Priyanka Chopra Jonas's and Blumhouse Productions' latest horror thriller Evil Eye marries traditional Hindi film tropes like reincarnation and the cycle of karma with a powerful feminist message. Directors Rajeev and Elan Dassani say they loved writer Madhuri Shekar's concept that used a mother's fear of her daughter getting into the wrong relationship to make a larger point about domestic abuse. "It speaks of the mother's own traumas, and her fear that her once abusive relationship would have cursed her daughter. We used the supernatural to explore societal issues like domestic abuse," begins Rajeev.

The director duo credits actors Sunita Mani and Sarita Choudhury for enhancing the material considerably. The road, however, was laden with challenges. Rajeev says creating a supernatural thriller without legitimising superstitions was a tricky slope. "We wanted to use superstitions as a storytelling tool, but also respect that many believe in horoscopes and these ideas."