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Betaal: Patrick Graham and Nikhil Mahajan on the Zombie Miniseries

How Patrick Graham adapted the Betaal legend into redcoat zombies, and why co-director Nikhil Mahajan saw character relationships as central to the miniseries.
Opened Runtime3 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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Betaal is a four-episode Hindi horror miniseries in which a counterinsurgency squad clearing a village for a highway project awakens an undead East India Company force. Creator Patrick Graham describes how he adapted Indian folklore and horror-film influences into the series’ redcoat zombies, while co-director Nikhil Mahajan explains why the drama between the people trapped in the conflict mattered as much as the scares.

What is Netflix’s Betaal about?

The story begins with a government operation to clear a village for a highway project. The squad’s work releases a curse, bringing a colonial-era East India Company force back as the undead. Led by a colonel, the redcoat soldiers turn the village and its tunnels into a battleground where officers and residents must confront the threat together. Netflix announced the series for release on May 24, 2020, describing it as a Hindi miniseries. Netflix’s announcement

The premise combines siege survival with conflict among the people caught in it. Mahajan said that character relationships were his first point of connection with the screenplay: “The most important thing that struck me was the interpersonal connection and drama between the characters and then zombie thriller was an added advantage.” The Quint interview

What folklore inspired Betaal?

Graham drew on the Betaal, Baital, or Vetala legend, adapting its folkloric associations to a story about colonial soldiers returned as zombies. He described the process plainly: “I just needed a good piece of folklore that I could retrofit over the idea and hit gold with the ‘Betaal’/‘Baital’/‘Vetala’ legend.” Netflix’s release announcement likewise quotes him describing the cursed mountain and ancient spirit as inspired by Indian mythology. Daily Dead interview Netflix’s announcement

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The folklore is a foundation for the series’ particular blend of horror, not a claim that the show is a direct retelling of a traditional tale. Graham uses the legend to give the undead force an Indian setting and mythology, while making the East India Company soldiers part of the story’s central threat.

How did the creators design the zombies?

Graham wanted creatures distinct from the familiar slow, shambling corpse. He described a hybrid of mummified bodies and demons drawn from Indian and Asian folklore, and named The Fog, Prince of Darkness, Salem’s Lot and the Evil Dead trilogy as influences on the zombies’ eyes, behavior and visual character. Asked about The Fog, he replied, “I’m so glad you mentioned The Fog!!! Yes, ABSOLUTELY, I wanted to make zombies that were memorable and unique to this show.” Daily Dead interview

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That design approach reinforces the series’ fusion of genres: these are colonial soldiers, but their movement and appearance are meant to evoke something more uncanny than a conventional zombie horde. The folklore-inflected creature concept helps make the supernatural threat feel specific to the show’s Indian setting.

How does the horror change across the episodes?

Graham described a deliberate shift in the show’s horror modes rather than a single, unchanging rhythm. The opening establishes the setting before turning toward an attack from inside the tunnel. The second episode leans into slow-burn, haunted-house scares; the final two move toward action and suspense. Daily Dead interview

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That progression moves from dread and enclosure toward a more direct struggle to survive. The story’s engine is not only isolated scares: the siege forces villagers and officers into uneasy cooperation, with interpersonal tensions playing alongside the zombie threat.

What themes did Graham and Mahajan bring to the story?

Graham said the story’s starting point included the plight of tribal communities facing intimidation and displacement from valuable land. He connected unscrupulous industrialists in the premise with the East India Company, framing the conflict through a history of powerful outsiders taking control of land. In his words, “looking at the plight of some tribal communities that have been persecuted and intimidated in order to get them off valuable land seemed like a good starting point”. Daily Dead interview

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Those comments identify the creators’ intentions, not a single required interpretation of the series. The premise invites viewers to consider displacement, colonial violence and moral responsibility, while Mahajan’s emphasis on interpersonal drama points to the relationships among the people forced to face the crisis together.

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Where was Betaal filmed?

Graham recalled that filming began with two weeks of exteriors in Maharashtra. The production built a village in the mountainous area outside Lonavala and used an abandoned railway tunnel in Igatpuri. The team then spent three weeks filming interiors in barracks sets built across two soundstages at Yash Raj Film studios. These locations and timings are Graham’s account of the production. Daily Dead interview

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Who made the miniseries?

Patrick Graham created, wrote and directed Betaal, co-directed by Nikhil Mahajan and co-written by Suhani Kanwar. Netflix announced the four-episode Hindi miniseries for May 24, 2020. Netflix’s announcement

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