The weekend was as bland as it wanted to be. I decided to go shopping and then - given the lurid heat that slapped my face through the windows - I decided against it. I wanted to go bicycling to Don Bosco's, Matunga, and then head off towards Five Gardens just for the heck of it. But no, the heat just thwarted all plans for that escapade.
I ended up watching this horror movie - well, not a horror movie, more of a suspense thriller actually. It's known far and wide in the hinterland of India and in the suburbs of Mumbai as Woh Kaun Thi?
It begins well and if you haven't a clue about what it is, it sends a tingling feeling of an easy scare down your spine. Sadhana has this rather mischievous smile on as she carries herself along with her white saree and blouse into Manoj Kumar's car on a rainy stormy night. Well, it could not have been a sunny day or you would have not thought her a ghost, would you?
Anyway, Sadhana takes him to a cemetery, shows him her 32 horses, and disappears amidst a mist generated quite tackily by the production unit. But well, those were the days people pardoned it all as long as you frightened them really well. And Woh Kaun Thi? does manage to do just that.
Helen is needlessly thrown into the proceedings as Manoj Kumar's love interest. No, she doesn't get to seduce nor does she get to expose. And quite expectedly, they get rid of her 20 minutes down the line. Manoj now has to marry, he consents to his mother's choice of a bride, marries without taking a look at the girl, lifts her veil, and lo and behold! He realizes he has married the ghost!
I think it's silly of him to not have even seen the girl. Every husband-to-be does want to see the bride-to-be - that was the norm even back then. So I wonder why Manoj Kumar was so stupid. That aside, inspite of he being a doctor, his belief in supernatural phenomena was akin to that of an ignorant Nirupa Roy! I doubt doctors were this way even back then. But well, Manoj Kumar chose to be an exception. And that's why the movie stretched to a royal two hours and 22 minutes!
The songs are pretty good and, as usual, are added needlessly. However, Naina Barse is the best of them all and does have a job to do in the movie. Lata makes it a benchmark for haunting ditties and Sadhana puts her heart and soul into bringing its haunting feeling on screen.
So, is the movie good, bad, what? Well, it's good vintage stuff. No bad acting, people sing with emotion, and the ghostly ambience is well spun.
But do remember: This was released during the black-and-white era. Pardon the effects, pardon the fact that you may even guess the storyline, pardon the fact that at times a rainy night is shown to be as bright as day, pardon the fact that no one wants to explain why the wipers of the car do not work when Sadhana sits in the car, pardon a few other things as well, and you'll love how Sadhana tries to scare the pants and sanity off Manoj Kumar.
I ended up watching this horror movie - well, not a horror movie, more of a suspense thriller actually. It's known far and wide in the hinterland of India and in the suburbs of Mumbai as Woh Kaun Thi?
It begins well and if you haven't a clue about what it is, it sends a tingling feeling of an easy scare down your spine. Sadhana has this rather mischievous smile on as she carries herself along with her white saree and blouse into Manoj Kumar's car on a rainy stormy night. Well, it could not have been a sunny day or you would have not thought her a ghost, would you?
Anyway, Sadhana takes him to a cemetery, shows him her 32 horses, and disappears amidst a mist generated quite tackily by the production unit. But well, those were the days people pardoned it all as long as you frightened them really well. And Woh Kaun Thi? does manage to do just that.
Helen is needlessly thrown into the proceedings as Manoj Kumar's love interest. No, she doesn't get to seduce nor does she get to expose. And quite expectedly, they get rid of her 20 minutes down the line. Manoj now has to marry, he consents to his mother's choice of a bride, marries without taking a look at the girl, lifts her veil, and lo and behold! He realizes he has married the ghost!
I think it's silly of him to not have even seen the girl. Every husband-to-be does want to see the bride-to-be - that was the norm even back then. So I wonder why Manoj Kumar was so stupid. That aside, inspite of he being a doctor, his belief in supernatural phenomena was akin to that of an ignorant Nirupa Roy! I doubt doctors were this way even back then. But well, Manoj Kumar chose to be an exception. And that's why the movie stretched to a royal two hours and 22 minutes!
The songs are pretty good and, as usual, are added needlessly. However, Naina Barse is the best of them all and does have a job to do in the movie. Lata makes it a benchmark for haunting ditties and Sadhana puts her heart and soul into bringing its haunting feeling on screen.
So, is the movie good, bad, what? Well, it's good vintage stuff. No bad acting, people sing with emotion, and the ghostly ambience is well spun.
But do remember: This was released during the black-and-white era. Pardon the effects, pardon the fact that you may even guess the storyline, pardon the fact that at times a rainy night is shown to be as bright as day, pardon the fact that no one wants to explain why the wipers of the car do not work when Sadhana sits in the car, pardon a few other things as well, and you'll love how Sadhana tries to scare the pants and sanity off Manoj Kumar.
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