Purana Mandir
| Purana Mandir | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
Tulsi Ramsay Shyam Ramsay |
| Produced by | Kanta Ramsay |
| Written by |
J K Ahuja (story) Kumar Ramsay(screenplay) |
| Starring |
Mohnish Bahl Puneet Issar Aarti Gupta Sadashiv Amrapurkar Pradeep Kumar |
| Music by | Ajit Singh (soundtrack) |
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Release date
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Running time
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144 min |
| Language | Hindi |
Purana Mandir (Hindi for The Old Temple) is a 1984 Hindi feature film, produced and directed by the Ramsay brothers. It is a horror film chronicling the story of the monster-demon, Samri. The Soundtrack were composed by Ajit Singh.
The film opens with a scene taking place some 200 years ago, with the royal procession of Raja Harimansingh of the sultanate of Bijapur, stranded near the Kali Pahari (literally, black mountain). The Raja is concerned because his daughter Princess Rupali has disappeared near the lair of the devil-worshipper Samri (Anirudh Agarwal). The princess wanders into the ruins of an old fortress and is promptly captured and tortured by the villainous Samri. His trademark attack is mesmerizing the hapless victim apparently sucking out their life force through the eyes, causing their natural eyes to be replaced with demonic white shades. During this process, Samri's eyes gleam blood red. Raja Harimansingh catches Samri in this terrible act and orders the soldiers to capture him.
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. He has raped and disembowelled newly-wed brides; he has mutilated and cannibalized young children; he has — it shocks the crier as he reads out this charge — exhumed corpses for sacrifice and eating; and he has terrorized the hamlets surrounding Bijapur with his reign of evil. 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). The strongbox is chained with a trishul as advised by the rajpurohit (trident, the weapon of the Hindu God Shiva) to hold the evil in thrall. 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, and the great-great-grandson of Raja Harimansingh, Thakur Ranvir Singh (veteran actor Pradeep Kumar, known for his royal roles), 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, and his sinister curse occurs with each generation. Ranvir Singh's wife died at the birth of his daughter Suman (Aarti Gupta). Suman, now a college student, has a boyfriend Sanjay (Mohnish Behl) and they spend most of their young love frolicking in pools, the beach and nightclubs. One the Thakur learns about their relations, he severely disapproves of their relationship ostensibly because Sanjay is not of royal birth. (The real reason is that any man who marries Suman must endure her inevitable death when their child arrives.)
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Wikipedia