Horror!

In much of Indian cinema, horror as a genre has been reduced to camp, over the top, either too costumy or showing nudity, bad acting and nerve tearing storyline. It never quite reaching the reputation that it rightfully deserves. The Indian film industry has always been accused of copying Hollywood shamelessly in almost every genre whether action, musicals or not to forget horror as well.

Hollywood on the other hand most certainly created some benchmark that cannot be denied, however Indian cinema, over a period of time, has produced some amazing horror films as well as the B grade Ramsay Brothers horror too.

We have not always blindly micmic that genre of western aesthetic and that need to be mentioned loudly and clearly. 

Here are few such Indian horror films (precisely from A-classic to B-grade), according to me, that got it right.

Mahal, 1949, Directed by Kamal Amrohi

Lead roles: Ashok Kumar and Madhubala.

It was India's first reincarnation thriller film, Mahal is a story of reincarnation and a ghost story. In Allahabad, there is a beautiful abandoned palace. When a new owner, Hari Shankar (Ashok Kumar), comes to live in this palace, the old gardener narrates the story of incomplete love.

40 years ago, a man built it and his lover, Kamini (Madhubala), began to live in it. She would wait all day long for the man to come to her at midnight, but he always left before it was morning. One stormy night, the man's ship sank and he drowned. Before leaving Kamini, he tells her that their love will never fail. A few days later, Kamini also died. What happens next is all suspense, drama and fear.

The film is perhaps most famous for launching the career of one of the greatest figures in film history, Lata Mangeshkar. The most famous song, ‘Aayega aanewala’  is almost the theme of the film, the certainty that the lover will return, while a song where the seemingly endless repetition of the future tense ‘he will come’ reminds the listener that this is a film which eschews the present. The first time the song begins, we see the clock hands reach two (The film does not state explicitly why the clock strikes two as the owner used to visit his lover at midnight and leave before dawn. 'Two' is the number of the couple and 'Two' is also a double, and the couple becomes a double with the supposed reincarnation.), and instead of a chime, two piano chords sound, as they will in all the future versions we hear.

Madhumati, 1958, Directed by Bimal Roy

Lead roles: Dilip Kumar and Vyjantimala.

This Bimal Roy’s 1958 film focuses on Anand (Dilip Kumar), a modern man who falls in love with a tribal woman named Madhumati (Vyjantimala). They are unable to have a relationship during their lifetimes and are reincarnated.

Simple right. You might also say whats spooky about it. Well read more….

To begin with, Madhumati was one of the first Hindi films to use the now-common "narrative of the plain-based hero entering the mountains and being seduced by a tribal girl.

Madhumati is visual poetry, it’s a vivid play of lights-and-shadows and draws thematically from Kamal Amrohi’s 1949-horror Mahal, this Dilip Kumar-Vyjayanthimala starrer is a beast of its own.

The indoors of the mansion that Dilip Kumar’s character stumbles upon bleeds into the outer reality that he imagines as his past. Cinematographer Dilip Gupta blends the two worlds with such seamlessness, it’s all the more impressive when you think this was achieved in 1958. Many frames in the film evoke the dark, hyper-expressive aesthetic almost like a poetry in motion.

Bimal Roy's masterstrokes are evident when you watch the long shadows of trees falling on that stone with fascination.

Madhumati soundtrack features eleven songs composed by Salil Chowdhury. The music and the tonal correctness of the performances hold us in thrall even today.

Later on the film narrative became a source of inspiration for many later works dealing with reincarnation in Indian cinema, Indian television, and perhaps world cinema. Bravo!

Kohraa, 1964, Directed by Biren Nag

Lead roles: Waheeda Rehman and Biswajit.

Kohraa means mist, and the story is just as hazy, vague and clueless about its progression as its title. After widower Raja Amit Singh (Biswajeet) marries a village orphan Rajeshwari (Waheeda Rehman) and brings her to his palatial residence, she is witness to some weird experiences whenever her husband is away on tour. With shadows lurking in every corner and windows opening up on their own, Rajeshwari learns that Amit had killed his first wife on account of her betrayal and the spirits are out to avenge her killing! 

After several inconsequential episodes, just when a court is about to punish Amit for his crime, his elderly maidservant Dai Ma (Lalita Pawar) reveals how she had murdered the former landlady on account of her infidelity. Yet there are no explanations given for the crazy experiences undergone by the second lady of the mansion!

Though the story is excruciatingly slow and meandering in its conclusion, one has to admire Nag's execution which doesn't allow boredom to set in despite the story leading nowhere, as also the marvellous set designing done by G.L. Jadhav and T.K. Desai which helps heighten the sinister atmosphere of the grandiose environment. While they did win the Filmfare Award for Art Designing, it must be said that the effect could not have been so spectacular were it not for the marvellous photography by Marshall Braganza. “Kohraa” was enormously dependent on “solemn atmosphere” to involve the viewer, and Braganza did that by creating an ambience of opulence as well as disturbing evil with the right mix of light, shade and lenses. Aided by Nag's precise shot taking, Braganza conquers since viewers do not realise the giant buildings are merely blown up versions of miniature models.

The film was adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel Rebecca, which was previously adapted by Alfred Hitchcock as Academy Award-winning Rebecca (1940), though some supernatural elements were added to it, including a few from the movie Psycho. This version is famous for its twist ending, which differs significantly from that of the original novel.

Gehrayee, 1980, Directed by Vikas Desai and Aruna Raje

Lead roles: Anant Nag, Padmini Kolhapure (as a child artist) Dr Shriram Lagoo and Amrish Puri.

Based on a real life experience, on the surface, it is about a family where the father Chennabassappa (Dr. Shreeram Lagoo) has a scientific approach towards life. The god fearing and extremely superstitious mother (Indrani Mukherjee), on the other hand, believes in the ritualistic side of religion. One day their adolescent daughter Umakka (Padmini Kolhapure) gets possessed by a spirit and they have no clue what to do about it. Their elder son Nandu (Anant Nag) is rational but he can’t remain one when he sees the condition of his sister keeps deteriorating despite medical help. 

So where does environment come into the spooky picture? Early in the film, Chennabassappa goes to his native village to tell the poor caretaker (Suhas Bhalekar) that he has sold his farm to a factory. The caretaker wails that he could not do this to him as the land is like his mother. Chennabassappa takes it lightly and offers him a job in Bangalore. But the battered soul could not take it and as we discover later decides to seek revenge by planting an evil spirit in Chennabassappa’s daughter.

Chennabasappa is a rationalist, who is more like an atheist and doesn't believe in anything that's beyond sensory perception. He is a hard-headed fellow who is bossy at both office and home. As the story progresses, we see Uma behaving strangely. She would speak something of Chennabasappa's unspeakable and totally unknown dark past. During one such revelation, the family members come to know that Chennabasappa had seduced Baswa's wife while he was a teenager. Baswa's wife got pregnant and jumped into a well to save herself from the horrible Indian society traumas.

Chennabasappa tries every medication and treatment that would bring Uma back to normal, but nothing works out. Unfortunately, the family also becomes the target of several fake exorcists, who start milking them with their evasive talks but do no good to hapless Uma. In one such instance, the family is fooled by a Tantrik Puttachari (Amrish Puri), who actually tries to harness Uma's virginity to resurrect his own devil. However, his plans fail when Nandish interrupts in between and saves Uma.

Finally the family finds peace in the hands of a mighty but sane Tantrik Shashtri (Sudhir Dalvi), who discovers the roots of evil in Chennabasappa's house itself, a spell cast on a lemon and an ugly voodoo doll. Shashtri orders the soul inside Uma's body to reveal its identity and we come to know that the unholy spirit was actually sent to Uma by a village Tantrik whom Baswa paid for this heinous act. Uma turns to normal after few days.

Veerana, 1988, Directed by Ramsay Brothers

Lead roles: Jasmine, Sahila Chadda and Hemant Birje

Talking of Indian horror films and not mentioning any of Ramsay brothers movie is like coming out of a Indo-Chinese restaurant without eating Manchuria! Illogical as it may sound but that is the hard fact.

I really don’t want to get any preconceived notions about the Bollywood film industry, because Veerana is one of my first experiences with it, but man – this stuff is weird. The transitions between scenes in this film is some of the most confusing I’ve ever seen, directors Shyam and Tulsi Ramsay never cares about finishing a scene up before the film throws itself to the next twisted segment. There’s some intriguing parts here featuring possession and witches, but unfortunately the film mixes that with so many other things that it just becomes a distasteful soup in the end.

Like comedic segments and musical numbers appearing at random, they’re funny in the completely wrong way and constantly breaks any spell of atmosphere that the horror element might create. Because yeah, Veerana does have some of that hidden underneath everything and it’s the highlight of the film. With weird imagery (but nothing like The Boxer’s Omen which I saw earlier this year) and a design making up for some cheap props the film can really become intriguing and shows of some great witch-makeup.

There’s also some great music by Bappi Da in the film and the design creates a thick atmosphere and amazing mood – but the film loses that and its characters between hilariously weird imagery and a plot that constantly launches recklessly between different parts without any seeming rhyme or reason.

That is the set-up of Veerana. If you dig lurid lighting, dramatic eye-region zooms, groovy witch-cults, horned deities and can tolerate attempts at off-color broad humor, song/dance numbers that seem redolent both of the early 60's and the 1980's, you will more than likely enjoy this movie. I certainly did.

All said the film is pretty sexy for an Indian horror movie and considering the censorship regulations of our country (or just because of that!). The leading actress was definitely a show!

Raat, 1992, Directed by Ram Gopal Verma

Lead roles: Revathi, Rohini Hattangadi and Om Puri

is a 1992 Indian Hindi-Telugu bilingual supernatural horror film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma.

The winning point according to me was the perfect casting of Revathi in the role of the protagonist.  

But it wasn't the story of the film that had something spectacular, it was the way the story was told. The film is about a haunted house where a family moves in. The college-going girl, also the protagonist (played by Revathi), gets possessed by the spirit of the house and starts harming and killing those around her.

In a short story summary, there is nothing outstanding about the story but yet Raat manages to remain outstanding and the credit for the same goes to RGV.

It is the film's technical plus points that are to be credited for its cult status.

The long takes consistently followed a character that made the audience invest so deeply that a jump scare actually made us jump. The camera acted like a second person and even though we did't see the ghost of the house (for almost the entirety of the film), the director made us believe in its existence by shaking the camera just enough.

The scene where Revathi's character is shown sitting in a movie theatre but then is shown running to the manager's cabin makes us buy into the psychological thriller. The innocent and docile way in which the spirit possessed Revathi accepts killing her best friend is eerily convincing.

That being said, the background music, composed by Mani Sharma, of the film was simply outstanding. It added to the supernatural vibe of the movie. The music builds up when something big is about to happen and even though it prepares the audience for the incoming shock, it still manages to shock us.

RGV has spun the web of horror played with confusion, dilemma, and the plight of the affected persons to the greatest extent possible, as required of a horror movie.

Tumbbad, 2018, Directed by Rahi Anil Barve.

Lead roles: Sohum Shah, Jyoti Malshe and others.

In the rural village of Tumbbad, a decaying castle hides an immeasurable ancestral fortune guarded by something ancient, sinister, and monstrous. Vinayak thinks he can control it, but how long will it be until his own greed destroys everything he’s built?

In the rural village of Tumbbad, young Vinayak has heard the stories of an ancient fortune held by his family for years, but is warned against attempting to attain the treasure lest he fall victim to the demon who guards it. He instead cares for his great-grandmother, a decrepit crone who must remain sated or her appetites might just claim them all. When she dies and he inherits the treasures housed inside a decaying estate, Vinayak discovers that they are not exactly what he expected, but instead an endless bounty protected by a vengeful and ravenous fallen god.

Years later, adult Vinayak (Sohum Shah) has learned to manipulate the god so he can sneak out his boundless fortune one coin at a time. However, it’s not enough, and soon a cycle of greed envelops his family. Their avarice threatens to destroy what he has built with the fortune stolen from the terrible creature that lives in the bowels of the castle, and soon enough he learns the terrible, violent secrets of Tumbbad.

No song and dance here, TUMBBAD is an ambitious period film that will turn any preconceived notion of Indian horror on its head. Producer, star, and primary creative force Sohum Shah delivers what is undoubtedly the most exciting pure horror film made in India in at least thirty years. TUMBBAD is the story of a legacy of greed and avarice that spans India’s colonial history from the early part of the 20th century, through its independence in 1947 and beyond. This one will stick with you. 

Stree, 2018, Directed by Amar Kaushik.

Lead roles: Rajkumar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor and Pankaj Tripathi.

So naive are the people of Chanderi, they believe the moon — called Chanda Mama in fairytales — is literally their uncle. So says a book of village lore hidden inside a copy of the Kamasutra in the local library. Many of its pages have been folded into paper-boats, but the book matters because Chanderi is under attack from a female spirit. Sighted on the four nights of the annual puja, she abducts only the menfolk while leaving their clothes behind. Beware, boys who walk home alone at night.

It is Shraddha Kapoor, surprisingly enough, who brings a certain charm to her initially inscrutable character, but once the film gives her more to do, she struggles in comparison to the fine actors who surround her. Khurana is wonderful as a guy who sells readymade clothing and believes in only filling fifty bucks worth of petrol in his bike at a time, while much of the show is stolen by Banerjee, a gangly actor with a zany and unpredictable energy. Tripathi is a fine choice to play that horror-movie cliché — the wise man who knows all and guides the heroes to their destiny — simply because he can render any line irresistible, but it is disappointing to watch him spell out the basics of the local legend to young men who have grown up in that town and should know better.

Stree is like a blind date that turns out well - a tryst with the unexpected filled with exciting surprises. It is a thought-provoking laughathon-cum-spookathon, and one of the most unusual Bollywood films of the year so far.