Mahal (1949) User Reviews

Dramatic Destiny versus Destructive Desire

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 27 September 2009]

A fascinating film: One rainy midnight Hari Shankar (played by Ashok Kumar) drives up to his palace, enters a rather strange world and finds himself immediately "bewitched by a woman's wandering soul". The story has it that Kamini (the young but already veteran Madhubala) is waiting for the re-incarnation of her dead lover from years before, which he fervently believes himself to be and she keeps popping up in front of him rousing his insane desire. To emphasise the romantic point the main song, Aayega Aanewala (the one destined to return will come …) is reprised throughout the film, a deeply poetic and thoughtful classic sung by the young Lata and the one that helped to make her name.

It started out very stylish and original with some swift camera work, almost like an atmospheric Hindi Noir, and reminded me at various times of Orphee, Gilda, Lady From Shanghai, Ghost And Mrs Muir, and even had pre-echoes of Ava Gardner in Pandora And The Flying Dutchman. But eventually the plot veered away erratically and although always interesting some of the suspense was lost as the supernatural aspect was lessened and the ordinary world started to creep in. For the climax Ranjana's integrity was definitely compromised in her wreaking terrible revenge on husband Shankar! The incredibly worldly-wise wispy Kamini murmured "Come" and Shankar ran to her – but what man wouldn't! The scenes with the tribal woman dancing for her life were riveting viewing; the music was superb throughout – of course this was made decades before the heavily Westernised Bollywood Beat took over. The "surprise" climax has already been given away in a previous post, but to me the big surprise is how it could have surprised anyone in the original audiences! And was it destined to end that way, with people watching nowadays destined to not be surprised at all?

It was a confusing mystery melodrama with many heavy thoughts on youth, beauty and mortality but ultimately surprisingly shallow – probably depending on your age. However no matter how much it reminded me of a few other films you'll not see a film quite like it, and personally it's usually well worth watching unique films from the Golden Age.

Haunted house movie or melodrama?

[ijzeren_jan · 6/10 · 19 September 2009]

A haunted house. An often recurring motive in horror movies, and here we have an early example. It differs from other haunted house movies in several ways. Even Indian cinema has quite a few of them. Thus, we have already seen an evil bhoot (spirit), a sympathetic bhoot, a frustrated bhoot, a bhoot seeking justice, a horny bhoot, a bhoot who loves kids... And here for a change we meet a female bhoot who is deeply in love. She doesn't even look like one: she is astoundingly beautiful, sings and dances, and as if that were not enough, you can have a normal conversation with her as well. Sure, at last we find out that she is not a bhoot at all, but merely the old gardener's daughter playing tricks until she loses it herself. A very pleasant surprise, at least for me; I guess I have already watched so many "real" bhoots that the possibility didn't even occur to me that this one is just an ordinary person of flesh and bones.

Obviously, Mahal differs from other haunted house movies even more. Usually, a new family settles in an old home, and in the beginning little happens. Somebody hears a mysterious noise or sees something odd in the mirror, weird accidents happen... little enough for the household skeptic to remain a skeptic for a long time. But here, things happen very quickly: for Hari Shankar, the love story of the previous inhabitants of the house and a certain similarity of the guy to himself are enough to persuade him. When the pretty lady bhoot starts singing songs for him, he doesn't have to think long. Hari is deeply convinced that he is the previous house owner's reincarnation, and that the bhoot is the great love of his former life. It doesn't take long before the romance starts (once more).

I should add that unlike most other haunted house movies, Mahal is not a horror movie at all. It is more like a drama movie with a touch of the supernatural. More than anything, it is about psychology. All in all, Mahal has more in common with "Kabhi Alvida naa Kehna" than with "Bhoot".

Personally, I like it when a movie has a tempo like Mahal's first half hour. I found myself wondering: if things are moving so quickly, what's going to be next? And here comes a surprise: during the following one and a half hour almost nothing happens at all. All we see is Hari's inner crisis deepening while his obsession with Kamini grows. Until his family and friends convince him to get married to another woman and finally get the hell out of that house. Nevertheless, Hari can't forget Kamini and keeps thinking of her, turning his poor wife's life into hell. That's the first half of the movie. In the second half, we know that Kamini is not a bhoot at all, but suffering from a heavy case of mythomania. Everything evolves now around the question what will happen next. Hari has pretty much lost it, and even though Kamini has already told the truth, he cannot accept that it was all nonsense. Clearly, a story like that cannot end happily, and so, Hari dies a stupid death, his friend has to spend the rest of his life with a gardener's egoistic daughter whom he has nothing in common with but this entire unfortunate history, and Kamini/Asha, instead of having the man she loves, now has two lives on her conscience and a husband she doesn't love and probably never will.

I genuinely love old movies, but there is a lot I miss in Mahal. A story like this is very, very dependent on building atmosphere, and I'm not sure the film makers succeeded in that. Granted, the camera performs true miracles at times, but as a whole, this movie reminds me a bit of a Wagner opera (about which Debussy once said: "wonderful moments, horrible quarters"). Although the music of Mahal undoubtedly belongs to the better soundtracks of old-school Bollywood, I have a feeling that there were too many songs, which made the longish movie even more longish. Although the story is interesting in itself, I have a feeling the script could have done more justice to it. Compared to other film scripts from the old days, when script writing was still an art and not merely a craft, it fails to impress.

With the actors I have a similar problem. The acting is surely not bad, but I miss that... that something. Ashok Kumar obviously does not have the kind of screen presence of a Humphrey Bogart, a Marlon Brando or a Robert Mitchum. Madhubala's role consists mostly of dancing and being beautiful. Besides, it is hard to identify with any of the characters in the movie. Hari is essentially a naive weakling, who in addition to that treats his poor wife more than horribly. Kamini turns out to be a cold, calculating would-be femme fatale who doesn't even seem to feel sorry for all the trouble she has caused. Both Hari and Kamini/Asha are sad examples of how sick and obsessive love can be. Ranjana, Hari's wife, is utterly colorless. The most reasonable person in the story is undoubtedly Hari's friend Shrinath, but at least at the beginning he is portrayed as a complete bumpkin. Together they are a bunch of egoistic, unsympathetic people, who actually deserve all the bad things coming to them.

All in all, Mahal is certainly not a bad movie, but it does not live up to the expectations raised during the first half hour, and more importantly, it could have done more justice to the promising storyline. As a matter of fact, I think this movie could be the starting point for a pretty decent remake. Not that I'm a great fan of Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, but I'm sure they could do a terrific job here!

Decent Romantic Drama With Supernatural Horror Elements

[max4movie · 6/10 · 9 November 2019]

Full review on my blog max4movies: Mahal is a romantic drama with supernatural elements about a young man who is driven insane by the supposed ghost of his lover from another life. Several elements work great, e.g. the visual presentation and the eerie atmosphere. However, the movie lacks a more focused pacing, as it features several irrelevant songs and scenes that distract from the fate of the main characters. The theme song is very memorable but often the songs are entertaining which sometimes works against the serious notions of the tragic love story. Still, the main performances are captivating, and the atmospheric beginning and the clever ending make up for some of the apparent long-winded moments in between.

Modernized way of depiction

[sudhakaranakhilan · 7/10 · 26 May 2021]

It has been proud to watch a cult-classic film now in 2021 for the first time and I can trace back the setting and the subject which the movie talks about. The films getting released nowadays have this kind of subject or theme which shows a close resemblance to this 1949 film, Mahal. Debted from gothic culture Mahal set-up in a Mahal (mansion) which has that kind of German Expressionist mise-en-scene and musical accompaniment. I like the songs especially the 'Ayega' song which is resounding in my heart. The great essence of cinematography technique by the veteran Josef Wirsching can be seen here and excellent music composition by Khemchand Prakash. A modernized way of depiction can be seen in each and every frame of the movie.

A landmark in the Gothic-Horror-Fiction genre for Indian cinema, with complex romance theories that are still untouched.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 30 October 2022]

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.

Classic suspense movie

[manjits · 9/10 · 14 March 2007]

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.

Gothic romance with german expressionism

[uttamuttam-85985 · 10/10 · 11 September 2021]

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.

Mahal

[JoeytheBrit · 5/10 · 22 April 2008]

Mahal is considered something of a classic in India, which is what prompted me to have a look at the DVD but today, if anything, it simply serves to emphasise the divide between that which the west and the east consider quality entertainment. That doesn't mean Mahal is bad, necessarily, just that it is different, and so it is difficult for a non-Indian to offer a review that most Indians won't consider to be wildly off the mark. At the end of the day, though, all you can do is offer your opinions and views and let people think what they will…

Like most Indian films, this one has a 150-odd minute running time thanks largely to both a number of musical numbers and a slow, meandering plot which occasionally captures the appropriate atmosphere for which it is obviously striving but which, for the most part, falls a little flat. The hero, well-played by a brooding Ashok Kumar, suffers inordinately for his love for the woman he believes to be a ghost but who is, in fact, his gardener's daughter. The film plays this as if it is some huge twist when her true identity is revealed at a trial, but nobody in this day and age will be surprised by the revelation. The object of his affections, it has to be said, is something of a hottie, and first-time director Kamal Amrohi allows the camera to lovingly caress her beauty at every opportunity, pulling in so close that her face fills the screen.

The film doesn't have the kind of plot needed to fill out the lengthy running time, and the sombre ruminations on fate and love and the forces beyond our understanding that control and toy with us all grow a little wearing after a while. But, having said that, it's not difficult to understand why this film is so popular in India.

Suspenseful drama

[sandeepjoshi9-1 · 9/10 · 12 January 2007]

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.

Poor script, boring execution

[rtoac1 · 5/10 · 24 January 2022]

This is a Hindi language film starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala.

And while I'm a lover of (even) slow and art films, this is none of that. This is slow by forcing the apparent ghost to speak very slowly.

The script is poor and the plot full of holes. The execution is also unjustifiably slow and repetitive in multiple places. Editing looks to have been forced upon to still keep it within 3 hours. And then there's the needless comment on tribal and mountain life, as if life is only civilized in cities!

The protagonist character sketch is poorly developed and unconvincing of his actions.

The saving grace is Madhubala's beauty. I can't think of any other reason why the audience would have sit through this film and made it a blockbuster. The film thus became her launchpad.

Also maybe because "Aayega aanewala" became a hit those days and gave her a break too.

Save your time and avoid it!

But to die as lovers may - to die together, so that they may live together. Bollywood's first gothic horror with amazing cinematography by Joseph Wirsching.

[Fella_shibby · 9/10 · 22 June 2020]

Had seen this as a kid in bits n pieces. Saw this fully for the first time recently on YouTube. The print is passable but the sound quality ain't good. The English subtitles helped me a lot to dig this film very well.

The story is about a man Shankar who moves into an old n abandoned palace. He visits the palace on a dark stormy night. He is greeted by the gardener who tells him that the palace was inhabited by a couple forty years back and that the couple died one aft another cos of their intense love. Shankar is astonished when he sees the photo of the old owner which looks exactly like him. Suddenly Shankar hears a woman singing n the moment he approaches her, she disappears. He tells this to his friend n inspite of his friend's advice, Shankar gets drawn towards the mysterious ghost.

One of the best part is this is the first gothic horror from Bollywood n cinematographer Joseph Wirsching nailed it. Ther r some lovely shots from interesting angles, and shots cleverly framed. The lighting is used appropriately. The lead actress Madhubala became one of the most successful and iconic actress of Indian cinema. The film started with good suspense but slowly became a bit melodramatic aft the marriage. There is a pretty lol scene wher the wife follows the husband n she stands next to the husband n the ghost without getting noticed. The mountain top scene of the shack is pretty desolated n creepy. The tribal community's trial n execution is weirdly funny.

The twist is good for first time viewers who dont read synopsis. Very generous with a 9 cos it's a very creative idea n the original Bollywood gothic horror. Apart from the idea where a person falls in love with a dead person's photo (Laura), the entire script is very original.



Some major q's - Why the previous owner came at midnight and left at dawn? Was the gardener involved? What was the need for the gardener to climb n restore the clock? Why didnt Asha show any remorse aft her father's death? Why 2 am? Mayb Kamini used to sleep throughout the day. The wife stopped a different clock at her shack which resulted in affecting the main clock at the palace. How come? Anyways it is a solid attempt n the film is truly a poignant tale of love, destiny n reincarnation.