'Haunted' is up for release and it's lead pair of Mahakshay Chakraborty and Tia Bajpai are crying hoarse that their horror flick is an original flick and not a copy of any film. This is in retaliation to an accusation that time and again follows director Vikram Bhatt whenever he is ready with the release of a new film. Especially when it comes to horror films, Japanese and Korean films are the usual inspiration for our Bollywood directors.

"Puhleeze do not undermine Viki sir's (Vikram Bhatt) work by suspecting if it is a copy. No, it is not," defends Mahakshay who is pining all his hopes on the success of this film, "Everything that you see in the film is a mastermind of Viki sir and (Writer) Amin Hajee. They haven't copied anything from anywhere, be it Korean or Japanese cinema."

Tia is even more vehement in her defence and challenges the very essence of scare factor being created through visuals, "Ultimately when it comes to a horror film, aap utna hi chillayenge, bhaagenge or royenge. These are basic things whether in East or West. Ultimately if someone out there in Japan makes a film, he would be having same brains as us and we would think on the same lines as well, right?"

Without taking breather whatsoever, she continues with her logic, "You can't start comparing just for the sake of it. If a Korean actor screams from his throat, we Indians too would do the same, right? We won't start screaming with our nose or eyes. Every actor has to give out an expression of shock in the same way as everyone else does so all over the world."

While one tries to comprehend what exactly is the logic here, Tia settles down to come up with a more conventional defence, "See, 'Haunted' is an original idea from Vikram sir. Yes, I know there are so many movies copied completely from outside sources but it isn't the case in 'Haunted'."

Adds Mahakshay on a parting note, "I was dumbfounded when I saw the final copy of the film. Twists and turns that looked so awesome on paper are even more astounding when seen on screen. Just watch it for the experience than trying to hunt for reference points; it is futile."

'Haunted' releases all over this Friday.