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Indian ghost movies are popular not just inIndia but in theMiddle East,Africa,South East Asia and other parts of the world. Generally the movies are based on the experiences of modern people who are unexpectedly exposed toghosts. Some Indian ghost movies, such as thecomedy horror filmChandramukhi, have been great hits, dubbed into several languages.[1] They usually draw on traditionalIndian literature orfolklore, but in some cases are remakes of Western movies, such asAnjaane, based onAlejandro Amenábar's ghost storyThe Others.[2]
The 1949Mahal (Hindi:महल;Urdu:محل;English:The Mansion) was a groundbreakingHindi language movie directed byKamal Amrohi and starringAshok Kumar andMadhubala, one of the earliest knownBollywood films dealing withreincarnation.Mahal became one of the biggest box office hits of 1949 in India.[3] According to a critic, the film connectedHindu reincarnation stories with the Europeangothic fiction.[4]
Chandramukhi (Tamil:சந்திரமுகி;Telugu:చంద్రముఖి;Hindi:चंद्रमुखी) (2005) is ahorror,comedy anddrama film directed byP. Vasu and produced byRamkumar Ganesan. The soundtrack and background score for the film, which later became successful enough to be released as a separate album, was written byVidyasagar. It was later dubbed into several languages, and became one of the highest grossingTamil film ever.[1]Chandramukhi is a remake of the 2004Kannada filmApthamitra, 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 inMysore that turns out to be haunted.[5]Apthamitra itself was a remake of the successful 1993Malayalam filmManichitrathazhu directed byFazil and written byMadhu Muttam.[6]
The ghost movies often concern modern people unexpectedly involved in the ghostly results of past events.Bhoot (Hindi:भूत,English: Ghost) (2003) was directed byRam Gopal Varma and starringUrmila Matondkar andAjay Devgan. 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.[7]Krishna Cottage (2004) starringSohail Khan,Natassha, andIshaa Koppikar 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).[8] A common form of ghost in South Indian horror movies are the interpretations of theWhite Lady, 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.[citation needed]
Some have a more philosophical theme.InHum Tum Aur Ghost, starringArshad Warsi andDia Mirza, 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.[9]
Indian ghost movies are often based on Indian novels or short stories about ghosts.[10]Anandabhadram (Malayalam:അനന്തഭദ്രം) is aMalayalamfilm released in 2005 aboutghosts, spirits, andblack magic, based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Sunil Parameswaran.[11] It is the first Malayalam venture of IndiandirectorSantosh Sivan[12] as well as of Bengali model/actressRiya Sen.[13] The story ofAnanthabhadram is afairy tale. Set in rural Kerala, the tale is dominated by black magicians,martial arts experts,sorcerers andseductresses. 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."[14]
Paheli (Devanagari: पहेली,Nastaliq: پہیلی; English:Riddle) (2005) was directed byAmol Palekar and produced byGauri Khan, Sanjiv Chawla andShahrukh Khan, who also plays the male lead. It is based on the short story written byVijayadan Detha and tells the story of a wife (Rani Mukerji) 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.[15]Duvidha (1973) was directed byMani Kaul and was critically acclaimed and won Best Film at the 1974Filmfare Awards. The film is based on a story byVijayadan Detha which relates a popular folktale fromRajasthan 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.[16]
Shodh (1981) is based on the bookSteaming Rice and a Ghost Story bySunil Gangopadhyay. Surendra (Om Puri), 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.[17]
Some Bollywood ghost movies are adapted from Western sources, with varying degrees of success.The 2003Saaya (Hindi:साया;Urdu:سایا;translation:Shadow) is a direct lift of the 2002 Hollywood filmDragonfly.Raaz (Hindi:राज़,Urdu:رازtranslation:Secret) (2002) directed byVikram Bhatt, is an unofficialBollywood adaptation of the 2000 filmWhat Lies Beneath.[18] The film is based on the story of a couple who have moved toOoty 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.[19]
Anjaane (2005) starredManisha Koirala,Sanjay Kapoor, Tejasvini Kolhapure andHelen. The film was based onAlejandro Amenábar's ghost storyThe Others starringNicole 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".[2]Bhoothnath (Devanagari: भूतनाथ; translation: "Lord of Ghosts") directed by Vivek Sharma and produced byRavi Chopra, is an adaptation of theOscar Wilde short story "The Canterville Ghost".[20]The story is about the relationship between a deceased old man (played byAmitabh Bachchan) and a boy named Banku.[21]
SomeHollywood movies refer to Bollywood ghost movies. For example, the 2001 movieGhost World byTerry Zwigoff includes a clip from the 1965 hitGumnaam byRaja Nawathe, which tells of a group of travelers in an isolated hotel who are murdered one by one.Gumnaam itself borrows fromAgatha Christie'sdetective fiction novelAnd Then There Were None.[22]
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