India’s First Hindi Horror Comedy

Mehmood
and
R
D
Burman
shiver,
wail
and
flail
when
they
encounter
a
stuffed
tiger
that
wags
its
tail,
furniture
that
moves
on
its
own
volition
and
dancing
skeletons
and
mummies.
Dinesh
Raheja
revisits
a
must-watch.

Horror
comedies
have
proliferated
in
the
Hindi
cinema
of
the
new
millennium.

The
genre
picked
up
steam
with

Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
(2007)
and

Bhoothnath
(2008)
and
has
recently
reached
its
zenith
with
the
through-the-roof
success
of

Stree
2.

But
almost
60
years
ago,
popular
comedian
Mehmood
pioneered
this
genre
in
India
with
the
rollicking

Bhoot
Bungla
(1965).

Earlier,
films
like

Mahal
(1949),

Madhumati
(1958),

Bees
Saal
Baad
(1962)
and

Woh
Kaun
Thi
(1964)
had
popularised
suspense
with
elements
of
horror.

Mehmood
fused
this
category
of
films
with
dollops
of
his
speciality
—
comedy
—
and
created
a
merry
mix
in
his
directorial
debut.

While
not
a
comic
classic
like

Padosan
or

Chalti
Ka
Naam
Gaadi,

Bhoot
Bungla
is
engaging
because
of
its
gung-ho
spirit
of
zany
experimentation.

And
it
boasts
of
a
howlarious
comic
cameo
by
the
great
music
composer
R
D
Burman
in
his
youthful
days.

Akshay
Kumar
recently
announced
that
his
next
film
would
be

Bhoot
Bangla
but
as
its


director
Priyadarshan
says,
“My
film
has
nothing
to
do
with
that
old

Bhoot
Bungla.”

Alongside
the
opening
credits
(in
which
the
letters
are
constructed
from
bones),

Bhoot
Bungla
begins
with
a
murder
on
a
dark
night
in
the
titular
bungalow.

Fifty
years
later,
three
middle-aged
brothers
reside
in
the
same
bungalow.
The
eldest’s
car
gets
blown
up
while
driving
to
pick
up
his
foreign-returned
daughter
Rekha
(Tanuja)
and
the
youngest,
who
is
insane,
is
also
found
murdered
soon
thereafter.

The
fearful
surviving
brother
Shyam
babu
(Nazir
Hussain)
takes
the
traumatised
Rekha
and
leaves
the
bungalow
for
the
city.

But
is
Shyam
Babu
as
nice
and
avuncular
as
he
seems?
Rekha
start
getting
threatening
phone
calls
and
is
pushed
in
the
path
of
a
bus.

On
a
visit
to
the
bungalow
with
her
friends,
the
horror
element
is
ratchetted
up
and
Rekha
is
terrified
by
a
lamp
which
inexplicably
extinguishes
itself,
doors
that
bang
open
and
shut
at
will
and
an
ominous
warning
from
a
ghostly
fog.

Many
a
pulpy
genre
convention
and
trope
finds
a
place
in
the
film’s
story
and
treatment.

Humour
enters
the
film
with
Mehmood
as
Mohan,
who,
at
a
club
competition,
beats
Rekha’s
melodious
song

Aa
Mere
Pyar
Aaja
with
his
boisterous

Aao
Twist
Karein.

Only
Mehmood
can
pull
off
making
Indian
classical
dance
gestures
in
the
middle
of
a
western
dance.

Expectedly,
Mohan
falls
for
Rekha.
With
the
help
of
his
do-gooder
Youth
Club,
he
resolves
to
help
her
and
solve
this
mystery.

This
leads
to
the
two
best
sequences
of
the
film.

In
the
first,
Mohan
dresses
up
as
girl
to
scope
out
Shyam
Babu’s
office
for
incriminating
evidence.

Mehmood
had
earlier
played
a
woman
while
dancing
with
Shammi
Kapoor
in

Dhadakne
Lagta
Hai
Mera
Dil
from

Dil
Tera
Deewana.
He
even
won
Filmfare’s
Best
Supporting
Actor
award
for
that
film.
Here,
too,
he
is
fully
committed
and
hilarious
while
dressed
for
excess.

The
second
serio-comic
sequence
is
lit
up
by
the
performance
of
R
D
Burman.
Though
no
great
histrionic
talent,
Burman
is
perfectly
cast
as
the
chubby-cheeked,
bespectacled
and
befuddled
Stocky
who
is
a
‘bewaqoof
darpok‘
but
accompanies
Mohan
to
a
midnight
investigation
of
the

bhoot
bungalow.

Burman
plays
the
comic
foil
to
Mehmood’s
(relatively)
straight-face,
and
his
squeaky
voice
and
scared
expressions
remind
one
of

Jana
from

Stree
2.

The
identically
dressed
Mehmood-Burman

jodi
also
bring
to
mind
Abbot
and
Costello
as
they
create
mayhem
at
the

bhoot
bungalow.

They
shiver,
wail
and
flail
when
they
encounter
a
stuffed
tiger
that
wags
its
tail,
furniture
that
moves
on
its
own
volition
and
dancing
skeletons
and
mummies.

Their
antics
go
from
the
expected
—
the
classic
backing
up
into
each
other
and
yelling
—
to
the
zany
surprise
of
seeing
Burman
pull
out
coffee
and
sandwiches
from
under
his
shirt
and
having
a
snack
before
making
his
escape.

The
tonal
shifts
between
drama
and
comedy
in

Bhoot
Bungla
are
far
from
seamless.
Yet,
it’s
largely
fun
and
games
till
the
denouement.
Despite
the
many
red
herrings,
you
don’t
need
to
be
Sherlock
to
have
second
guessed
it.

Fortunately,
not
everything
in
the
film
is
as
overstated
as
the
exaggerated
sound
effects
and
background
score.
After
the
cross-dressing
scene,
Mehmood
is
shown
looking
into
a
pocket
mirror
and
pencilling
an
artificial
moustache
in
the
midst
of
mouthing
an
unrelated
dialogue.

Contemporaneous
western
influence
is
evidenced
in
the
staging
of
the
song
and
dance
numbers.

Aao
Twist
Kare
reflects
the
craze
unleashed
by
the
Chubby
Checker
song

The
Twist
.

And
the
Youth
Club
members’
fight
scene
with
rivals
is
choreographed
as
dance
moves
and
is
reminiscent
of
the
1961
cinematic
classic

West
Side
Story.

Tanuja’s
role
is
entirely
dramatic,
wasting
her
comic
potential,
so
it’s
up
to
the
capable
Mehmood
to
do
the
comic
heavy
lifting.
As
a
director,
he
tries
to
ladle
the
horror
in
judicious
balance
with
the
humour,
but
most
importantly
treats
both
genres
with
the
spirit
of
fun.

Sidelights

Mehmood
had
made
the
arduous
climb
from
junior
artiste
to
flop
hero
to
the
foremost
comedian.
But
he
yearned
to
play
central
roles
and
produced
several
showcases
like

Bhoot
Bungla
for
his
talents.

Tanuja,
then
21,
had
been
working
in
films
for
five
years
but
hadn’t
scored
a
hit
yet.
Which
is
probably
why
she
agreed
to
pair
opposite
Mehmood.

Akhtar-Ul-Iman,
who
penned
the
ever
quotable
lines
of

Waqt
(also
1965),
is
credited
as
the
dialogue
writer
here.

When
Tanuja
sees
Mehmood
drawing
a
line
in
the
mud
with
a
stick,
she
asks:
‘Kya
kar
rahe
ho?‘

He
quips:
‘Line
maar
raha
hoon.’

Music

R
D
Burman
received
no
independent
work
offers
for
four
long
years
after
he
made
his
debut
as
a
composer
with
Mehmood’s
production

Chhoti
Nawab
(1961).

It
was
Mehmood
who
placed
a
bet
on
him
once
again
with

Bhoot
Bungla.

Soon
thereafter,
Burman
signed

Teesri
Manzil
and
never
looked
back
again.

Mehmood
had
jokingly
complained
that
Burman
would
dent
his
car
dashboard
by
drumming
tunes
on
it
with
his
fingers.

Manna
Dey’s
robust
rendition
of
the
film’s
most
popular
song

Aao
Twist
Karein
consolidated
his
position
as
the
playback
singer
closely
associated
with
Mehmood.
Kishore
Kumar
sang
for
Mehmood
for
the
first
time
with

Jaago
Sonewalon.