Ahead of Bhoot Part One The Haunted Ship, an important question: where did the desi ghost go?

Come Friday, Vicky Kaushal’s Bhoot Part One The Haunted Ship, will hit the screens. Before that, here’s a look at what ghosts in older films looked and felt like.

This Friday will see the release of Vicky Kaushal’s upcoming film, Bhoot Part One The Haunted Ship. When the trailer of the film arrived a few weeks back, one got to see a glimpse of the ghost in the film. While it is still not clear who that could be, a guess is that it is a girl with whitened face, bloodshot eyes, huge nails and unkempt hair. Also, this ghost crawls on walls. Watching it, the first thing that came to mind is where did the white-sari clad desi ghost go? Looking at the glimpse of Bhoot Part One The Haunted Ship’s ghost, one is compelled to think that the imprint of The Conjuring is there for all to see. This phenomenon hasn’t come from out of the blue — Vikram Bhatt’s films all feature ghosts that show the ‘Conjuring-fication’ of the desi ghost. Think Ghost (2019), 1921 (2018) and Raaz Reboot (2016) and you will get the drift.

Vicky Kaushal in a still from his new film, Bhoot Part One The Haunted Ship.

Scene from The Conjuring.

Posters of Vikram Bhatt’s Ghost and 1921.

Scene from Raaz: Reboot.

Historically, Hindi films don’t seem to have explored the pure horror genre. For many of us, the closest Hindi cinema has come are Ramsay Brothers’ various productions, such as Purana Mandir, Purani Haveli and Bandh Darwaza to name a few. Yes, there have been odd films where Hindi films moved beyond jump scares to give us psychological thrillers — Ram Gopal Varma’s Bhoot, Reema Kagti’s Talaash and more recently Netflix’s Ghost Stories.

Kareena Kapoor in Talaash.

Janhvi Kapoor in Ghost Stories.

However, there was once an era when the ‘desi bhoot’ made a dignified appearance. These, of course, which were more psychological than purely horror films, but for most parts, they flirted with the ‘paranormal’, at least, in their treatment of the story.

The earliest memory that this writer can recall is Madhubala and Ashok Kumar starrer and Kamal Amrohi’s directorial Mahal. A young man moved into a mansion which has a tragic love story associated with it. Soon, he gets visions and sees a woman (Madhubala), who claims to be his lover from his previous life. Turns out Madhubala’s character isn’t what is made out to be -- however, for a major part of the film, we are smitten by visions of this hauntingly beautiful woman in black, who sings ‘Aayega aane wala’.

Madhubala in Mahal.

In Bimal Ray’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, the initial few scenes are rivetting as the voice of Meena Kumar’s unrequited soul leads Guru Dutt, an overseer, to revisit his young days. Unfolding in a flashback, he witnesses the crumbling away of loveless marriage between a zamindar and his wife, how it damages the woman of the house and how she meets a horrific end. Again, the ‘atmosphere’ adds to the element of the unknown. Guru Dutt’s workers find the spot in the dilapidated mansion where her body has been buried. He finds a skeleton and is able to identify a piece of jewelry which was a favourite of the chhoti bahu (Meena Kumari).

Watch the opening scene of Sahab Bibi Aur Ghulam:

In Sadhana and Manoj Kumar starrer Woh Kaun Thi?, the 1964 hit, the proverbial ‘white-sari’ ghost can be seen. In that film too, Sadhana is a human being masquerading as a ghost. In one particular scene, Sadhana enters a cremation ground, even as Manoj Kumar’s character is witnessing the turn of events.

Sadhana in Woh Kaun Thi?

In Bimal Ray’s Madhumati, the desi ghost makes several appearances —a young man and his compatriot are forced to take shelter in an old mansion, after their car breaks down and they are caught in pounding rain. A glance at a portrait brings back memories from the young man’s previous birth. He recounts how his lady love, a village belle named Madhumati, had jumped to her death, trying the escape from the clutches of the ruthless man, whose portrait he finds in the mansion. As the story winds its away, the ghost of Madhumati makes brief appearances. Vyjayanthimala, appearing in a triple role of Madhumati, Madhvi and Radha, is a ghost in one of the avatars.

Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar in Madhumati.

Many more suspect thrillers were made in the 1960s — Bees Saal Baad, Kohra, Gumnaam — all of which flirted with ‘atmosphere’ of horror and succeeded in doing so. As cinematic sensibilities undergo change, it is fascinating to see how the idiom and cultural context too undergo a change. Are these rooted in sensibilities of a land? Are they genuine creative exploration? We will leave that for you to decide.

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