For debut director Kirtan Nadagowda, true fright does not rely on masked monsters or loud tricks. Instead, it grows out of how our own thoughts twist and break. Fresh from the theatrical release of his psychological thriller 418, Kirtan joins lead actor Chaithra J Achar to talk about the strange pull of unlucky numbers, portraying a mother pushed to the edge, avoiding mentor Prashanth Neel's style, and building fear through raw sound.
The film features an ensemble cast including Chaithra J Achar, Ramesh Indira, Srikanth Ganesh, Surya Raj, Charan Lakkaraju, Preethi Pagadala, Shree Vaishnav, and Shashank Patil, with cinematography by Dinesh Divakaran, editing by Akul Avinash, and music composed by Venky GG.
The digits 4, 1, and 8 add up to 13. What makes people still fear this omen even today?
Kirtan: Superstition never waits for logic. Even if you consider yourself completely rational, sudden discomfort around certain signs still sneaks up on you. That unease is not new. It runs back centuries to ideas like the Last Supper, where the 13th person brought disaster. That old worry stayed with us, leading hotels to drop the 13th floor, hospitals to remove room 13, and planes to cut row 13. I wanted 418 to play directly on that shared modern worry.
Chaithra: I have never looked at life that way. I was born on March 4, which is just three plus one. To me, life moves on choices and timing, not hidden numbers. If things happen, there is a reason behind them; if they do not work out, that also carries a lesson.
You spent years working as an assistant director with Prashanth Neel on massive movies like KGF. Why make a small, suffocating horror film instead of a huge action story?
You spent years working as an assistant director with Prashanth Neel on massive movies like KGF. Why make a small, suffocating horror film instead of a huge action story?Kirtan: The easiest mistake for an assistant director is copying the teacher. If I had made a loud action movie, everyone would call it a poor copy of Prashanth’s style within five minutes. His craft belongs solely to him. Trying to fake that large scale without his vision would feel false. For me, the story has to pick the genre, not money or hype. The script called for a quiet, choking dread, and Prashanth fully supported that vision.
Carrying the name ‘Presented by Prashanth Neel’ alongside Mythri Movie Makers brings huge attention…
Kirtan: It opens big doors, but it also demands hard honesty. I knew the weight of his name. When I took the movie to him, I told him straight: ‘Watch it first. Put your name on the poster only if you feel proud of what we made, not out of love or kindness.’ When he saw the final edit and backed it with all his heart, that support meant more to me than any box office report.
Devika is not just a ghost out to scare people. She is a woman broken by social judgment and loss. Did that sadness follow you home?
Chaithra: In our society, people often measure a woman's value by whether she can have a baby. When that dream is taken away, painful sorrow can turn into obsession and push someone toward a breakdown. Playing someone so empty inside does not follow me home, but it stops me from judging others. You see that people walking past you every day are carrying quiet pain you know nothing about.
The movie uses Yakshagana folk art, where ankle bells replace normal horror sounds...
Kirtan: A mother’s lullaby is gentle and warm. But if you twist that soft tune, set it down a dark hallway, and add the hard stomp of Yakshagana bells (gejje), it turns into something terrifying. The physical force of coastal folk art brings natural tension. You do not need blood on screen; hearing footsteps slowly follow you in the dark is where genuine terror lives.
Is Room 418 truly haunted, or is it just inside a damaged mind?
Kirtan: It is haunted by the scariest thing alive: our own imagination. No ghost or demon from a movie can match what human thoughts can build when left alone in the dark.