Vicky & Vetaal (2006–2007) and Vicky Aur Vetaal (2015–2016), which aired on Disney Channel India, also featured Vetala as the main character. Indian animator Rajiv Chilaka directed Vikram Betal, a television film for Cartoon Network in 2004 which was produced by his Green Gold Animations.
Vikram Betaal Ki Rahasya Gatha (2018), an Indian mythological serial based on Baital Pachisi aired on &TV. It was remade as Kahaniya Vikram aur Betaal Ki in 2009 and aired on Colors TV. Vikram Aur Betaal was a television programme based on the Baital Pachisi produced by Ramanand Sagar and directed by his son Prem Sagar that aired on DD National channel. Vikram Vetal, a 1986 Indian fantasy film directed by Shantilal Soni was based on the Baital Pachisi about King Vikramaditya and the Vetala. See also: Baital Pachisi § Other media, and Vikramaditya § Legacy This would enable the vetala to escape and return to his tree. No matter how hard he tried, Vikramaditya would not be able to resist answering the question. Every time Vikramaditya caught the vetala, the vetala would enchant the king with a story that would end with a question. The only way to do that was by keeping silent. It features a frame story of a sorcerer who asked King Vikramaditya to capture a vetala who lived in a tree that stood in the middle of a cremation ground. The Baital Pachisi or Vetala Tales is a collection of stories compiled no later than the 11th century. But it isn't Lord Agnivetal's fault because the Tantriks misuse the powers given to them on propitiating Agnivetal (rather his Daityas which are at his feet-they are the ones who accept the blood sacrifices).
Agnivetal is used by Tantriks to perform evil black magic on people. Lord Agnivetal has flames on his head and controls fire. He has another form which is a more potent and fiery form, that of Agni Vetal who is the sevak of none other than Kalika. Vetál is the worshipper (or sevak) of Kala Bhairava and is the head of all spirits and ghouls and vampires and all kinds of pisachas. There is a Shri Betal temple in Amona, Goa. It seems, however, that the relation between the literary Vetala and this demigod's is feeble at best. Therefore, wherever a temple of Shantadurga is, there will be a temple dedicated in honour of Shri Betal either within the temple complex of Shri Shantadurga or somewhere in the sylvan surroundings. Since Shri Betal is said to be the brother of Shri Shantadurga. There is also a strong Vetala cult in the Konkan region, under the names of Betal, Vetal, etc. Therefore many sorcerers seek to capture them and turn them into slaves. Being unaffected by the laws of space and time, they have an uncanny knowledge about the past, present, and future and a deep insight into human nature.
One can free them from their ghostly existence by performing their funerary rites. These creatures can be repelled by the chanting of mantras. They are hostile spirits of the dead trapped in the 'twilight zone' between life and afterlife.
They can drive people mad, kill children, and cause miscarriages, but also guard villages. They make their displeasure known by troubling humans. In Hindu folklore, the vetala is an evil spirit who haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possession of corpses.