Mahal (1949 film)

''Mahal'' () is a 1949 Indian Hindi-language horror film produced by Savak Vacha and Ashok Kumar under the banner of Bombay Talkies, and directed by Kamal Amrohi as his directorial debut. The film centres on a screenplay written by Amrohi, while its music is composed by Khemchand Prakash. Cited as Bollywood's first horror film, it revolves around an aristocrat (Ashok Kumar) who moves into an ancient mansion, where he gets visions of a mysterious lady (Madhubala) claiming to be his lover in their previous lives.

''Mahal'' was produced by Bombay Talkies studio on a modest budget. Amrohi, who made his directorial debut with the film, was turned down by many major female stars before then-fledgling Madhubala was put on the board. The film took a relatively long time filming that earned it a negative reputation in the media.

''Mahal'' was released in theatres in October 1949. Despite mixed-to-negative critical reviews, it emerged as one of the biggest hits of the decade as well as the biggest financial success in Bombay Talkies' history. The film's success paved the way for Indian gothic fiction, and also launched Madhubala and playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, who had lent her voice to the film's soundtrack, into super-stardom.

''Mahal'' has influenced a number of horror films since its release. It was listed in British Film Institute's list of "10 great romantic horror films" and '' ScoopWhoop'''s "14 Bollywood Horror Movies That You Just Can't Watch Alone".

Plot

''Mahal'' is a story of reincarnation and a ghost story. In Allahabad, there is a beautiful abandoned palace. When a new owner, Hari Shankar (Ashok Kumar), comes to live in this palace, the old gardener narrates the story of incomplete love.

20 years ago, a man built it and his lover, Kamini (Madhubala), began to live in it. She would wait all day long for the man to come to her at midnight, but he always left before it was morning. One stormy night, the man's ship sank and he drowned. Before leaving Kamini, he tells her that their love will never fail. A few days later, Kamini also died.

When Shankar goes to a bedroom, a photograph falls from the wall and Shankar is astonished to find the man in the photograph looks exactly like him. Then, a woman is heard singing and Shankar follows her voice. He finds her sitting in a room, but she flees when she sees him. Shankar's friend Shrinath ( Kanu Roy) arrives and Shankar expresses suspicion on his being the man of the incomplete love story in a previous life. Shrinath tries to calm him, but then the woman reappears. They follow her to the terrace, where she jumps off into water and the two men find nothing when they look down. The next day, Shankar heads back to Kanpur. At Naini, he gets off from a train and goes to the palace. Kamini tells him that she is real, but Shrinath interferes and warns Shankar that she will draw him to death. The ghost appears again and tells Shrinath to stay away from them. Enraged, Shrinath tries to shoot her but fails. Kamini tells Shankar that if she could enter into a body of a woman whom Shankar likes, she could return to life. She tells Shankar to see the gardener's daughter's face to check if she's beautiful and he can accept Kamini in that face. Meanwhile, Shankar's father arrives after hearing everything from Shrinath and takes him home. Shankar marries Ranjana ( Vijayalaxmi). He decides to move far away with his wife in order to forget Kamini. After two years, a disturbed Ranjana wanting to know where Shankar goes every night, follows him when he goes to meet Kamini. Kamini tells him to kill the gardener's daughter so that she can use her body. Knowing everything, Ranjana drinks poison and goes to police station to give a deathbed confession against Shankar of betrayal and poisoning her. Shanker is submitted to the court and the daughter of the gardener, Asha, is also called upon there being accused of the cause of distance between Shankar and Ranjana. Later Asha is revealed to be Kamini. She then accepts that she has played Kamini because she had fallen in love with the man in the photograph, who looks like Shankar. But Shankar is sentenced to death. Later, the police come to know about Ranjana's letter and free Shankar. Shankar rushes to Shrinath's place but dies. The credits roll as a grieving Kamini and Shrinath walk away.

Cast

* Ashok Kumar as Hari Shankar
* Madhubala as Kamini
* M. Kumar as Hari Shankar's father
* Vijayalaxmi as Ranjana
* Kanu Roy as Shrinath
* Nazir Hussain as Kamini's father
* Eruch Tarapore
* Sheela Naik
* Leela Pandey
* Neelam
* Kaneez
* Jagannath
* Mohsin
* Laxman Rao
* S.A. Baker
* Ramastri
* Raja Salim

Production

''Mahal'' was produced by Savak Vacha and Ashok Kumar under the banner of Bombay Talkies, and written and directed by Kamal Amrohi, who made his directorial debut with the film. It was Kumar who suggested part of the story, recalling a real life incident: in 1948, he was shooting near Jijiboy House at a hill station when, at midnight, the actor saw a headless corpse in a mysterious woman's car. The woman vanished from the scene soon after, and Kumar's servants believed the he might have dreamt the incident. When Kumar went to a nearby police station to register a complaint, a policeman told him that 14 years ago a similar incident happened at the same place—a woman had committed a murder and later died in a road accident.

Kumar narrated the story to Amrohi, who had previously written dialogue the 1939 Sohrab Modi's blockbuster '' Pukar'', but never directed a film. Amrohi partly modified and further developed the story and named the film ''Mahal'', meaning a mansion or a palace. Interestingly, the film's supernatural twist is also reminiscent of a short story by Rupert Croft-Cooke that was made into the film The Fatal Witness in 1945.

The film's plot was rejected by Vacha, who was apprehensive that suspense films do not always find a repeat audience, while Bombay Talkies was already suffering financially due to the box office failure of its previous films: ''Ziddi'' (1948) and ''Asha'' (1948). However, Kumar insisted that the film may become interesting if directed well and appointed Amrohi as the film's director. Kumar himself agreed to co-produce, bear the losses if any and even star in the film. He entrusted Amrohi to choose a suitable actress for playing Kamini.

The casting of female lead role became complex—several established actresses refused the role and those who accepted it asked high prices. At one point, Suraiya was considered and almost finalized by Vacha, who believed that she and Kumar would make a marketable pair together, but her grandmother appeared unenthusiastic about the film's unconventional story. Meanwhile, Madhubala, a 15 years old rising but not exactly popular actress expressed her interest in Kamini's role. Vacha rejected her outrightly due to her age and relative inexperience, but Amrohi demanded to audition her. "She wasn't a celebrity when I met her first, and since I was looking for someone new, she fit the bill," Amrohi explained later.

According to '' India Times'', in her first screen test, Madhubala "looked terrible. Buzz is, German cinematographer Joseph Wirching, who was on the studio's payroll, had been instructed to shoot the teenage actress at her worst." Amrohi helmed the second audition himself and arranged the lights to his own convenience while photographing Madhubala. The young actress now appeared "stunning, even in black-and-white, and everyone agreed that she was the perfect Kamini," states ''India Times''. She secured the role soon after, despite the fact that the film's lead actor, Kumar was more than double her age. The actor said years later: "Madhubala was just about 15 and so raw that she needed several retakes for almost every shot. ..But ''Mahal'' was different, and I was convinced that we wouldn't be miscast."

Throughout the filming of ''Mahal'', the unit suffered financial crisis and Amrohi had to contribute antiques and costumes from his own home because there was not enough money to buy props. Khemchand Prakash was roped in to compose the music, while Nakshab wrote the lyrics. Lata Mangeshkar, Rajkumari Dubey and Zohrabai Ambalewali lent their voices to the soundtrack. Tun Tun

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