mishti Kichu?

Definitely. That was about a man remembering everything, while Antara is the opposite. It바카라�s almost a spinoff.

Tell me how it works with Chorki. Did you first toss a bunch of ideas and they suggested which ones seemed feasible or did you go back with these specific four and you worked from there?

With Chorki, they have been quite flexible. We got a slightly bigger budget this time, which is still small by international standards. In the middle of these two seasons, I did an episode for Hulu. But I just loved being home and filming something small and experimental. There바카라�s an episode in Dui Shaw바카라�a folk horror musical바카라�which isn바카라�t something I could do in Hollywood; or Waqt and the theme of religious violence, which could only work in a South Asia context. Chorki did notice some of the stories weren바카라�t traditional jump-scare horror but more psychological. But they were super-flexible and trusting. They encouraged me to push boundaries. Their notes didn바카라�t feel like feedback, rather conversation.

Some of the anthology was also shot during the July uprising in Bangladesh. There were also floods. How did you steer a production through such times?

There were natural disasters getting in the way of the production, but the biggest thing was the political revolution in Bangladesh. I was fully in support of the students but also wondered how to finish the shoot.

Had you shot some stuff already?

We had started already, yes. Suddenly, one day, we started hearing stories of people being shot. What was strange was we were filming the second story, Bhaggyo Bhalo during the uprising, which was about capitalism and power. Literally, it was about a man getting so much power that even death couldn바카라�t stop him. It was surreal. What I was doing felt necessary. There are shots in that story of smoke coming out, which was actually from buildings set on fire as part of the uprising. It captures this important moment in Bangladesh바카라�s history. I have mixed feelings about it. I바카라�m both proud and cautious about it. I guess life imitates art and vice versa.

What was the most fun you had? Was it designing the deaths in the slasher?

Yes! (laughs) Things got so hectic that slasher was the most fun.

You shot in sequence?

Essentially, yes. We shot the second and third together. The final one took eight months because of the floods. There was a villager who was sick and they were dying. The villagers asked us if we could stop filming there, with one of them being severely ill. It was strange. We kept calling them week after week if the man was okay. Were we waiting for someone to die? Our lives almost turned into a bizarre horror series. The production feels like family. It바카라�s a strange bonding. But it was all in the service of something necessary. If it was flimsy, I바카라�d have just abandoned it. We need stories that represent and reflect the horrors of the world.

In Beshura, Jaya Ahsan바카라�s character tells the girl, 바카라�Koshto theke shilpo hoye, shilpi holo koshter joy바카라� (art springs from pain). Do you subscribe to this sentiment?

There are lots of dialogues in Beshura that I don바카라�t subscribe to. One kept being quoted everywhere: if you don바카라�t have art in you, you become a critic or teacher. I don바카라�t really believe that. But I do understand Jaya바카라�s line. Overcoming pain is a big part of art. The story explores why we create, who's gifted. Does creating bring us closer to something spiritual and holy?

Last time we spoke, you바카라�d just signed a couple of representation deals. It바카라�s been a while, and now you바카라�ve joined the Writers Guild. Has it gotten at all easier, more accessible in any way바카라�be it pitching to executives, getting a foot in the door, opportunities opening up in the West, without redesigning your stories?

That바카라�s a really good question. It바카라�s still really hard to get things made, no matter where you are in the world, or the traction that some of my work has got in international circuits and film festivals. I바카라�m doing more projects in the Hollywood side because of agents I바카라�ve signed with. They take care of my worries as to who바카라�ll read whenever I바카라�ve got a new script. They make sure it goes to the best producers. But again, no external producer can lift you if you aren바카라�t putting out great work. The industries are very different. In the West, budgets are bigger, hence things are much slower. In Bangladesh, I work with infinitely smaller budgets but things are faster, more controlled. I like the idea of being a part of both the worlds. Filmmakers like Bong Joon Ho are big inspirations바카라�who traverse both worlds, making something like Parasite (2019) in Korea as well as Mickey 17 (2025).

But do you feel it바카라�s more effective to be based in the West to get work more actively?

That used to be the primary thinking earlier. It바카라�s changed. Most producers prefer meeting on Zoom anyway. Also, a lot of the time, I바카라�m just writing a script. But sometimes, it바카라�s important to show up. Maybe, like two weeks in a year or a couple of months in LA, you do some meetings, say 바카라�Hi바카라� in person. Once you pitch/sell your script, you can go back to anywhere in the world and finish it. I didn바카라�t have much of a guiding principle when I was starting out on this journey but I hope more people are encouraged to make big leaps.

Dui Shaw just started its journey in the West and played at SXSW. What was the response like?

Yes. It바카라�s now coming to IFFLA. The response has been great. I바카라�ve noticed there바카라�s a great appetite for South Asian stories, especially our horror. People like to be transported to a different world. I love watching Dui Shaw at theatres and public screenings.

Do you stay through the screenings?

Yes! I바카라�m not really watching the movie; rather, how the audience reacts. Watching horror with a group of people is the most fun thing.

Is there anything you can reveal about what바카라�s the next thing you바카라�re working on?

I바카라�m working on a feature version of Moshari. That바카라�s with a studio and has some cool producers. I바카라�ve a few new scripts. Some of them are set in Bangladesh, others in different parts of the world. That바카라�s a challenge I want to take. Can I tell a story that바카라�s not necessarily linked to my identity? Sometimes, we바카라�re put in boxes. If you바카라�re South Asian, you바카라�re expected to tell a particular kind of story. So I바카라�m trying to play with that.

Dui Shaw screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2025.