70 Years Ago, 'Mahal' Gave Us an Early Glimpse of Gothic in Bombay Cinema

AAYEGA AANEWALA LYRICS AND ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

Khaamosh hai zamaanaa, chhup-chhaap hai.N sitaare

The earth is silent, the stars are quiet

Aaraam se hai duniyaa, bekal hai.N dil ke maare

The world is at rest, but the lovers are restless

Aise mei.N koii aahaT is tarah aa rahi hai

In the stillness, footsteps are approaching like this

Jaise ki chal rahaa hai man mei.N koi hamaare

As if someone is passing through my soul

Yaa dil dhaDak rahaa hai? ik aas ke sahaare

Or is it only my heart that is beating? I have this one hope for support

Aayegaa, aayegaa, aayegaa

He will come, he will come, he will come

Aayegaa, aayegaa, aanewaalaa

He will come, he will come, he who is to come

Deepak baghair kaise, parwaane jal rahe hai.N?

How are the moths burning without a flame?

Koi nahii.N chalaataa, aur teer chal rahe hai.N

No one fired, yet an arrow is flying

TaDpegaa koii kab tak, be-aas be-sahaare

How long will someone be tormented, without hope and without support?

Lekin yeh keh rahe hai.N dil ke mere ishaare

Yet the signals of my heart are saying

Aayegaa, aayegaa, aayegaa

He will come, he will come, he will come

Aayegaa, aayegaa, aanewaalaa

He will come, he will come, he who is to come

BhaTkii huii jawaanii manzil ko DhoonDhti hai

My wandering youth is searching for a destination

Maajhi baghair nayyaa, saahil ko dhoondhti hai

As if a boat without an oarsman searches for the shore

Kyaa jaane dil ki kashTii, kab tak lage kinaare

What does the boat of my heart know of how long until we reach the river bank

Lekin yeh keh rahe hai.N dil ke mere ishaare

Yet the signals of my heart are saying

Aayegaa, aayegaa, aayegaa

He will come, he will come, he will come

Aayegaa, aayegaa, aanewaalaa

He will come, he will come, he who is to come

Mahal was a hugely popular film, which shows all the major attractions of a Hindi film—stars, locations, music, etc., shot beautifully. It is a love story, full of passion, darkness, and obsessions, remembered today for its beauty, romance, and music. Surprisingly, few people seem disturbed by the darkness of the film and its morbid obsession about love and passion, but remember Kamini (whose name means ‘the lover’ or simply ‘woman’) as a beautiful and ghostly presence.

In addition to these key attractions, Mahal’s unusual Gothic features seem to have appealed to its audiences. One of these is the way the narrative intrigues the audience, as the story is far from predictable as there were no previous models to follow. Motifs and puzzles are presented to the audience, many of whom may not have been familiar enough with the Gothic idiom to follow the patterns but were drawn into the complexities of the story.

Even for those familiar with the patterns, the story is strange as there is a lack of suspense, and several false leads, such as a possibility that Srinath, the hero’s friend who seems to have the right to make him sell the house and thinks sending his friend to a brothel is a good way to distract him from his obsession, might be part of the haunting in league with Asha. The gardener who lights the chandelier and tells of deaths associated with the house seems to be a Gothic archetype such as Igor to Dr Frankenstein but his role diminishes after this initial scene.

Many ends are left dangling as we never find out who the first owner was, why he came at midnight and left at dawn (presumably the lover was his mistress and this was their ‘love-nest’?), and why he looked like Hari Shankar. Why did the ghost appear at 2 a.m. and how did the clocks seem to be connected so that any clock striking 2 a.m. reminded Shankar to return to the mansion, and why did his wife stopping a different clock seem to affect the main clock at the house?

Another feature which might have been expected to prove difficult for the audience is that Hindi film usually focuses on character and the star as a way of involvement in the film but here the story elicits curiosity and the desire to know the secret at the heart of the film. Nor does the film present an easy emotional engagement for the audience: there is no heroic or sympathetic character. The main character is a problematic anti-hero with whom there is no positioning of the audience in any obvious manner such as admiration, empathy, etc.