Mahal

Its so beautiful. Think it is probably the best gothic romance ever. From the grand music to the doomed lovers it has everything.

Also its shot beautifully. Almost like a surreal dream.

This is one of the greatest suspense movies of all times in any language. Kamal Amrohi was a genius, who could never reproduce at the same level, as in Mahal, his debut venture. In this respect, he reminds me of Orsen Welles, whose debut venture Citizen Kane was his best, and one of the greatest movie of all times. What upsets me most is that Mahal is considered a ghost story by many commentators. Nothing could be further from truth. It's a great suspense story, told in a straight forward way, and yet exceptionally hard to guess the surprise ending on first viewing. Khemchand Prakash's music is among the finest in Hindi movies. But for his early demise, he would have been as much an icon as Naushad he introduced to Hindi films.

This is classic in real sense of the word. A tight suspense from beginning to end. Mahal is one of the greatest films ever made in Bombay filmdom. Adding to the suspense is all time great song 'Aayega aane wala...'. See it for a very young Madhubala and highly expressive Ashok Kumar. Kamal Amrohi has not made any better movie than this one. Though his 'Daira' is another great hidden classic. He is primarily remembered for 'Pakeeza'. Very few films gained the status this film achieved. This is certainly one of the ten best from Bombay. The story has twisting end which will certainly surprise you and you will never be the same again. Most of the movie was shot indoors, one can easily tell that comparing it to modern standards, yet the directorial perfection is amazing. A must see.

I completed watching the first psychological horror film of India, Mahal (1949). The film of Kamal Amrohi, which catapulted the careers of actress Madhubala and playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, is eerily satisfying to watch and has ambiguities which show the rawness of the plot itself.

The song "Ayega Aane Wala" became a trendsetter, influencing generations of Indian horror cinemas to carry a haunting yet soothing title track. The legendary Ashok Kumar's mental upheaval is portrayed as vaguely as is the aura of the entire "Mahal".

The overall movie seems to be stretchy but the final climax turns the table and makes the audience wonder the skill of Amrohi's direction. Although the film doesn't explain on the existence of supernatural or the haunting coincidence of rebirth, I feel the taste of this dangling doubt leaves a lasting mark on its legacy which went on to inspire classics like Madhumati, Bees Saal Baad, Karz or Om Shanti Om.

Lastly, I observed the prehistoric form of horror storytelling, aptly commendable for the filmmaking of 1949. The takeaway from this movie is definitely the absurdism of storytelling, which thins the line between natural and supernatural, and questions the sanity and extent of human love.

Mahal (1949) : Breif Review -

A landmark in the Gothic-Horror-Fiction genre for Indian cinema, with complex romance theories that are still untouched. The gothic horror genre was set in mind when I saw the silent German classic, "The Golem" (1920). I never thought that world cinema could use Gothic horrors in such a manner to create a haunting viewing experience. Even Hollywood stayed away from it in the early days, so of course, Indian cinema was supposed to try its hands way later. I am surprised to see that Kamal Amrohi did it in 1949. Okay, one second, How??? Mahal is such an uneven mixture of Indian Gothic, horror, romance, drama and intellectual yet complex theories, it is hard to believe. I haven't seen such a unique combination in any Indian horror film yet - including every film made till 2022. Having a love story in a horror film is like having water in tea for Bollywood movies. Tell me, have you seen any hits or popular horror films that haven't got romance? The answer is probably No, I guess. But Mahal is way ahead of all those romantic horror films, despite being made early. Kamal Amrohi has been hailed for making "Pakeezah" (1972), but I believe he did a better job in Mahal, 23 years before the musical classic. This deserves to be hailed at a higher level than Pakeezah. Mahal is a prime example of human horror meeting gothic formulas, including an influential romance based on reincarnation. Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini's Mehbooba (1976) was too late to copy it. There are many instances like this because Mahal is a textbook of multiple theories-right from romance to horror to crime to drama to a sad ending. Now you may want to argue with me for calling it a horror movie, as it's not a ghost horror film like the Ramsay Brothers. So what? Even Biren Nag's "Bees Saal Baad" was similar. It had "Kahi Deep Jale", while Mahal had an even better song, " Aayega Aane wala". Top class stuff. A little lengthy, but needed that time to absorb you as a viewer.

RATING - 7.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.