Mahal (1949)

Original title

महल

Directed by

Kamal Amrohi

Genre

horror film, ghost film

Country

India

Runtime

2h 42m

Rating

5.5 of 10 from 11 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

An aristocrat moves into an old mansion and starts having visions of a woman who says she was his lover in a past life. The film follows his unsettling experiences as he becomes drawn to this mysterious figure.

atmosphericmelancholicmysteriousdreamlikeslow-burnhauntingromanticeeriegothic

What happens

Mahal (transl. "Mansion") is a 1949 Indian Hindi-language psychological supernatural 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 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". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Kuasha (1949)
• Kankal (1950)
• The Queen of Spades (1949)
• Neelavelicham (2023)
• Sipahiya (1949)
• Shodh (1981)
• The Third Man (1949)
• Maaligai (2021)