Directed by Kamal Amrohi, Mahal is one of the first gothic horror movies to be made in Bollywood which would later inspire a series of Haweli main bhatakti aatma genre of movies. It also launched the careers of Lata Mangeshkar with her haunting rendition of ‘Aayega, Aayega’ and Madhubala with her expressive face.

The review contains spoilers and if you plan to watch the movie don’t read ahead.

So, What’s it about?

Our hero, Hari Shankar (Ashok Kumar) arrives as the new owner of an old abandoned mansion by the river Yamuna. From the estate’s gardener, he learns of the tragedy that came to pass there. A young lady had died in grief over her lover’s accidental death and the locals believe that her ghost walks the old mansion waiting for her lover to come to her.

Sure enough, Hari Shankar chances to see this vision for himself. Against the advice of his friends, he tries to make contact with the ghost, Kamini, and finds himself falling in love with her. Frustrated with his behavior, his family marries him off (what?!) to Ranjhana (Vijaylaxmi). Predictably and unfortunately, the marriage does not cure him of his depression or love sickness. He travels far to get away from his memories but Kamini’s ghost haunts him.

His behavior drives his wife to suicide, a blame she clearly places on her husband before her death. What follows is a short and rather silly court case where all is revealed. Apparently, the maidservant of the mansion, harboring dreams of being loved and rich was pretending to be a ghost and walking around the premises crooning haunting love songs.

Is it worth a watch after all these years?

On the positive, BN Tagore’s art direction was brilliant. The haveli, the costumes, the lights, and the whole landscape were classically gothic and I believe set the tone for design for future movies like Madhumati, and Karz.

The most famous, memorable, and timeless song from Mahal is ‘Aayega Aayega’. The beautiful melody is a great introduction to Madhubala’s character, a haunting spirit that moves in the shadows of the old mansion.

I might be stating the obvious, but Ashok Kumar was really good in Mahal. I haven’t seen that many old movies and was impressed by the suaveness of this old-school actor. The supporting cast was quite inadequate, a trend I have noticed in older movies. If the hero and heroine can act then it doesn’t matter if the other minor characters can’t emote. They just fill spaces on the screen.

The plot is overall weak. Tell me now, if one gets in one’s head to pretend to be a ghost, to seduce a rich, young man, and then convince him to leave his wife and kill another person -is one not psychotic? How can that be passed off as a great tragic love story? Also, if you were just a ‘pretend’ ghost, then how can you haunt someone miles and miles away?

As a first Bollywood horror movie, Mahal should be on the list of any Indian cinephile. You are guaranteed to have few chills (intentional) and few laughs (unintentional — watch out for the dance of seduction by the sisters). It’s not without its flaws, but the story holds after all these years.