Mahal (1949)

A young lawyer is involved with a ghostly woman in his new house, where the builder and his fiancée died shortly after it was built.

Director:

Kamal Amrohi

Writer:

Kamal Amrohi (by)

Stars:

Ashok Kumar, Madhubala, M. Kumar

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ashok Kumar	...	Hari Shankar
Madhubala	...	Kamini
M. Kumar	...	Hari Shankar's Father (as Kumar)
Vijayalaxmi	...	Ranjana
Kanu Roy	...	Shrinath
S. Nazir
Eruch Tarapore
Sheela Naik
Leela Pandey
Neelam
Kaneez
Jagannath
Mohsin
Laxman Rao
S.A. Baker	...	(as S. A. Baker)

Storyline

Hari Shankar (Ashok Kumar) comes to claim his inheritance - a palatial building known as Shabnam Mahal. He does not see anything out of the normal, until he sees his portrait on the wall. The housekeeper tells him the background of the portrait and the tragic ending of two lovers. Later, Hari Shankar sees a woman singing and swinging in the garden swing, when he approaches, she disappears. Both the housekeeper and his lawyer friend, Shrinath, warn Hari Shankar, and ask him to stay away from this house, he does so, only to be drawn back. No one can help Hari Shankar now as he continues to be drawn deeper and deeper into the dark world of the ghostly apparition. "Ayega.. ayega... aanewala, aayega...." is still popular on radio and tapes/cd.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi Urdu

Release Date:

1949 (India)

Also Known As:

The Palace

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Bombay Talkies Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the recording of the film music, a man carelessly said that if the film didn't prove to be a hit it would be because of the music. When the film was released, however, the music was extremely popular, and music director Khemchand Prakash received letters from all over India. Even though he was ill at the time, Prakash went to that man's house and made him read all those letters.

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Soundtracks

"Ghabrekar Ke Jo Hum Sir Ko Takraayan"
Lyrics by Nakshab
Music by Khemchand Prakash
Performed by Rajkumari

User Reviews

Suspenseful drama

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.