Mahakaal (1993)

Mahakaal (The Monster) might be a Bollywood rip-off of Wes Craven’s 1984 US smash hit Nightmare on Elm Street, but it’s a very entertaining one.

This Ramsay Brothers production entered production in 1988 but was delayed for several years because they were beaten to the punch by Mohan Bhakri’s Nightmare on Elm Street rip-off. It was finally released in 1993, by which time the Indian horror boom was all but over. While it’s a late entry in the Bollywood horror cycle don’t let that put you off. It's still a very good horror movie.

Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay directed while Gangu Ramsay was responsible for the cinematography and co-produced the film with Chander Ramsay.

The movie starts with a very impressive dream sequence in which a young college student, Anita (Archana Puran Singh), is menaced by a monster wearing gloves equipped with razor-sharp knives. When she wakes up her nightgown is torn and she has claw marks on her arm. This nightmare was an uncomfortably real one.

Anita is in love with Prakash but she has also attracted the attention of Randhir. Randhir is a bit of a bad boy while Prakash is a clean-cut young man. Anita’s father, who happens to be the local chief of police, approves wholeheartedly of Prakash.

Anita’s friend Seema is in love with Prakash’s friend Param. They’re all university students and life is very pleasant for them. Until the nightmares start. Seema has the nightmares as well, and Param will soon find to his cost that the nightmare monster doesn’t pick favourites as far as gender is concerned. He wants to kill them all.

Inevitably one of the nightmares has fatal results and one of this group of friends faces a charge of murder as a result. No-one will believe the person’s crazy story about someone being torn to shreds by an apparently invisible killer.

When the monster strikes again Anita’s father finally breaks down and admits that he knows something that may explain the killings. A few years earlier a crazed killer who wore gloves equipped with blades was kidnapping children and sacrificing them in order to increase his powers in black magic and sorcery. One of the children he kidnapped and murdered was Anita’s sister Mohini. Anita’s father buried the killer alive, but now it appears that wasn’t enough. The killer, Shakaal, has evidently used his black magic powers to enter the world of nightmares. That’s bad enough, but what if he finds a way to enter the real world?

Anita’s father is sceptical of superstitious beliefs in black magic, but even he is shaken. Anita’s mother has no such doubts and consists a holy man, who warns her of the dire consequences if Shakaal is not stopped. The eventual result will be the ultimate horror, Mahakaal.

The acting is fairly standard by Bollywood standards, in other words it’s generally pretty good. Being a Bollywood movie there is of course singing and dancing but that’s par for the course and it’s one of the charms of Bollywood movies. One of the less enjoyable things about Bollywood productions is the comic relief. Comic relief is bad enough at the best of times, but comedy is a commodity that does not travel well. On this occasion the comedy is provided by Johnny Lever who plays Canteen, so named because (obviously) he runs the university cafeteria. Canteen has a bit of a Michael Jackson fixation (remember that the movie started production in the late 80s) and also has fantasies about being Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, or possibly getting a role in a movie by the famous Ramsay Brothers. He’s initially mildly amusing but the novelty wears off pretty quickly, especially when he starts to pop up as Canteen’s brothers as well.

The most impressive features of this movie are the visuals. There are some spectacular and imaginative set-pieces that compare very favourably with the best horror movies made anywhere. The special effects are mostly good and the make-up effects are excellent. Shakaal is a wonderfully effective movie monster. I personally think he looks more impressive than Freddy Krueger.

The long running time of 132 minutes may put some people off but that’s also par for the course in Bollywood movies and this one has enough genuine chills to make it worthwhile for horror fans to persevere. And if you like gore you’ll be reasonably happy.

Mondo Macabro’s DVD presentation offers a very good print. It’s paired with the equally entertaining Tahkhana in the Bollywood Horror Collection volume 3. It’s in Hindi with English subtitles. All of Mondo Macabro’s Bollywood horror releases are worth seeing and if you’ve acquired a taste for Bollywood horror then Mahakaal is highly recommended.

Tahkhana (1986)

Bollywood horror had been around for a while but it really broke through with the Ramsay Brothers’ Purana Mandir in 1984. It was the film that launched horror into the Bollywood mainstream and launched the Bollywood horror boom which lasted until the early 90s.

The Ramsays were not inclined to let a good idea go to waste so Tahkhana in 1986 repeated the formula almost exactly. And it’s just as much fun.

Thakur Singh has one major inheritance to leave to his children. He has a map showing the location of a fabulous treasure hidden in a dungeon. But he’s not going to leave it to his eldest son Dhurjan who is a notorious black magician. He leaves it to his second son, along with strict instructions to keep his daughters away from Dhurjan.

It’s good advice, but Dhurjan murders his brother and kidnaps his daughters. One daughter is saved from his clutches but the elder, Sapna, disappears into the jungle, apparently never to be seen again.

Twenty years later the younger daughter Aarti (Arti Gupta), her fiancé Vijay (Puneet Issar) and their friend Anand decide to make a serious attempt to find the missing Sapna and they track her down to a hotel in Bombay, a hotel run by Aarti’s sleazy cousin Shaakal (Imtiaz Khan). By the time they get there Shaakal has murdered her in the course of a bungled rape attempt. Our young heroes don’t at this stage know what a sleazebag Shaakal is.

Our young heroes also don’t know that the treasure is protected by a monstrous demon god, brought to life by Dhurjan’s black magic. And while they think they have the correct map they actually have a forgery while Shaakal has the original.

Vijay, Aarti and Anand do have one stroke of luck though. When they are attacked by Shaakal’s thugs they are rescued and befriended by Heera (Priti Sapru), a muscle-bound but good-natured young man with the physique of the hero of an Italian peplum. They’re also joined by his girlfriend Panna (Hemant Birje). They reach Thakur Singh’s deserted mansion but once they start exploring the dungeon the trouble starts.

So the setup is that we have a group of attractive young people, two couples plus a faithful friend, who will have to run the gauntlet of the terrors of a haunted house although in this case it’s a monster-ridden dungeon but the principle is the same. It’s a profoundly unoriginal idea but that’s typical of Bollywood. They take a well-proven idea from Hollywood and then Bollywoodise it - adding some hints of Indian folklore, beefing up the love story angle, adding some comic relief and of course some singing and dancing.

It’s an object lesson in making a movie rigidly to a formula while still coming up with something very well-made and highly entertaining. The special effects and makeup effects are extremely good for what is by western standards a modestly budgeted film (although by Bollywood standards the Ramsays were at the top end of the horror scene). Even the comic relief is fairly entertaining.

The very good cast certainly helps. The acting is of course very Bollywood but Arti Gupta makes a fine heroine (as she did in Purana Mandir). The Ramsays always believed in catering to the female audience members as well so we get not only a feisty but likeable heroine but lots of male as well as female eye candy. And Arti Gupta is definitely prime eye candy. The Ramsays threw in as much sex as the Indian censors would let them get away with and both Arti Gupta and Hemant Birje are actresses who know how to be sexy without taking their clothes off. And there is of course the obligatory wet sari scene! And for the ladies Priti Sapru is a very hunky hero.

The DVD is fullframe but it’s a lovely transfer and Mondo Macabro throws in an excellent documentary that not only covers the fabulous world of Bollywood horror but also provides some tantasising glimpses of the delights of Lollywood horror - the wild products of the Pakistan film industry based in Lahore (hence the term Lollywood). The frustrating thing about the documentary is that so few of these movies are available in English-friendly versions. I’m now desperate to see Haseena Atom Bomb! So how about it Mondo Macabro - will we get to see Lollywood horror given the same excellent treatment? Can we expect a Lollywood Horror Collection? Or some of the Bollywood horrors made by some of the Ramsay Brothers’ competitors?

The Ramsay Brothers aimed at making pure entertainment with a certain amount of quality and in this they consistently succeeded - Tahkhana is enormous fun. Highly recommended.

Sholay (1975)

I’m quite fond of spaghetti westerns, and I’m developing a taste for Bollywood movies, so the idea of a “curry western” was something I couldn’t resist. Sholay, released in 1975, is regarded as the first of this genre. It also happens to be the highest grossing Bollywood movie of all time.

If you’re expecting something resembling a spaghetti western you’re in for some major shocks. It’s possibly debatable that it’s even a western at all. It isn’t set in the American West; it’s set in central India. And it’s set in modern times. On the other hand the main plot is a classic western revenge plot and the basic structure of the movie, and more importantly the whole ethos of the film, makes it absolutely a western.

Being a Bollywood movie it naturally has more than just the central revenge plot. There are certain elements that have to be included in any Bollywood film, and this is no exception. There’s singing and dancing, of course. There are lengthy comic interludes. And there has to be a love story. Since this movie has two heroes, it has two love stories. You might think that would make for a fairly long film, and you’d be spot on. Sholay clocks in at no less than 204 minutes.

The major plotline concerns a policeman, known as the Thakur, and two thieves, Veeru and Jai. The policeman captured the two thieves several year earlier. He was bringing them in by train when the train was attacked by bandits. The two thieves offered to help fight off the bandits. They had the opportunity to escape but it would have meant abandoning the wounded police officer. When the Thakur, now retired, finds himself in need of some hired muscle he remembers the two thieves who fought so bravely and showed such an unexpected sense of honour. They accept the mission he offers them, to bring to justice the notorious bandit Gabbar Singh. The Thakur has a personal score to settle with Gabbar Singh.

Veeru and Jai soon find themselves in a position familiar to any hero of the western genre - the Thakur’s village is being ruthlessly plundered and terrorised by Gabbar Singh’s bandits. In between fighting off bandit attacks and planning the capture of this unpleasant outlaw both thieves find time to fall in love. Jai falls for the Thakur’s widowed daughter-in-law; Veeru loses his heart to a talkative horse-cart driver. The struggle against the bandits takes on the dimensions of a small war and builds to a finale that contains both some expected and some unexpected elements.

If you’re a newcomer to the world of Bollywood you might find the extraordinarily long running time rather daunting. Personally I found that the movie had no difficulty keeping me interested but whether you’ll share my experience or not probably depends on how much tolerance you have for the musical interludes and the comic relief. Both are present in very large quantities.

The movie’s two biggest strengths are director Ramesh Sippy’s visual flair and the exceptionally good acting performances. There are some impressive action set-pieces with the opening bandit attack on the train being a highlight. Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh is one of the great movie villains, a thoroughly menacing character with a taste for rather sadistic murders. It’s an immensely entertaining performance. Amitabh Bachchan, who plays Jai, is one of Bollywood’s superstars and it’s easy to see why. Dharmendra is equally good as Veeru. There’s an obvious Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid influence in the relationship between the two loveable rogue thief-heroes.
Hema Malini as Basanti doubles as both the chief source of comic relief and as the love interest for Veeru. She does become somewhat annoying in the former role but her character is gradually developed in more depth and displays considerable courage and resourcefulness. The scene in which she has to dance for Gabbar Singh in order to save Veeru’s life is truly inspired.

Another disquieting habit of this movie, if you’re not used to Bollywood, is the way it constantly and abruptly switches back and forth between gritty drama, comic scenes and musical numbers. Along with the leisurely pacing it’s one of the things that you either learn to accept or you don’t.

This is a big movie in every sense of the word. It’s not going to be for everyone. Personally I loved it.

Eros Entertainment’s DVD release is disappointing. It’s fullframe and the colours are not exactly vibrant, and there are no extras. But it’s the only available DVD of this movie and if you have a taste for Bollywood it’s pretty much a must-buy in spite of those problems.