Khoon Ki Pyasi Daayan (1998)

A stylish man in an overcoat, mirrored shades, and a cowboy hat walks through an area infested with ferocious-looking Dayans.  Some witches have fearsome rubbery vampire teeth, while others have backwards feet and a menacing fog billows while wolves bay in the background. They sense a fresh victim. It’s a very ominous scene, fraught with immense danger.  As the smoothie lights up for a fag he is attacked by a diminutive witch who lunges at his neck, fangs fully extended. Will he survive this midnight walk, and if so, what will be left of him?

The fanged witch overpowers her victim as an evil black magician with disturbing gold teeth guffaws in approval.  It appears as though the magician is the patron of the posse of witches, judging by his delighted reaction.  Conducting business from his forest den, the evil magician appears to control the witches, and as the fanged witch has finished feeding, he summons her to his headquarters.  The witch seems a little reluctant, but is drawn by his powers inexorably to his den. “Khoon ki Pyasi Dayan, Chali aa”, he commands, and the witch is reluctantly gripped by his aura as she edges towards the magician’s den.

Beautifully decorated with plastic shrubs and mysterious shrubs, the black magician’s den also contains a team of devotees, each dressed as he is in splendid black robes.  The witch arrives, spinning in circles and kneels at the magician’s feet in fear.  Moments later, he casts a spell, and she vanishes into thin air.  No wonder she was not too thrilled at the summons. 

The magician announces that he has five “kanyas” under his command and needs just two more to complete his plans of world domination.  He is thrilled at the prospect of global control and boasts to his team members that victory is within grasp once two more Kanya’s are recruited. 

A handsome young man dressed in civilian skivvies steps forward aggressively and berates the magician for tricking him into handing over his girl because he lusted for money.  Regretting his decision, he now turns on the evil magician, grasping him, accusing him of fraud.  At which point, the magician throws him to the ground next to his stuffed alligator, stabbing him fatally with his Trishul.    The Black Sadhu instructs his followers to bury the corpse and place his tongs on the grave so that the man’s soul may never rest in peace.

Elsewhere, two sleazy, money-minded men have a drinks meeting to discuss their dubious schemes to cheat their way to a fortune.  A man named Kulbhushan is the target of their nefarious designs, and together they are plotting and scheming how to dupe him as soon as possible.

Kulbhushan himself is no angel, an ageing man trying to surround himself with religious idols, but far more interested in the girls sent to him to feast on.  When contacted, he complains that though the last girl he received was fine, he didn’t manage to get his way.  Now he eagerly awaits the next one and is promised she will be more compliant.  The pimps are the very men who are planning to relieve him of his riches at the earliest.

Things don’t work out as planned for Kulbhushan or his pimps because it seems he isn’t able to perform when the time is ripe, and the girl they sent him throws his money back in his face, telling him to use it for medical expenses to help with his lack of masculinity. Kulbhushan’s frustration eats away at him as the pimps head to meet him and hope to receive many thanks and a lot of cash.  Little do they know that he hasn’t been able to rise to the occasion and that their money is not about materialising as quickly as they hoped.

The scheming pimps take Kulbhushan to Mahakal, the black magician, promising a cure for his ailments.  Mahakaal tells Kulbhushan he must provide him with the two kanyas he needs, and all will be sorted, and a desperate Kulbhushan agrees.  Now the search is on to find two girls to fulfil the role.

The pimps go looking to buy themselves two young brides for the elderly Kulbhushan so that they can rip him off and attempt to sponge all his riches.  The Pimps manage to entrap some girls to fulfil their evil schemes.  The first girl is tricked and handed over to Kulbhushan to “look after”.  Meanwhile, Mahakaal prepares for his plans for world domination.

Just as Kulbhushan is about to rape the girl given to his care, the pimp stops him, reminding him that Mahakal’s plans will be left undone if she isn’t a virgin.  More importantly, if Kulbhushan wants to be cured of his erectile dysfunction, he must provide two virgins to Mahakal as he demanded.  Reluctantly, Kulbhushan agrees.

Mahakal is delighted to receive his first lamb to the slaughter and changes his outfit to a delightful fuchsia before the sacrifice.  With one Kanya murdered, sacrificed and buried, only one more remains for Mahakal’s dreams to be fulfilled.

The second Kanya, on the verge of being pounced upon, has a nightmare of an evil spirit that spooks the pimps badly, and they hesitate.  At Kulbhushan’s insistence, the pimps drug the young girl so that she passes out and they can hand her over for the second sacrifice.  Pooja, the next virgin, is intercepted in the forest by a rubbery-faced hairy monster with a big afro who calls the police to inform them about the crime about to be committed.

Mahakal is mighty pissed off when Pooja leads the bumbling police to the sacrificial area where human bones lie scattered all over the earth.  Now, it remains to be seen if Pooja will be rescued and saved from the clutches of the scheming pimps, Kulbhushan and Mahakal.  Fortunately for Pooja, the police inspector is rather smitten by her gorgeous appearance, which gives him a reason to act in her favour.

Will Pooja manage to convince the police, who believe Kulbhushan to be an exemplary upstanding citizen, to unravel the devious evil plans, or will she be sacrificed like the girl before her?  Will Mahakal take over the world, or will he remain frustrated?  He is all set for the sacrifice, but Pooja cleverly manages to win the inspector over with her beauty, and soon they are singing and dancing in the forest together.  But, Mahakal, the pimps and Kulbhushan are ready to strike once again and snare poor Pooja and drag her away to be sacrificed. 

A deadly game of cat and mouse begins, complicated as the forest seems to come alive with the spirits of all the girls previously murdered by Mahakal.  Vengeful spirits now infest the woods, and their target is vengeance on Mahakal.  The hairy monster reappears, and a cackling, toothy vampire witch laughs a lot as she chows down on the neck of one of the pimps.  Supernatural forces now arise from the depths to thwart evil Mahakal’s plans, but he isn’t going to give up without a struggle now that he is so close to his goal.

Horrific creatures abound all over the forest as the battle to snare or save Pooja reaches a horrifying climax. 

Khoon Ki Pyasi Dayan is yet another shockingly incompetent film, but so bad that it is pretty enjoyable. Not quite in the class of Harinam Singh yet, so hideously incompetent that it’s a hoot. The acting is atrocious, and the monsters and horror effects are a total disaster and yet rather amusing. Will the witches and the Afro man save the day for Pooja and have their revenge?  Will the Afro monster turn out as a police inspector, or is he one of the undead spirits?

The film is a total shit show that only the hardened watchers of Z-grade crap could appreciate, and even though it’s shortened to just an hour and 20 minutes on YouTube, it’s tough viewing for the uninitiated. The crocodile prop is tremendous, and some of the terrifying scenes are hysterically funny, if unintentionally so. Marvellously dreadful in every respect.  An absolute must-watch for those who relish atrocious cinema.  Evil Spirits, Cars that drive themselves, Ghosts, witches, vampires, human sacrifice, blood rituals, black magic – it’s all there in abundance.  Khoon Ki Pyasi Dayan, AKA KKPD, is a complete train wreck of a film, but somewhat entertaining.Khoon Ki Pyasi Dayan opens with a magnificently ominous sequence: a stylish fellow in an overcoat, mirrored shades, and cowboy hat wanders through a fog-infested forest populated by ferocious-looking Dayans. Some of the witches sport enormous rubber vampire fangs, others possess backwards feet, wolves howl in the distance, and a thick supernatural mist blankets the woods. Danger positively hangs in the air.

As the doomed smoothie pauses to light himself a fag, a diminutive fanged witch suddenly lunges at his neck. One immediately wonders whether he will survive this midnight stroll — and, if he does, exactly what state he will be left in afterwards.

The unfortunate victim is soon overpowered while an evil black magician with grotesque gold teeth cackles maniacally in approval nearby. Clearly the witches operate under his command, and once the bloodsucking Dayan has finished feeding, the magician summons her back to his lair with the immortal command:

“Khoon ki pyasi dayan… chali aa!”

Reluctantly she obeys, drawn helplessly toward his powers.

The magician’s headquarters are a marvel in themselves — beautifully decorated with plastic shrubbery, mysterious foliage, and assorted bargain-basement occult décor. His devoted followers all wear matching black robes while the summoned witch spins in circles before collapsing fearfully at his feet. Moments later he casts a spell and she disappears into thin air. No wonder she seemed reluctant to attend the meeting.

Mahakal — for that is the villain’s glorious name — announces that he already commands five “Kanyas” and requires just two more virginal sacrifices before he can achieve world domination. Naturally, his followers are thrilled by the prospect.

Soon afterwards, a handsome young fellow confronts Mahakal, furious that he surrendered his girlfriend in exchange for promises of wealth. Realising he has been conned, he grabs the black magician in anger — whereupon Mahakal promptly throws him beside a stuffed crocodile and impales him with a trishul. The corpse is dragged away while the magician calmly instructs his followers to place sacred tongs upon the grave so the dead man’s soul may never rest in peace.

As plots within plots emerge, we meet two sleazy conmen scheming to swindle an ageing degenerate named Kulbhushan — a supposedly respectable man whose real interests lie not in religion, despite the abundance of idols around him, but in exploiting young women sent to satisfy his appetites.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, Kulbhushan proves incapable of rising to the occasion when presented with his latest victim, leading to one of the film’s most unintentionally hilarious moments as the furious girl throws his money back in his face and recommends he spend it on medical treatment instead.

The scheming pimps eventually bring Kulbhushan to Mahakal, who promises to cure his embarrassing shortcomings — but only if he provides the two virgins required for the final sacrifices. Thus begins an increasingly chaotic quest to procure suitable “Kanyas” while Mahakal prepares for global domination in the middle of what resembles an abandoned garden centre.

The first unfortunate girl is sacrificed while Mahakal changes into a delightful fuchsia outfit for the ceremony. One more virgin remains and the world is apparently doomed.

The second intended victim, Pooja, narrowly escapes after terrifying visions and supernatural interventions derail the sacrifice. Matters become even stranger when a bizarre hairy monster with an enormous afro suddenly appears and contacts the police to warn them about the impending crime.

Yes — an afro monster now enters the story.

By this stage the film has entirely abandoned any lingering attachment to sanity.

Soon the forest becomes overrun with vengeful spirits, vampire witches, ghosts, rubber-faced creatures, black magic rituals, wandering skeletons, human sacrifice, and supernatural chaos as Mahakal desperately attempts to complete his plans. The atmosphere resembles a fever dream assembled from leftover props stolen from several other horror films.

Particularly memorable is the wonderfully dreadful crocodile prop, which deserves acting honours all by itself.

The acting throughout is atrocious, the effects are catastrophic, and many of the horror scenes are so incompetently staged that they become genuinely hysterical. Yet there is something weirdly lovable about the sheer sincerity of the madness unfolding onscreen. Everyone involved appears utterly committed to this deranged nonsense.

The film never quite reaches the sublime levels of incompetence associated with Harinam Singh, but it comes admirably close.

Even in its shortened 80-minute YouTube form, Khoon Ki Pyasi Dayan remains heavy-going for anyone unaccustomed to Z-grade Indian horror insanity. For hardened connoisseurs of cinematic trash, however, it is a marvellously dreadful experience.

Evil spirits, self-driving cars, witches, vampires, human sacrifice, black magic, rubber monsters, forest ghosts, stuffed crocodiles — this film has absolutely everything.

A complete train wreck of a movie, but somehow an entertaining one.