Indian ghost movies are popular not just in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

but in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, South East Asia and other parts of the world. Generally the movies are based on the experiences of modern people who are unexpectedly exposed to

ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

. Some Indian ghost movies, such as the comedy/horror film ''

Chandramukhi ''Chandramukhi'' () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film written and directed by P. Vasu. A remake of Vasu's Kannada film ''Apthamitra'' (2004), which itself loosely based on the Malayalam film ''Manichitrathazhu'' (1993), the fi ...

'', have been great hits, dubbed into several languages. They usually draw on traditional

Indian literature Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognised languages. The earliest works of Indian literature were o ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, but in some cases are remakes of Western movies, such as '' Anjaane'', based on Alejandro Amenábar's ghost story '' The Others''.

Box office hits

The 1949 '' Mahal'' (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

: महल;

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''The Mansion'') was a groundbreaking

Hindi language Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

movie directed by Kamal Amrohi and starring Ashok Kumar and

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

, one of the earliest known

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films dealing with

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

. ''Mahal'' became one of the biggest box office hits of 1949 in India. The movie paved the way for Indian

gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...

. ''

'' (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

: சந்திரமுகி;

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

: చంద్రముఖి;

: चंद्रमुखी) (2005) is a

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

and

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

P. Vasu Vasudevan Peethambharan, known professionally as P Vasu, is an Indian director, writer and actor who works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam language films. In a career spanning three decades, Vasu has directed over 64 films.

and produced by Ramkumar Ganesan. The soundtrack and background score for the film, which later became successful enough to be released as a separate album, was written by

Vidyasagar Vidyasagar or Vidya Sagar may refer to: People * Acharya Vidyasagar (born 1946), prominent Digambar Jain Acharya (1946-) *Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891), Bengali scholar *Vidyasagar (composer) (born 1963), South Indian music director *C ...

. It was later dubbed into several languages, and became one of the highest grossing

film ever. ''Chandramukhi'' is a remake of the 2004

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

film '' Apthamitra'', which was the highest grossing Kannada film in recent times. The movie tells of the experiences of a married couple who buy an ancient palace in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

that turns out to be haunted. ''Apthamitra'' itself was a remake of the successful 1993

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

film '' Manichitrathazhu'' directed by Fazil and written by

Madhu Muttam Madhu Muttom is an Indian screenwriter from Kerala. Life His second film as a screenwriter was ''Manichitrathazhu'' (1993). It was remade in Kannada as ''Apthamitra'' and in Tamil as '' Chandramukhi'', and finally in Hindi as ''Bhool Bhulaiy ...

Common themes

The ghost movies often concern modern people unexpectedly involved in the ghostly results of past events. '' Bhoot'' (

: भूत,

: Ghost) (2003) was directed by

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...

and starring

Urmila Matondkar Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfare A ...

and

Ajay Devgan Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...

. A couple takes an apartment that turns out to have a horrifying past. A series of inexplicable experiences drives the wife to near madness. Bhoot was perceived to be different from a typical Bollywood movie as it did not contain songs. '' Krishna Cottage'' (2004) starring Sohail Khan,

Natassha Natasha Hassanandani (born 14 April 1981), professionally known as Anita Hassanandani or Anita Hassanandani Reddy, is an Indian actress primarily working in Hindi serials as well as Telugu, Kannada and Tamil films. Early life Hassanandani wa ...

, and

Ishaa Koppikar Isha Koppikar (born 19 September 1976) is an Indian actress, model and politician who has mostly appeared in Hindi cinema. She has also acted in several Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Marathi films. Background Koppikar was born in Mahim, Bombay (no ...

is a horror story that includes ghosts, death, reincarnation, and love, revolving around a fictional book "Kayi Unkahi Batein" (a few untold things) by Professor Siddharth Das ( Rajendranath Zutshi).. A common form of ghost in South Indian horror movies are the interpretations of the

White Lady A White Lady (or woman in white) is a type of female ghost. She has long straight hair, typically dressed in a white dress or similar garment, reportedly seen in rural areas and associated with local legends of tragedy. White Lady legends ar ...

, a female ghost characterized by white dresses (in this case, often sarees) and themes of tragedy and betrayal. The Ur-example of such work is the 1964 film,

Bhargavi Nilayam ''Bhargavi Nilayam'' () is a 1964 Indian Malayalam-language romantic horror film directed by A. Vincent (in his directorial debut) and written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer based on his own short story ''Neela Velicham''. The film stars Madhu, V ...

. Some have a more philosophical theme. In ''

Hum Tum Aur Ghost ''Hum Tum Aur Ghost'' (; earlier titled as ''Kaun Bola?!'' ) is a 2010 Indian Hindi supernatural comedy-drama film directed by Kabeer Kaushik and produced by Arshad Warsi, starring Arshad Warsi and Dia Mirza in the lead roles. This unofficial ...

'', starring Arshad Warsi and

Dia Mirza Dia Mirza Rekhi (born Dia Handrich; 9 December 1981) is an Indian model, actress, producer, and social worker who predominantly works in Hindi films. Mirza won the title of Miss Asia Pacific International in 2000 after being crowned Femina Mis ...

, the hero is a charming fashion photographer whose life is marred by the fact that he hears voices that nobody else can hear, which disrupts his social life. He becomes aware of his special ability to connect with the souls that haven't crossed over, and sets out on a journey where he assists three souls, in the process learning much about himself.

Adaptations from Indian literature

Indian ghost movies are often based on Indian novels or short stories about ghosts. ''

Anandabhadram ''Anandabhadram'' (Anand's Bhadra) is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language dark fantasy horror film based on the novel of the same name by Sunil Parameshwaran. The film was the debut Malayalam film venture of director Santosh Sivan and actress Riy ...

'' (

: അനന്തഭദ്രം) is a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

released in 2005 about

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

s, spirits, and black magic, based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Sunil Parameswaran. It is the first

venture of Indian

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

Santosh Sivan Santosh Sivan (born 8 February 1964) is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and has to date co ...

as well as of Bengali model/actress

Riya Sen Riya Sen (born Riya Dev Varma; 24 January 1981) is an Indian actress and model. who predominantly appears in Hindi, Bengali, English, Telugu and Tamil films. Sen comes from a royal background; her father Bharat Dev Varma hails from the royal ...

. The story of ''Ananthabhadram'' is a

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

. Set in rural Kerala, the tale is dominated by black magicians,

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

experts, sorcerers and seductresses. Sivan said "it was the story of Ananthabhadram that captivated me. The stories my grandmother used to tell me used to take me to a world of mystery. It was the same feeling when I heard this story and I have tried to capture that in my film." '' Paheli'' (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: पहेली,

Nastaliq ''Nastaliq'' (; fa, , ), also romanized as ''Nastaʿlīq'', is one of the main calligraphic hands used to write the Perso-Arabic script in the Persian and Urdu languages, often used also for Ottoman Turkish poetry, rarely for Arabic. ''Nast ...

: پہیلی, en, Riddle) (2005) was directed by

Amol Palekar Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema. Career Palekar studied fine arts at the Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, and commenced his artistic career as a painter. As a painter, he ...

and produced by

Gauri Khan Gauri Khan ('' née'' Chhibber; born 8 October 1970) is an Indian film producer and fashion designer. She has produced films including ''Main Hoon Na'', ''Om Shanti Om'' and '' Chennai Express'' under the production company Red Chillies Enter ...

, Sanjiv Chawla and Shahrukh Khan, who also plays the male lead. It is based on the short story written by

Vijayadan Detha Vijaydan Detha (1 September 1926 – 10 November 2013), also known as Bijji, was a noted Indian writer of Rajasthani literature. He was a recipient of several awards including the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award. Detha has more than 80 ...

and tells the story of a wife (

Rani Mukerji Rani Mukerji (pronounced ; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rani Mukerji, multiple accolades, including seven Filmf ...

) who is left by her husband ( Shahrukh Khan) and visited by a ghost, disguised as her husband, who is in love with her and takes her husband's place. ''

Duvidha ''Duvidha'' is a 1973 ghost movie directed by Mani Kaul, based on a Rajasthani story of the same name by Vijaydan Detha. The film stars Ravi Menon and Raisa Padamsee in lead roles. The film was critically acclaimed and won the director the Nat ...

'' (1973) was directed by

Mani Kaul Mani Kaul (25 December 1944 – 6 July 2011) was an Indian director of Hindi films and a reputed figure in Indian parallel cinema. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and ...

and was critically acclaimed and won Best Film at the 1974

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

. The film is based on a story by

which relates a popular folktale from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

about merchant's son whose relationship with his young bride is thwarted by his work and a ghost who falls in love with her, resulting in the ghost soon impersonating the husband. ''

Shodh ''Shodh'' is a 1979 Bollywood ghost movie directed by Biplab Roy Chowdhury and produced by Sitakant Misra, based on the Bengali book ''Gorom Bhat O Nichhok Bhooter Goppo'' (Steaming Rice and a Ghost Story) by Sunil Gangopadhyay. Plot Surendra ...

'' (1981) is based on the book ''Steaming Rice and a Ghost Story'' by

Sunil Gangopadhyay Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was an Indian poet, historian and novelist in the Bengali language based in the city of Kolkata. He is a former Sheriff of Calcutta. Gangopadhyay obtained his ma ...

. Surendra (

Om Puri Om Prakash Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Bengali, Kannada,English, Punjabi and one Telugu film, as well as independent and art films and also starred ...

), having been exiled from his village in youth and established himself in the city, comes back to the news of his father's demise, reportedly at the hands of a phantom. He announces a prize for anyone who succeeds in showing him a ghost, which attracts the greed of the poor hungry peasants, resulting in the accusations of innocent people as haunted and even murders with the hope of producing a ghost.

Adaptations from Western sources

Some Bollywood ghost movies are adapted from Western sources, with varying degrees of success. The 2003 '' Saaya'' (

: साया,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

translation: ''Shadow'') is a direct lift of the 2002 Hollywood film

Dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

. '' Raaz'' (

: राज़,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

translation: ''Secret'') (2002) directed by

Vikram Bhatt Vikram Bhatt (born 27 January 1969) is an Indian director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the Raaz (film series), ''Raaz'' film series, an Indian horror series produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt and for d ...

, is an unofficial

adaptation of the 2000 film ''

What Lies Beneath ''What Lies Beneath'' is a 2000 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as a couple who live in a haunted house. It was the first film by Zemeckis' production company ...

''. The film is based on the story of a couple who have moved to Ooty to save their failing marriage. However, what they find in their new home is more than they expected when a ghost starts haunting the place. Sanjana suddenly finds that her husband is part of the ghostly conspiracy, which she must fix in order to escape. '' Anjaane'' (2005) starred Manisha Koirala,

Sanjay Kapoor Sanjay Surinder Kapoor (born 17 October 1965) is an Indian actor and film producer. He works in Hindi cinema, Indian television and web series. He is a member of the Surinder Kapoor family. Kapoor is the founder and director of Sanjay Kapoor ...

, Tejasvini Kolhapure and

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

. The film was based on Alejandro Amenábar's ghost story The Others starring Nicole Kidman. The film was criticized for being a copycat of the American version and the acting of Koirala was described by reviewers as "uninterested" and "mechanical". ''

Bhoothnath ''Bhoothnath'' () is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language supernatural comedy film written and directed by Vivek Sharma, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, Aman Siddiqui, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Rajpal Yadav and features Shah Rukh Khan in a c ...

'' (

: भूतनाथ translation: "Lord of Ghosts") directed by Vivek Sharma and produced by Ravi Chopra, is an adaptation of the

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

short-story

The Canterville Ghost "The Canterville Ghost" is a humorous short story by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in two parts in '' The Court and Society Review'', 23 February and 2 March 1887. The story is about an American fa ...

. The story is about the relationship between a deceased old man (played by

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

) and a boy named Banku.

Influence on Western movies

Some

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

movies refer to Bollywood ghost movies. For example, the 2001 movie '' Ghost World'' by Terry Zwigoff includes a clip from the 1965 hit '' Gumnaam'' by

Raja Nawathe Raja Nawathe (; 14 October 1924 – 15 November 2005) was an Indian film producer, director, assistant film director, in Bombay's Hindi film industry, long before it came to be known as Bollywood. He is known for films like Raj Kapoor-Narg ...

, which tells of a group of travelers in an isolated hotel who are murdered one by one. ''Gumnaam'' itself borrows from

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

novel '' And Then There Were None''.

References

Indian ghost films {{Ghosts

Box office hits

Common themes

Adaptations from Indian literature

Adaptations from Western sources

Influence on Western movies

See also

References