Starcast: Trilok Kapoor, Pradeep Kumar, Mohnish Behl, Aarti Gupta, Puneet Issar, Anirudh Agarwal, Binny Rai, Lalita Pawar, Sadashiv Amrapurk...
Starcast: Trilok Kapoor, Pradeep Kumar, Mohnish Behl, Aarti Gupta, Puneet Issar, Anirudh Agarwal, Binny Rai, Lalita Pawar, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Dheeraj Kumar & Rajendra Nath
Director: Tulsi Ramsay & Shyam Ramsay
Music : Ajit Singh
Released on 19th October, 1984, 'Purana Mandir' is
inarguably the most successful film from the famous Ramsay brothers who were
Hindi cinema’s answer to the Hammer Studios at that time. Its release and
subsequent surprise success spawned a series of similar films on the big screen
and also on video throughout the 1980s.
Storyline :
The film starts with a ghastly incident that happened in the princely
state of Bijapur around the late medieval period, where an evil occultist and
worshipper of evil named Saamri (Anirudh Agarwal) is beheaded at the behest of
Bijapur’s king Raja Harimaan Singh (Trilok Kapoor) as he was guilty of sucking
the blood of princess Rupali and eating the dead bodies of children by digging
their graves. Before his death, Saamri curses the king that so long as his head
and body are away from each other, every woman in his family will die after
childbirth, and if by any chance the head and body come together again, then
he will come alive again and destroy everyone in his periphery.
Cut to modern 1980s Bombay, the present heir of the dynasty Ranveer
Singh (Pradeep Kumar) is well aware of the curse and is extremely worried about
his only daughter Suman’s (Aarti Agarwal) affair with Sanjay (Mohnish Behl)
and disapproves of their relationship. When he sees that both Sanjay and Suman
are steadfast about their love, he is forced to tell them about the curse
looming large on their family. Suman decides to go with Sanjay, accompanied by
their strong and burly friend Anand (Puneet Issar) and his wife Sapna (Binny
Rai) to Bijapur to find out the truth. The rest of the film is about the spooky
incidents and the wrath of the malevolent Saamri they are about to face there.
Direction and other Technical aspects :
Director duo Tulsi and Shyam Ramsay had been directing horror films
since 1972 and very well knew which tropes and angles in the script would work
for the masses. Macabre always has the risk of turning unintentionally comical, so handling scenes that invoke fright is extremely difficult. It's in this aspect that the
director duo comes up trumps. Some of the scenes are goosebump-inducing, but some
still send shivers down one’s spine. Cinematographer Gangu Ramsay uses his
unusual angles effectively and gives the film an eerie tone. The production design
is inconsistent but in certain scenes, it's really good. Editing is fair.
However, the comic angle involving a spoof of the blockbuster Sholay
works only momentarily and is at times irritating.
Performances :
Mohnish Behl gives an able performance but looks too skinny in the
action sequences and in the confrontational scenes with the ghoul. Aarti Gupta
is a revelation. She looked extremely cute and alluring at the same time and
she is not merely a “scream queen” here, she has a meaty role and she emoted
quite well. It’s a pity her filmy innings didn’t last long and she could not
capitalize on the film’s success. Puneet Issar with his well-built physique and
burly persona is extremely convincing in the action scenes and surprisingly has
good comic timing as well. Binny Rai, in
her only film, looks extremely sensuous and charming, Sadashiv Amrapurkar in a
strong supporting role is pretty good. Pradeep Kumar and Trilok Kapoor look
regal and act well. But, the one who leaves a long-lasting impact is Anirudhh
Aggarwal as Saamri. With his scary makeup, towering height, and gait, he is
downright diabolic and scary.
Music :
Many tend to overlook the fact that Ramsay’s films almost always had
melodious as well as foot-tapping music and 'Purana Mandir' is no different. From
the cabaret song Main Hoon Akeli (Asha Bhosle) to Hum Jis Pe Marte They ( Alka
Yagnik), all the songs are amazing, but the song that takes the cake is the
melancholic Woh Beete Din Yaad Hain sung in tandem by Ajit Singh and Asha
Bhosle. The song although inspired is still a treat to listen to.
40 years after its release, Purana Mandir mostly remains an engaging
watch. One might find some of the comic angles a bit crude and unnecessary but
it can't be denied that this film was a kind of template for many Bollywood
horror films.
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By
Ayushmaan Mitra
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