Mumbai, 31 January, 2020: Actor Vicky Kaushal’s Bhoot: The Haunted Ship’s first teaser was shared online on Friday. The film is the first of the Bhoot franchise, reportedly a trilogy.

Sharing it, Karan Johar, the film’s producer, wrote: ”The fear will swallow you whole! Watch out, TRAILER DROPS ON MONDAY! #BhootTrailer3rdFeb”

As the teaser opens, we see Vicky walking inside an abandoned ship. He follows a trail of blood-soaked hand prints on the wall. He opens the door of another room as the hand prints lead him. Soon, he focuses his torch’s light on a wall which shows his face, plastered with blood-stained hands. The eyes in the photo bleed blood too. In seconds, several hands emerge from the wall behind him and pull him into it, even as he struggles to escape their grip.

The film stars Vicky and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead. The film’s first poster was shared in June last year. It showed Vicky screaming as he peeps out of what appears to be the window of a ship, with blood strains on the broken glass panes. A hand with huge nails grabs his jaw. The film has been directed by debutant director Bhanu Pratap Singh and has been jointly produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Shashank Khaitan and Karan.

The film was due to release on November 15, 2019 but was shifted to February 21, 2020 to accommodate Ayushmann Khurrana’s Bala. Making the announcement, Karan had written: “The tides have changed!!! Even FEAR needs precision! And for that we need the time to scare you sufficiently and efficiently! #BHOOT has a new date !! The 21st of FEBRUARY 2020 ! SEA you then and try and help @vickykaushal09 escape this haunted ship! And some further news .”

On Thursday, Vicky shared two new posters of the film. Sharing one, he wrote: “Look under the bed...fear awaits!Tune back here at 10am tomorrow to set sail into the world of #Bhoot. #TheHauntedShip. The horror-thriller also features Ashutosh Rana in a prominent role.

On January 28, Karan had shared a spooky short video with the caption, “The home of happy endings is getting a plot twist. Welcome to the dark side...a new era begins at @DharmaMovies as we step into the dark allies of the horror genre with #Bhoot: The Haunted Ship. #DharmaGoesDark@apoorvamehta18.”

The spine-chilling video is shot in the setup of an abandoned ship with blinking lights, in which the Dharma Productions’ signature music is heard. By the end of it, a hand is seen scratching the Dharma Productions’ logo.