Bandh Darwaza (1990)

Ramsay’s Bandh Darwaza arrived at the fag end of the great horror boom of the 1980s. Although the film managed respectable business, the genre itself was beginning to grow increasingly stale in India, and audiences were already looking elsewhere for their thrills. That ideas were starting to run dry is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Bandh Darwaza is essentially a pseudo-Dracula movie, albeit one with generous helpings of black magic, possession, teen rivalries, and assorted Ramsay oddities thrown into the mix.

The film begins ominously enough with a coffin creaking open to reveal a cloaked figure with blood-red eyes and razor-sharp fangs. This is Neola, a bloodthirsty vampire who resides with his devoted followers amidst the ruins of the dreaded Kali Pahari. By night he prowls in search of fresh victims to satisfy his endless thirst for blood.

Meanwhile, in a nearby locality, the resident Thakur finds himself facing a different problem. Desperate for an heir, he grows increasingly frustrated that his beautiful wife appears unable to provide one. In her desperation, she turns to a servant played by Aruna Irani, who just happens to have close ties to Neola’s cult and is one of the vampire’s most devoted worshippers.

Aruna assures the Thakur’s wife that she will conceive if she visits Neola’s ruins at Kali Pahari. There is, however, a catch. Should she bear a son, the child may remain hers. If the baby is a daughter, the child belongs to Neola.

Predictably, a daughter is born.

Aruna soon arrives to remind the delighted mother that it is time to hand over the infant to her rightful owner. Unsurprisingly, the mother refuses. Neola reacts badly to this breach of contract and orders that she be poisoned and the child delivered to him immediately.

As Aruna absconds with the baby after murdering the mother, the Thakur follows her to the ruins and comes face to face with the monstrous vampire. After a fierce struggle, he manages to destroy Neola by plunging a dagger into his heart. As he dies, however, Neola vows revenge in the most horrible manner imaginable.

Years later, the Thakur remains unmarried and is the proud father of a rather headstrong daughter named Kamia. Unfortunately, Kamia has developed a serious crush on a college student named Kumar. Unfortunately for her, Kumar only has eyes for Sapna.

Unable to seduce Kumar despite some impressively shameless efforts, Kamia turns to darker forces for assistance. Through Neola’s surviving disciples she is introduced to the worlds of black magic and voodoo, and before long the vampire himself is resurrected from his slumber to continue his reign of terror.

Neola’s priorities are simple. First, consume industrial quantities of fresh blood. Second, claim Kamia, who was promised to him before birth. Soon she becomes his chief disciple, confidante, and unwilling love slave, tasked with supplying her master with a steady stream of fresh victims.

It is now up to Kumar, Sapna, and the Thakur to wrest Kamia from Neola’s clutches and destroy the vampire once and for all.

This time, however, it takes considerably more than a dagger.

The story itself is hardly original, but Bandh Darwaza remains one of the Ramsays’ most effective efforts for several reasons.

First and foremost is Ajay Agarwal’s astonishing performance as Neola. In an era when Bollywood horror was populated by endless rubber-faced creatures and men wandering around in what appeared to be modified bear costumes, Neola stands apart as a genuinely frightening monster. His appearance alone is enough to make an impression, and it is difficult to think of a more menacing-looking creature in any Bollywood horror film.

The effectiveness of the entire film depends on the audience believing in Neola as a threat, and Agarwal passes the test with flying colours.

The second major advantage is the Ramsays’ unusually disciplined approach. The film never completely derails into endless stretches of comedy. Jagdeep is present, but his antics are mercifully kept under control. Likewise, there are “only” four songs, which by Bollywood standards feels almost minimalist.

The Ramsays also found some excellent locations for the ruins of Kali Pahari. Combined with drifting mists, atmospheric lighting, and some inspired camerawork, they manage to conjure a genuine sense of menace. Several sequences involving Neola stalking his victims are surprisingly tense and suspenseful, due in no small part to the sheer unpleasantness of the vampire himself.

There is also a wonderful old-world horror charm running throughout the film. A vintage bat prop with glowing red eyes plays a significant role in the story, while one particularly nice touch sees the vampire repeatedly prevented from entering various coffins because one contains a Cross, another a Quran, and yet another an Om symbol.

The Ramsays were clearly having fun.

Another charming surprise is the unmistakable appearance of the legendary BBC Sound Effects Tape No. 13, a collection familiar to anyone who spent their youth making homemade horror films. The Ramsays also help themselves rather liberally to stretches of Harry Manfredini’s Friday the 13th score, although somehow they manage to integrate it into the proceedings without it feeling entirely out of place.

Bandh Darwaza remains something of an unsung classic within the Ramsay catalogue, a filmography otherwise packed with some of the most tedious drivel imaginable. Here, however, the Ramsays are operating close to their peak. The film moves at a brisk pace, the characterisation is reasonably effective, and the performances are perfectly acceptable by horror standards.

Veterans such as Aruna Irani, Raza Murad, and Vijayendra Ghatge all deliver solid performances, while the atmosphere remains consistently engaging throughout.

The climax is perhaps a little disappointing considering everything that precedes it, but that is a relatively minor complaint.

For sheer atmosphere, old-school horror charm, and one of the greatest monsters ever to emerge from Bollywood, Bandh Darwaza deserves its reputation.

One of the strongest, most effective, and most entertaining horror films the Ramsays ever produced.