Think ghosts. Think grim, grotesque imagery.
Bollywood's surplus of petrifying bhootnis and chudails still haunting our nightmares are a case in point.
On the other end of the spooky spectrum, there's the otherworld beauty looking for a do-gooder to help her restless spirit find peace.
Like Shraddha Kapoor's clandestine Stree may or may not be undead but the lady sure as hell has us guessing all the way to its long-awaited sequel Stree 2, unravelling the mystery in cinemas this week.
Sukanya Verma points us towards the beautiful bhoots in our movies.
Katrina Kaif, Phone Bhoot
Katrina's smouldering hot ghost uses her supernatural prowess to help a pair of bumbling ghostbusters get the job done while seeking her own revenge in Phone Bhoot's goofy mess.
Kareena Kapoor, Talaash
A sex worker's connection to a mysterious celebrity death investigated by a troubled cop finds a guide and ghostly intervention in Kareena's enigmatic, ethereal, portrayal over Talaash's tale of loss and grief.
Anushka Sharma, Phillauri
Anushka's gleaming ghost pops to protest when the tree she inhabits is married off to a young man for superstitious reasons, ensuing in Phillauri's awkward encounters and afterlife woes.
Parineeti Chopra, Golmaal Again
Parineeti channels her cute girl-next-door in overalls to play a tragically bumped off girl-in-love turned ghost-in-distress for the most spirited edition of Rohit Shetty's Golmaal franchise.
Deepika Padukone, Om Shanti Om
Farah Khan's love for Bollywood pop culture and showmanship finds a harmonious expression in Om Shanti Om's mix of revenge and reincarnation when Deepika Padukone's ghost girl shows up for a few, fantastic seconds of the climax as a hat tip to Bimal Roy's Madhumati.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Mohabbatein
Aishwarya's gorgeous, glamorous ghost sashaying in romantic chiffons, cheering for her 'mohabbat' crusading beau while he takes on her 'parampara, pratishta, anushasan' obsessed father seldom discriminates between death and dream.
Jaya Prada, Maa
In this Ghost-inspired rip-off, Jaya's mamta-exuding ghost not only lingers around her home and husband but even gets momentary exemption from 'aatma' to 'shareer' after her hungry baby cries for milk.
Dimple Kapadia, Lekin..
Gulzar's poetic Lekin.. chronicles the melody and melancholy of a beautiful apparition yearning to make the ultimate crossover between life and death in Dimple Kapadia's breathtaking reflections.
Sadhana, Woh Kaun Thi?
Okay, so she's not quite dead. Yet, Sadhana's woman-in-white charade hitching a ride to a graveyard in pouring rain and confession she loves the taste of blood with poker-faced conviction is still the gold standard of beautiful bhooths .
Vyjayanthimala, Madhumati
Bimal Roy's thrilling combination of romance, music, dance, rebirth and retribution arrives at its spine tingling conclusion when Vyjayanthimala's serenely smiling spirit makes a startling appearance, much before her alive and breathing doppelganger can, to settle scores with Pran.
