India, Feb. 21 -- At 29, writer-director Rohan Apte has cemented a film language about netherworlds and fantasy like he was always a fan of the horror genre. "More than horror I think it is a fascination for other worlds and objects that represent emotions and histories," says Apte, about his short but assured oeuvre of two short films - Maya, in which a magical drink propels destinies and behaviours; and his new film, Varas, which gets its India premiere at the Wench Film Festival, the country's leading film festival for horror and genre films, in Mumbai on February 28.

Varas is an intriguing combination of horror and social commentary. Think of Apte's language as an inspired re-channeling of the Roman Polanski classic Rosemary's Baby (...