Ramsay Brothers is a pseudonym or brand name used for a family of
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 ...
filmmakers, the sons and grandsons of F.U. Ramsay. They are famous for making the genre of horror films synonymous with the name "Ramsay Brothers."
History
The actual surname of the Ramsay family is Ramsinghani, and they are a Hindu family hailing from
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
province in present-day
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. They belong to a trading caste, and in the early decades of the 20th century, the Ramsinghani family used to run electronics shops (mainly radio sets) in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
and
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
. In 1947, the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
happened, and they were forced to flee their native land, which had been their motherland since time immemorial, for fear of being killed by the Muslims. Penniless and destitute, Fatehchand U. Ramsay (F.U. Ramsay) came with his extended family, including his wife, seven sons and two daughters, to India. They were resettled in Mumbai, and Fatehchand, along with his elder sons, set up a tiny electronics shop in
Lamington Road
Lamington Road, officially Dr. Dadasaheb Bhadkamkar Marg, named after Lord Lamington, the Governor of Bombay between 1903 and 1907, is a busy thoroughfare near Grant Road station in South Mumbai. The official name of the road is rarely used. I ...
, thanks to a dealership agreement with the same manufacturer of radio sets and other electronic goods who had been their principal in Karachi. The shop did reasonably well, but the family was large, and money was not abundant.
Then as now, Mumbai was the center of showbiz in India. For reasons that are not clearly understood, but perhaps lured by the lottery-like wealth which the film industry blandished, Fatehchand joined a group of other Sindhi refugee businessmen to produce the film ''Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh'' (1954). It was a dismal flop, despite featuring a rendition of ''Sarfaroshi ki tamanna'' in
Mohammad Rafi
Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
's voice. A long hiatus followed, but the lure of the movies was great, and Fatehchand later produced the films ''Rustam Sohrab (1963)'' and ''Ek Nanhi Munni Ladki Thi (1970).'' All of these films flopped, and the Ramsays were reeling under huge debts when inspiration struck. In a scene in Ek Nanhi Munni Ladki Thi, Prithviraj Kapoor wears a devil's mask to carry out a robbery and terrifies Mumtaz. The film didn't work, but it was noticed that the “monster” sequence was popular with the audience. This encouraged the Ramsays (as they were known) to experiment with ''Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche (1971),'' based on a story narrated by Fatehchand's daughter Asha to her father. The film was advertised in a half-hour, late-night show on radio, which helped it get the “Houseful” board up when it was released. Its success sparked a trend of shoe-string budget movies that were wrapped up in a month with a crew of 15.
The Ramsay Brothers have made more than 30 horror films in India, which epitomize the lower depths of 1980s Bollywood sleaze and gore, but which have secured their place in Hindi cinema's hall of fame as the pioneers of horror.
[ /]
They are producers, directors and editors for many famous Hindi horror movies such as
Guest House (1980 film)
''Guest House'' is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language horror film directed by Shyam Ramsay, Tulsi Ramsay and produced by the Ramsay Brothers. This film was released in 1980 in the banner of Ramsay Productions. The music of the movie was composed by Ba ...
, ''
Veerana
Veerana () is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language erotic supernatural horror thriller film, directed by the Ramsay Brothers. The music was composed by Bappi Lahiri and sung by Suman Kalyanpur, Munna Aziz and Sharon Prabhakar.,
Plot
Priests surround ...
'', ''
Purana Mandir
''Purana Mandir'' ( ''The Old Temple'') is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language horror film directed by the Ramsay brothers and produced by Kanta Ramsay. The soundtrack was composed by Ajit Singh.
Typical of Ramsay's other works, the film chronicles th ...
'', ''
Purani Haveli (film)
''Purani Haveli'' (''The Old Mansion'') is a 1989 in film, 1989 Indian Hindi-language horror film presented by Ramsay Brothers, Ramsay brothers. The soundtracks were composed by Ajit Singh.
Plot
The film opens with a young couple Raja and Rit ...
'', ''
Darwaza
''Darwaza'' () is a 1978 Bollywood horror film directed by Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay.
Plot
Thakur Pratap Singh has lost his beloved ones due to a curse put on him and his family by a widow, whose son Dharma was unintentionally killed by ...
'' and ''
Bandh Darwaza
''Bandh Darwaza'' (Translation: ''Closed Door'') is a 1990 Bollywood horror movie starring Kunika, Manjeet Kullar, Aruna Irani, Anirudh Agarwal and the Afghan actor Hashmat Khan. The film soundtrack was composed by the Anand–Milind brothers ...
'',
Saboot
Saboot () is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language horror/thriller film directed by Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay. It stars Navin Nischol, Kajal Kiran, Vidya Sinha, Vinod Mehra, Trilok Kapoor, Om Shivpuri and Prem Chopra.
Plot
Seth Dharamdas (Trilok Ka ...
and the TV series "
Zee Horror Show
''The Zee Horror Show'' is an Indian horror weekly television series presented by Ramsay Brothers and that aired on Zee TV from 1993 to 2001.
The first episode was titled "Dastak" which was telecast on 9 August 1993 and featured Pankaj Dheer, ...
". Their first film
Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche
''Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche'' () is a 1972 Hindi horror film directed by Tulsi Ramsay and Shyam Ramsay. This film was released on 30 December 1972 under the banner of Ramsay Films.
Plot
Rajvansh, a rich widower and young scientist rescues a wom ...
proved a milestone for them and for Indian horror film industry. At a time when the average Hindi film took about a year and 50 lakhs to complete, Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche was shot in 40 days on a budget of Rs 3.5 lakhs. All the seven Ramsay brothers boarded buses with small-time actors, a sparse film crew, their wives and parents and drove to a government guesthouse in Mahabaleshwar that cost Rs 12 a room – they took eight rooms. They didn't spend on sets because they shot on location. They didn't spend on costumes because these were picked out of actors’ wardrobes. The cameras were all borrowed. All the departments for making the film was taken care of by the seven brothers. The film ran to full houses in the first week after its release. It made Rs 45 lakhs. Their 1980s horror films are generally considered as the combination of sex and supernatural. Their production Mahakaal in 1994 was also successful as a mixture of horror, romance and comedy.
Actor-producer
Ajay Devgn
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 ...
and Priti Sinha have acquired the rights to produce a biopic on Ramsay Brothers. The film will be titled as The Ramsay Biopic. The script will be written by
Ritesh Shah
Ritesh Shah is an Indian screenwriter who works in Hindi films. He has written the screenplay and dialogues for films like ''Kahaani'' (2012), ''Pink'' (2016), ''Airlift'' (2017) and ''Raid'' (2018). He won the Filmfare award, Star Screen Aw ...
.
Filmography
The family
The family includes seven brothers, who made cult horror films mainly in 70's and 80's decade. The brothers are
Kumar Ramsay (eldest),
Gangu Ramsay,
Tulsi Ramsay
Tulsi Ramsay (29 July 1944 – 13 December 2018) was an Indian film director. He was the son of F. U. Ramsay and was one of the famous Seven Ramsay Brothers. The other six are Kumar Ramsay, Shyam Ramsay, Keshu Ramsay, Arjun Ramsay, Gangu Ramsay ...
,
Arjun Ramsay,
Shyam Ramsay
Shyam Ramsay (17 May 1952 – 18 September 2019) was a Bollywood film director. He was one of the seven Ramsay Brothers who were active in Indian cinema throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. Shyam Ramsay was considered the main artist and head of ...
,
Keshu Ramsay
Keshu Ramsay (1955–2010) was a producer and director of Bollywood films. He was one of the Ramsay Brothers, a group of siblings who worked as directors, producers and editors in the Bollywood industry. His brothers are Shyam Ramsay, Kumar Rams ...
and
Kiran Ramsay
Karan Ramsay (alias Kiran Ramsay) was a producer, sound designer and director of Bollywood films. He was one of the Ramsey Brothers, a group of siblings who worked as directors, producers and editors in the Bollywood industry. His brothers were ...
. The brothers worked together for most of their careers and divided the various departments of filmmaking among them to produce movies. Kumar Ramsay handled the scripting, Gangu took care of the cinematography, Kiran Ramsay managed sound department, Keshu handled production, Arjun Ramsay took care of editing and Shyam Ramsay with Tulsi Ramsay handled the direction department.
They are a
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...
of seven brothers:
*
Kumar Ramsay
*
Keshu Ramsay
Keshu Ramsay (1955–2010) was a producer and director of Bollywood films. He was one of the Ramsay Brothers, a group of siblings who worked as directors, producers and editors in the Bollywood industry. His brothers are Shyam Ramsay, Kumar Rams ...
*
Tulsi Ramsay
Tulsi Ramsay (29 July 1944 – 13 December 2018) was an Indian film director. He was the son of F. U. Ramsay and was one of the famous Seven Ramsay Brothers. The other six are Kumar Ramsay, Shyam Ramsay, Keshu Ramsay, Arjun Ramsay, Gangu Ramsay ...
*
Kiran Ramsay
Karan Ramsay (alias Kiran Ramsay) was a producer, sound designer and director of Bollywood films. He was one of the Ramsey Brothers, a group of siblings who worked as directors, producers and editors in the Bollywood industry. His brothers were ...
*
Shyam Ramsay
Shyam Ramsay (17 May 1952 – 18 September 2019) was a Bollywood film director. He was one of the seven Ramsay Brothers who were active in Indian cinema throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. Shyam Ramsay was considered the main artist and head of ...
*
Gangu Ramsay
*
Arjun Ramsay
*Asha and Kamla were the two daughters of Fatehchand Ramsey, they were the beloved sisters of the seven brothers.
See also
*
List of Hindi horror films
Hindi-language horror films have been a subgenre of the Hindi film industry in India since the birth of Hindi films. These films tend to mimic the same characteristics and themes as horror films around the world. The themes explored within these ...
External links
Blood Brothers: The Ramsay Film History
https://harpercollins.co.in/product/ghosts-in-our-backyard/
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay Brothers
Sibling filmmakers
Living people
Indian filmmaking duos
Year of birth missing (living people)