Purana Mandir (1984)

From my favorite movies..

Best movie ever!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

As far as the history of Indian cinema is concerned, there has been very little place for horror till date. Even today, the romantic and action films are sure to do more business than their horror counterparts. Its other story that Indian directors are not very professional with horror and their kind of story is closer to any of the push-cart kiddo comic than to a decent horror story. Seriously, I am now left with nothing in hand but a couple of Ramsay movies, that shine even today in the Bollywood sky of horror. Purana Mandir was one such attempt by the Ramsays that stands out even today when its compared to Bhatt's absurd ghost tales. Though Purana Mandir wastes a hell lot of time on pointless and mindless comedy sequences where the power of Puneet Issar seems dwarfing down under the magnitude of super suckers Jagdeep and Rajindernath to insulting levels, but at the same time it honestly keeps pace with the plot and uses similar elements of fear that the viewers would later see in Ramsays other hits like Veerana and Bandh Darwaza. The plot follows a similar Thakur-Haveli plot, but in a different fashion this time.Years ago, a tantric named Saamri (Aniruddha Agarwal) roamed about the sultanate of Bijapur, terrorizing and killing the townsfolk. Finally he was arrested by King Hariman Singh's soldiers and sentenced to death for his inhuman and unholy offenses. Saamri is a vampire who killed several women and children and drank their blood to please his demon god. When Saamri is about to be beheaded, he puts a curse on the King's family. According to his curse, every women of the King's family shall die during childbirth. Saamri is beheaded with his head and torso buried at different places. It is believed that who so will put the head and torso together, shall give Saamri a chance to resurrect, whereby the resurrected Saamri will devastate everything that comes his way.The film cuts to present times, where we see Suman (Aarti Gupta) and Sanjay (Mohnish Bahal) as love birds. Suman wants to marry Sanjay, but her father Thakur Ranvir Singh (Pradeep Kumar) is hellbent on separating the duo. Suman finally comes to know that she is the descendant of King Hariman Singh and being a girl she would face Saamri's curse and die at the childbirth. The evil image of Saamri appears and disappears before Thakur Ranvir Singh every now and then and torments him. Sanjay and Suman want to put an end to this curse and decide to pay a visit to Suman's ancestral palace. They also take Anand (Puneet Issar) and his wife with them. The palace is a hellish place and remains vacant even today. It is looked after by the caretaker Durjan (Sadashiv Amrapurkar) and a local woodcutter Sanga (Satish Shah). The two believe that a large sum of valuables is stashed somewhere in the palace and keep looking for it. They somehow find a box and believing it to be their booty-box, open it by mistake. Their mistake forms the crux of the story. Obviously the monster has to be resurrected else who would spend money watching the b-graders?Aniruddha Agarwal as Saamri is the core attraction of Purana Mandir, and he solely overshadows others. He is so effective as Saamri, that the viewers feel mesmerized and forget about the protagonists. Jagdeep and Rajindernath with their sore performances have only extended the movie duration by an hour or so and could have been avoided by the directors. The lead pair is okay but Puneet Issar has given a great performance and his death really troubles the viewers. The background score is one of the most haunting scores and was repeatedly used in many other Ramsay projects including their famous Zee Horror Show. This soundtrack is still considered 'jinxed' by many. This is a fairly enjoyable film (overlooking the comedy) that can be relished on a dizzy Saturday night.

This is the best horror film made in India with "Saamri" as India's answer to its western counterparts Freedy Kruger,Jason.It is time for the next generation of Ramsay clan to make films with fresh story ideas catering to the present generation.There has been never been such a favorable time to make horror films in India.Ramsay's have been the creator of this genre in India and what is needed is a fresh start with a gripping story, better special effects and great production values to match the international standards.If they were successful in times when the funds were limited and a limited market they can be successful now with the markets opening up and corporates backing fresh ideas.Calling RAMSAY'S WE WANT YOU BACK!!!.

Yeah.. as a horror movie buff... seeing both Hollywood and Bollywood horror flicks, I would say that PURANA MANDIR is the best Indian horror film ever made, or at least, I have seen. The theme is great, the props, though cheesy, are creepy enough, the demon is really scary, the songs are good and the plot is plausible (for a change). The movie moves at a fast pace and there is never a moment of boredom, excepting some comic interludes. Ajit Singh, a nightclub singer, a talented music director (of very few films) and a true-blue Indian prince, manages to come with really hummable songs, including the signature song, WOH BEETEY DIN YAAD HAI, especially the version which Ajit Singh sings himself. A touch of eroticism in the movie is enough to titillate the audience. A watchable horror movie, by any standards. At least there is no vampire or werewolf theme, which Hollywood seems to specialize in .. Even though more than 20 years have passed since the movie was released, it has not dated.. there is nothing to date in the movie, excepting, perhaps the clothes that the lead pair wore and the car they drove. The movie has some really scary moments.. and I would really recommend it to all horror movie fans.

If you want one Bollywood shocker, PURANA MANDIR is good place to start. Over two hours of over-the-top gory action with wild camera angles, stunning action scenes, creepy shocks and, eh, all the cheerful singing and dancing!ONE THE BEST MOVIES I HAVE EVER SEEN!Argento-fans who're tired of Euro/US horrorflicks, should try this tasty hindi dish - you'll be coming back for more!!!