Jaani Dushman (1979)
Cast: Sunil Dutt, Sanjeev Kumar, Shatrughan Sinha, Jeetendra, Reena Roy, Rekha, Neetu Singh, Bindiya Goswami, Premnath and Amrish Puri
Director:  Rajkumar Kohli
Nutshell: A blockbuster horror film of its time which is iconic due to huge star cast.
Reviewed by Sehba Ahmed

 

The plot revolves around a monster that transfers from body to body to kill new brides who wear red in front of him.  Women from all walks of life are kidnapped and murdered the night of their wedding and everyone is under suspicion ranging from the village Pujari, to the son of the influential Thakur to a mad beggar.   Not to be overlooked is the underlying theme of poor villagers standing up to their feudal lords when it comes to justice, fair play and romance.

 

 

 

The movie starts with a wedding-night scene in which a Thakur is deceived and murdered by his wife, who is dressed in a red sari. His spirit vows to return as a monster and avenge his death by killing brides dressed in their red wedding attire.

The spirit possesses a male human and transfers to another body once the one it occupies dies. The monster is a bizarre cross between a werewolf and a black Yeti who cannot speak and only utters loud "OOOOOHs" as his calling card. While the monster inhabits a human body, the person has no idea that he transforms into the creature and continues to live his regular life completely unaware of what he becomes.

After several brides are killed on their wedding nights at the start of the movie, the scene shifts to a village ruled by a Thakur who is revered by the villagers as a benign leader. The same cannot be said for his wayward son Shera, who constantly abuses his power and has a glad eye for the village belles.

He is frequently challenged by the hardworking Lakhan, an informal leader among the villagers. Lakhan has superior skills in riding and fighting and challenges Shera during the village games.

Lakhan's sidekick is a young, cocky boy who wants to hang around with him and learn shooting and riding. Lakhan is unaware that his sidekick is actually a girl, Reshma, disguised as a boy. While helping Lakhan win the village games, her wig comes off and Lakhan discovers that she is a girl. He is miffed both that Reshma cheated to help him win and that she had disguised herself as a boy.

Shera, however, immediately starts gawking at Reshma in a licentious manner and tries every trick to accost her. Reshma is in love with Lakhan and rejects all of Shera's overtures.

Ultimately, Shera catches Reshma's father stealing while pretending to be blind and threatens to reveal his secret to the villagers unless he gives him Reshma's hand in marriage. Meanwhile, Champa, another village belle, is in love with Shera, but he spurns her at every encounter.

As everyone seems to be of marriageable age, the wedding season kicks off and brides suddenly start vanishing from their palkis, with their bodies never being discovered. A mad beggar is seen burying items and carrying jewellery from time to time, while a pujari is shown suspiciously striking the ground above the hatch through which the monster emerges to kidnap the brides.

This time it is the wedding of Lakhan's sister, Gauri. Gauri is in love with Amar, but her marriage has been arranged with another man. She too is kidnapped by the monster, but he is left unsatisfied in his attempt to murder her, uttering angry "OOOOHs" when he discovers that she has already taken poison because she couldn't marry Amar.

Lakhan suspects that Amar has kidnapped Gauri, only to discover that Amar too has poisoned himself.

Thereafter, Shera's sister gets married and, for the first time, the bride isn't kidnapped, so the whole village celebrates. The actual reason is that she isn't wearing a red wedding dress but has instead chosen a saffron one.

Everyone now comes under suspicion as the possible kidnapper.

Shera kidnaps Reshma because he is fed up with his wedding plans being constantly scuppered. Reshma coyly dances and mesmerises him with her sultry moves until Lakhan's horse senses that Reshma is in trouble and leads him to Shera's location.

All the villagers gather there and Lakhan accuses Shera of being the monster. He points to the fact that Shera's sister was the only bride who wasn't kidnapped as further evidence that Shera must be responsible.

But Shera escapes and runs off.

Finally, it is time for Reshma and Shera to be married. Reshma is kidnapped through the trapdoor that opens beneath the mandir, and the monster snatches her from her palki. She screams and Lakhan runs after her, only to discover the most menacing monster, possessing such unmatched strength that he is unable to save Reshma alone.

He is joined by Shera and realises that Shera isn't the monster after all.

Shera tries to save Reshma, but he too is no match for the creature. The monster's unbridled strength and loud, wailing "OOOOOOOHs" create a terrifying scene in which one is literally gripped with fear, wondering how Reshma can possibly be saved from this hideous, hairy abomination.

The mad beggar turns out to be a police officer investigating the missing brides and joins the others in trying to overcome the monster and save Reshma. The four strategise and, after a considerable tussle, finally capture and kill the creature.

The climax delivers a shock when the monster turns out to be none other than the benign Thakur, who then reveals his story and explains how the evil spirit came to inhabit his body.

After being pierced by a Trimurti and appealing to the gods, the spirit finally leaves the Thakur's body. It vows never to occupy another human body and departs from the earth, scorching its way through the roof of the mandir.

Reshma and Lakhan are united, while Shera finally finds love with the feisty Champa.

One of the rare multistarrers of its time, Jaani Dushman brought together an ensemble cast with tremendous camaraderie and seemingly no egos over screen time, resulting in a well-crafted horror story that retains its cult following to this day.

It also has a phenomenal soundtrack, with wonderful renditions by Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle for every occasion, particularly Rafi's "Chalo Re Doli Uthao Kahar", which plays just before the monster strikes.

There are effortless dances by Reena Roy and Rekha, the reigning heroines of the time. Add to this the histrionics of Sunil Dutt and Shatrughan Sinha and you have a sure-shot winner.

A truly memorable horror movie that terrified audiences whenever the monster appeared on screen and delivered a blockbuster for the horror genre.