Bandh Darwaza (1990)

Ramsay’s Bandh Darwaza arrived at the fag end of the horror boom of the ’80s in 1990. Though the film managed to do decent business, the horror trend grew very stale in India, and audiences mainly were looking for something else. That ideas were beginning to dry up completely was highlighted by the fact that this was a pseudo-Dracula film though it had undertones of black magic and possession and teen rivalries to boot!

The film begins with an ominous shot of a coffin opening up to reveal a cloaked figure with blood-stained eyes and sharp fangs – a bloodthirsty vampire by the name of Neola who lives with his disciples in the ruins of the dreaded area known as Kali Pahari. Neola prowls the nights in search of victims to feed his insatiable bloodlust. Meanwhile, we are shown that the nearby locality’s Thakur (prince) is desperate for an heir to his estate, which his pretty wife seems unable to deliver for him. In desperation, his wife turns to an evil servant Aruna Irani who has connections with Neola’s worshippers and is, in fact, one of his most ardent worshippers herself.

Aruna swears to the wife that she will conceive once she visits Neola’s ruins at the Kali Pahari, but the condition is that if the wife bears a son, she may keep it, but if it’s a daughter, then the child must be turned over to Neola as his property. The daughter is duly born (after Neola seduces the Thakur’s wife), and Aruna reminds a blissfully happy mother that it’s time to hand over the tot to its rightful owner Neola. The mother refuses to comply, upon which she has to face the wrath of an incensed Neola. He orders the wife to be poisoned and for the girl child to be handed over to him at his ruins. As Aruna makes off with the child having murdered the mother, the Thakur follows her back to Neola’s ruins to confront the monstrous creature face to face. After a struggle, he manages to vanquish the bloodthirsty Neola by stabbing him in the heart, but as he dies, Neola swears to take his revenge most horribly.

Later on, we are shown that the Thakur has not remarried but is the proud father of a somewhat wayward daughter Kamia who has a rather serious crush on a college mate named Kumar. Unfortunately for Kamia, Kumar has eyes only for Sapna, and in her frustration, at being unable to seduce Kumar despite considerable brazen efforts, she turns to black magic for help inspiration. She is introduced to the dark world of black magic and voodoo through the disciples of the dead Neola. The evil Neola is then resurrected from his slumber by his worshippers to continue his reign of terror. Neola’s priority other than drinking bucket loads of fresh blood is to set the record straight with Thakur’s daughter Kamia, who was promised to him in the deal her mother made.

Kamia is turned into Neola’s primary disciple cum love slave, and it is her duty after that to find her master fresh victims to satisfy his vile lust. Now it is up to Kumar and Sapna, along with the Thakur, to wrest Kamia away from the clutches of the monstrous Neola. Destroy the beast once and for all before it’s too late. This time however it takes more than just a dagger to vanquish the ghastly Neola.

Though the story isn’t exactly original, this film is one of the Ramsay’s most effective efforts for many reasons. Firstly and perhaps most importantly, they have discovered in actor Ajay Agarwal a most amazing horror discovery. In an age when one has become accustomed to watching a succession of most unconvincing rubber-faced monsters or men in bear suits, Neola is a true monster. His appearance is genuinely frightening and one can hardly recall a more menacing looking monster in any Bollywood horror film.
Neola’s sheer monstrousness and ability to frighten is paramount to the effectiveness of events on screen. He passes the test with flying colours. The second important factor in the film’s success is that it doesn’t veer off the track into tedious stretches of comedy, and though Jagdeep is in the cast, his antics are kept to a bare minimum. Likewise, there are “only” four songs below the average for a regular Bollywood production.

Next, the Ramsay’s have found some great locations for their Kali Pahari ruins and, along with their floating mists and some somewhat inspired camerawork, have managed to conjure oodles of atmosphere and menace to proceedings. There are sequences where Neola is after some damsel or the other, which are genuinely rather tense and suspenseful, in no small part due to Neola’s awfulness. A vintage bat with red glowing eyes prop is the most significant aspect of the story, which lends the film that old world horror charm. There isn’t much gore, but what blood there is, is effectively used. There is a fine touch from the Ramsays when the vampire cannot get into a succession of coffins as one has a cross inside, the other a Quran and another an Om thingy.

Another somewhat predictable if charming appearance is made by the BBC #13 Horror Sound Effects tape, which we used for our home horror movies! The Ramsay’s have also liberally lifted long stretches of Harry Manfredini’s Friday the 13th soundtrack but managed to incorporate it surprisingly well into the film.

This film is Ramsay’s in top form; it moves along at a rollicking pace. Bandh Darwaza is an unsung classic from the vaults of Ramsay’s horror, which contain mostly the most tedious drivel imaginable. The characterization is reasonably good. In solid performances, the acting is bearable for the horror genre, with old-timers Aruna Irani, Raza Murad, and Vijayendra.

The climax is perhaps a bit of a letdown, but otherwise, Bandh Darwaza must rank as one of the most potent and most satisfying horror films to emerge from Bollywood in many a year.