Purana Mandir

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Purana Mandir
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • J. K. Ahuja (story)
  • Kumar Ramsay (screenplay)
Produced byKanta Ramsay
Starring
Music byAjit Singh (soundtrack)
Production
company
Ramsay Films
Release date
  • 19 October 1984 (1984-10-19)[1]
Running time
138 minutes
LanguageHindi
Budget₹2.5 lakh[2]
Box office₹2.5 crore[2]

Purana Mandir (transl. The Old Temple)[3] is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language horror film directed by the Ramsay brothers and produced by Kanta Ramsay.[2] The soundtrack was composed by Ajit Singh.[4][5][6]

Typical of Ramsay's other works, the film chronicles the story of a demonic magician Samri who after a violent standoff, curses a king that every female member of the latter's family would die at childbirth.[7]

Plot

The film is set 200 years ago, with the royal procession of Raja Harimaansingh of the sultanate of Bijapur, stranded near the Kali Pahari (the Black Mountain). The Raja is concerned because his daughter Princess Rupali has disappeared near the lair of the devil-worshipper Samri. The princess wanders into the ruins of an old fortress and is promptly captured by Samri. He attacks by mesmerising her, then sucking out her life-force which turn her eyes white. During this process, Samri's eyes gleam blood red. Raja Harimansingh catches Samri in this act and orders him captured.

Samri is put on trial, where his terrible litany of crimes is read. He has performed various heinous acts to please his demonic spirit masters and enhance his own evil powers. While the rajpurohit (royal priest) suggests Samri be subjected to pure Agni i.e. to be cremated, the Raja proposes another sentence—Samri is to be decapitated, with the headless body to be buried behind the old temple at Kalighat and the head secured in a strong-box to be kept at the Raja's haveli (mansion). Samri pronounces his curse upon the Raja: "So long as my head is away from my body, every woman in your line shall die at childbirth; and when my head is rejoined to my body, I will arise and wipe out every living person in your dynasty."

As the years pass, the princely states merge into the Indian republic after years of British Colony Rule, and the great-great-grandson of Raja Harimansingh, Thakur Ranvir Singh, now resides in the city. Samri is long gone, but not forgotten. His evil legend is passed from father to son in the Harimansingh clan. Ranvir Singh's wife died at the birth of his daughter Suman. Suman, now a college student, has a boyfriend Sanjay. When the Thakur learns about their relationship, he severely disapproves of their relationship ostensibly because Sanjay is not of royal birth.

Suman is unaware of the ancient curse and resolute in her love, and Sanjay is steadfast in standing by her. They try to confront the intractable Thakur and the latter succumbs and reveals the curse which has been terrorising their families for 200 years. However Suman leaves her home in the middle of the night and convinces Sanjay to accompany her to Bijapur where they can track. They head down to Bijapur accompanied by Sanjay's bosom buddy Anand with his wife Sapna.

The haveli has a painting of Raja Harimansingh; this painting shifts its gaze when Suman looks at it; and the eerie likeness of Samri appears through it. Anand and Sanjay smash the wall behind the painting and uncover the strong box that holds Samri's head. Misinterpreting the head to be potentially that of a brave soldier who incurred the king's displeasure, they head back with the intention of sealing the wall the next day.

Sanga stumbles upon Samri's head while treasure-hunting in the mansion. The head mesmerises and puts Sanga into a trance, forcing him to bring the head to the body behind the old temple. It rejoins it in a gruesome ritual making Samri whole. Samri begins his murderous rampage to eliminate the descendants of Raja Harimansingh.

Misunderstandings and tensions claim the lives of many townspeople and Anand meets a horrific death at the hands of Samri. Thakur Ranvir Singh arrives but he does not know how to defeat the bloodthirsty Samri.

People seek refuge at the temple as Samri cannot enter that holy ground. They perform aarti to Lord Shiva. Divine guidance comes before Sanjay; the trishul holds the key to check the monster. Sanjay and Suman return to the haveli to seek the trishul and offer a battle to Samri. Durjan had moved the trishul to a different location within the haveli itself.

After a series of tumultuous events, Sanjay manages to trap Samri in a coffin and, with the trishul in hand to check the monster, drags him out to the village square (next to the old temple). There, they construct a hasty pyre and burn Samri alive once and for all. Then, Suman and Sanjay get married.

Cast

Soundtrack

Soundtrack is produced by Sony Music India. The complete soundtrack is as follows:

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Hum Jis Pe Marte The"Alka Yagnik3:55
2."Shiv Shiv Shankar"Mahendra Kapoor3:42
3."Main Hoon Akeli Raat Jawan"Asha Bhosle3:24
4."Woh Beete Din Yaad Hai" (female version)Asha Bhosle6:11
5."Woh Beete Din Yaad Hai" (male version – part I)Ajit Singh & Asha Bhosle5:59
6."Woh Beete Din Yaad Hai" (male version – part II)Ajit Singh1:09

Box office

Made on a budget of ₹2.5 lakh, Purana Mandir collected a total gross of ₹2.5 crore.[2] It was a successful at the box office.[8] It stood the second-highest film after 1984's Sharaabi.

Home media

Purana Mandir was released on DVD by Mondo Macabro as a double feature with the 1990 film Bandh Darwaza (also directed by the Ramsay brothers), as the Bollywood Horror Collection Vol. 1.[9] In 2023, Mondo Macabro released Purana Mandir on Blu-ray as part of the Bollywood Horror Collection boxed set, which also includes the Ramsay brothers-directed films Aatma (2006), Bandh Darwaza, Purani Haveli (1989), Tahkhana (1986), and Veerana (1988).[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Purana Mandir Cast & Crew". Bollywood Hungama. 19 October 1984. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Salvi, Pooja (28 October 2018). "Have you ever wondered what the Ramsays are doing? We find out". DNA India. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  3. ^ Nair, Kartik (10 January 2020). "Ghosts of Horrors Past". India Today. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Biswas, Sulagana (1 November 2019). "'Purana Mandir': The dark side". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d "10 Bollywood horror films to give you the chills". gulfnews.com. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  6. ^ Dasgupta, Shamya (10 May 2017). Don't Disturb the Dead: The Story of the Ramsay Brothers. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-93-5264-431-5. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  7. ^ Gopal, Sangita (26 January 2012). Conjugations: Marriage and Form in New Bollywood Cinema. University of Chicago Press. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-0-226-30427-4. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  8. ^ Biswas, Sulagana (1 November 2019). "'Purana Mandir': The dark side". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  9. ^ "The Bollywood Horror Collection Vol. 1". Mondo Macabro. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Bollywood Horror - Limited Edition Box Set". Mondo Macabro. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2023.

External links