Today is Diwali, which is the biggest holiday in India. So Happy Diwali!
I made a special effort to review Bollywood films because the closest analog to Halloween in India is Naraka Chaturdasi (also known as Kali Chaudas and many other names). It falls on the second day of Diwali, which is a five-day festival that celebrates happiness, rebirth, and the triumph of good over evil.
Diwali is huge. It's like Easter, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all rolled into one five-day holiday. Naraka Chaturdasi was technically yesterday (Wednesday), but the main celebration of Diwali is going on today.
It’s hard for me to really speak with authority on the traditions practiced during Diwali or, in particular, on Naraka Chaturdasi. Part of this is because, being that India is a huge country, these traditions vary from region to region. It is the part of the festival where certain observers of the holiday ward off evil spirits with things like Rangoli patterns. In the small West Indian state of Goa, the people even burn effigies of Narakusura, the demon that was defeated by Krishna and Kali, to further symbolize good destroying evil.
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| Kali: The Mother of all show-offs. |
For those who know nothing about Bollywood, the most important thing to know is that it’s BIG. Like, Makes Titanic Look Like A Tugboat big. It’s also incorrectly assumed to represent the whole of Indian cinema, when in fact it is just one of many film industries in India. The word is a portmantau of “Bombay” and “Hollywood,” because it’s based in Bombay.
India actually produces more films than America (if you can believe it), and Bollywood films have more viewers than Hollywood. Indian films also make more money in America than films from any other country producing non-English-speaking films. And the popularity of these films is only growing.
If you have ever seen a Bollywood film, you’ve probably seen a lot of singing and dancing, with stories that involve lots of action, romance, comedy and (oddly) kidnappings! But these are actually “masala” films, which is just one genre out of many genres in India. They are so-named because, like the mix of spices, the films are a blend of many genres. They are also typically 3-hours long, so you’re kinda committing to an evening when sitting down to watch one.
Horror is a popular genre as well, as it turns out. There are so many that if you watch one a day, it may take you years to see them all. The ones I was able to actually find subtitles for and review were all pretty popular masala films, too. At least I think they are.
Something that is true even of the films I tried to watch is that the biggest monster in Bollywood films is without a doubt the ghost. Being a people with very religious roots, the ghost story is as popular for them as zombies are for Americans right now.
Here’s something interesting, though: Because the ghosts in these stories manifest physically and, in one case at least, become resurrected, you could say that zombies are a staple in Indian horror as well. The funny thing is, though, that there’s no Hindi word for zombie.
I know it’s sad, but when it’s around Halloween and you hear about a country that has no word for zombie, it’s like finding out that some people have never seen snow. It just breaks your heart.
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| Don't tell Sad Zombie. It might crush him. |
Anyways, one of the biggest differences you notice between American ghost stories and Bollywood ghost stories is that all of the back story is given to you at the beginning. American ghost stories tend to be more investigative, like a detective story, whereas a Bollywood story is more like a parable, like the Prodigal Son.
Another big thing (I already mentioned) is that these ghosts can take physical form, and are not simply possessing bodies like in The Exorcist or The Shining. They are monsters that bite and kill, and sometimes they enslave people like traditional voodoo zombies used to.
This entry is going to be short, because I didn’t have enough time to find a copy of the other Bollywood horror films I wanted to look at, at least not with subtitles. It’s a shame, I know. And considering how huge Bollywood is, I’m actually kind of surprised that this was a challenge at all.
So check out these three films. At some point in the future, I will revisit Indian cinema, and I’ll probably look at it by region. Until then, here are some spooky movies, courtesy of Kali And The Coffin-shakers.
Nagin (1976)
Subgenres: Fantasy, Folk Tale, Thriller
Availability: Youtube
Directed by: Rajkumar Kohli
Some might not call this a horror movie, but I think it is. It is the story of a mythical snake-woman who avenges the death of her lover. A group of six men are targeted, and one by one, she seduces them and kills them.
What is interesting about the story is not so much the suspense of seeing if they stop her, but in the various ways in which she tricks them and ambushes them. At one point, she convinces a man to give into her by appealing to his upbringing as a poor man. The story is not just about some angry female spirit, but seems to be saying something about the various flaws and moral weaknesses in men.
The other thing that's kinda trippy about this film is the production design. The sets and wardrobe all seem to be heavily influenced by 60's American trends and psychedelia. Overall, I thought this film was fun, even with the low production quality and cheap special effects. You know me and my love for cheap FX.
Jaani Dushman (1979)
Subgenres: Ghost, Musical, Melodrama, Comedy
Availability: Veoh
Directed by: Rajkumar Kohli
Another film by Kohli, this film was a huge hit in India, despite facing some resistance from the censor boards. It’s spawned a few sequels and one remake, but is still consider not just a classic horror film in India, but one of the great Bollywood films period.
If you watch the first thirteen minutes and are not totally hooked, there just might be something wrong with you. It has the familiar travelers-with-a-flat-tire-seek-help-in-spooky-mansion trope, but director Rajkumar Kohli makes it his own. It’s complete with the wind-swept and stormy sets, highly melodramatic music and cheesy over-acting for which Bollywood films are famous.
Oh, and it has the creepy Kali-Ma dude from The Temple of Doom.
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Where have I seen you before?
Do you sacrifice around here often? |
There’s very little time to breath during the opening sequence. When the spirit living in the house explains that he killed his betrothed because she was planning to sleep with another man on their wedding night, he became forever a monster. His face appears in a large picture frame using (probably) rear projection, then he appears again, also (probably) using rear projection.
The old-school special effects are also used wonderfully whenever the possessed person turns into a monster. Some might regard these effects as being bad, but I think it makes these scenes super creepy. In fact, one of the disappointments in the final scene is that these effects are not utilized as much, so it looks like a man in a monster suit.
But the really innovative film technique is the quick editing, because it marries perfectly with the acting. At several points throughout the movie, the spirit of the murderer flips out whenever he sees a Bride to be in her red wedding dress. It accompanies a rapid series of zooms, creating lots of tension.
There’s a lot to love, but like the other films on this list, you may have to love Bollywood to enjoy this whole film. Throughout the film, a series of awful arranged marriages end as the monster picks off the brides one by one during the procession to the wedding. A very funny outsider character in the form of a crazy schemer provides something of a Greek chorus, occasionally breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience directly. And best of all for an Alice in Wonderland lover like myself are all the Mad Hatter jokes made at the expense of a village that begins to look like something out of Salem.
I wish the relationships were a bit clearer, but that might be due to the fast pace, and I can only read subtitles so fast. At least one of the brides died before I realized who she was supposed to marry in the first place, so oops on that one. But overall, this movie was a lot of fun. Especially the beginning.
Purana Mandir (1984)
Subgenres: Ghost, Zombie, Religious
Availability: Youtube
Directed by: Tulsi and Shyam Ramsay
No list of Bollywood horror films would be complete without at least one film by the Ramsay brothers. They are perhaps the most well-known horror filmmakers in India, and because they churned out films as rapidly as Roger Corman, there are many of them. But several sources have suggested that Purana Mandir is, if not their best, at least the best example of their style. One blogger describes it as “the horror film of Bollywood.”
The story begins 200 years ago, when a demon named Saamri is captured by a lord and then beheaded. His body is buried behind a temple, while his head is locked up in chains and protected with the Trident of Shiva. But before he is beheaded, he curses the lord so that none of his female heirs survive child birth, and that if his head and body are one day reconnected, that the lord’s dynasty would end.
This movie proves that there’s nothing more romantic than slaying a demon in order to woo a girl. The songs in this movie seemed very eclectic for a Bollywood film, and there were some genuinely scary moments. The poor girl in the film seemed to suffer the bulk of the scares, so much so that I even started to wonder why the men always seemed to disappear right before the demon shows up.
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| Top sign you're in a horror movie: The literal blood bath. |
Some of the subplots are a little distracting and pointless, but one of them was at least disturbing in a good way. Towards the end, as the pretty young people are trying to find the recently resurrected Saamri and kill him, a cult shows up out of nowhere. They want to sacrifice the heroine and her lover to Kali, and then a super creepy Bollywood dance number happens. It might be the most interesting and original scene in the movie, even though I’m not really sure why it’s in there.
Overall, the film feels more like a genuine horror film with some musical elements added in. Other than the creepy cult song, the non-lyrical music is way more interesting than the songs. It’s intense, like an Argento soundtrack. There isn’t as much humor in this film as others on this list, but it’s fun to watch. It’s different. And I'm pretty sure some shots in Indiana Jones were totally ripped from this movie.
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The films I have yet to see, but want to, are: Raat, Bhoot, Vaastu Shastra and Raaz. If you find any of those films with subtitles, send me a link!
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