Celebrating the jump-scare: A Bollywood Halloween list by Poonam Saxena
Horror may still be a niche genre in Hindi cinema, but there’s plenty one can revel in. Start with these.
Old, desolate havelis with eerie passageways, sweeping staircases, shadowy landings and secret tunnels… these formed the backdrops of some of Hindi cinema’s most iconic Gothic offerings. Think of films such as Mahal (1949; about a haunted mansion and a ghost who claims to know its new owner) and Bees Saal Baad (1962; one man’s battle against a family curse).
Featuring fabulous music, gripping plots and stars such as Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman and Ashok Kumar, these films became timeless classics. When the horror-suspense genre was reinvented a decade later, things took a very different turn. This Halloween, here are three films from that later era that represent Bollywood firsts in the genre.
Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche (1972): This was the first film by the Ramsay Brothers, who became synonymous with horror in the ’70s and ’80s. The seven brothers, working together, cranked out a series of B-grade horror films replete with hideous monsters, vengeful spirits, desolate graveyards, gloomy mansions, dark dungeons, and dollops of titillation and sleaze.
Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche, despite all the tropes, was probably one of their best films. It is the story of a rich young scientist named Rajvansh, who marries a scheming woman, Anjili, out to steal his fortune — even if this means murdering him with the help of her lover and uncle. After the threesome stealthily bury Rajvansh in the middle of the night, he returns as a zombie to haunt them.
It is never clear what Rajvansh is researching; all he seems to do in his laboratory is pour bubbling liquids from one beaker to another. But the zombie haunting was a first for Hindi cinema. The twist at the end was a bonus. And the haveli, the graveyard, even the scenes in which Anjili seduces Rajvansh in frilly negligees, would not be improved upon in the Ramsay Brothers’ oeuvre.
Jaani Dushman (1979): Bollywood’s first multi-star suspense-horror film was directed by Rajkumar Kohli. It featured the who’s who of Bollywood, including Sunil Dutt, Rekha, Jeetendra, Neetu Singh, Shatrughan Sinha, Sanjeev Kumar and Reena Roy.
The plot revolves around a host of new brides who disappear without a trace, one by one, as they make their way to their in-laws’ home in their dolis after the wedding. The killer turns out to be a werewolf-like monster, a hairy, lumbering figure who advances towards his victims with outstretched arms, baring fangs and emitting guttural growls.
Who is this monster? The film offers plenty of red herrings, and the actual murderer does come as a surprise.
The movie was a huge hit, but the storytelling has not aged well. There are too many couples with confusing, criss-crossing love stories; too much naach-gaana and too many disjointed sequences. The monster, of course, evokes more mirth than fear (as with so many vintage horror films from around the world). But Jaani Dushman remains a B-grade favourite among Hindi-film fans. (Just as the Ramsay Brothers have built up an impressive cult following over the years.)
Gehrayee (1980): I think of this as Bollywood’s first good horror film, a bold, tightly written, claustrophobic story of demonic possession.
Directed by the husband-wife team of Aruna-Vikas, the plot centres on a small family in Bangalore, in which the school-going daughter Uma (a very young Padmini Kolhapure) suddenly begins to experience strange episodes in which she lets out torrents of coarse, obscene language. The family cannot understand what has happened to the normally bright and cheerful girl.
Apart from skilfully ratcheting up the tension and anxiety, the film takes a hard look at what happens when a family is divided in a crisis. The overbearing father (Shreeram Lagoo) insists Uma must be treated by medical doctors, even if this involves gruelling electroconvulsive therapy. His docile wife (Indrani Mukherjee) and rebellious son (Anant Nag) are increasingly convinced that Uma suffers from something that modern medicine cannot treat.
As the child’s condition worsens, devastating family secrets emerge. The film’s open ending is unexpected. Gehrayee still holds up, very well, after more than 40 years.
That’s my list. Though horror remains very much a niche genre in Bollywood, there is still enough out there for you to add to it with a list of your own. Enjoy!
