Dead Again/Born Again: Reincarnation Bollywood Style

Deepika Padukone & Shah Rukh Khan
 in Om Shanti Om
Image: Eros International

Abandoned ruin, palace, Rajasthani desert, or some such combo? Blurry visions, inexplicable dreams, and blackouts? Recurring melody? Forbidden love? Check, check, check, and check.

You must be in for three hours of déjà vu Bollywood style, otherwise known as the quintessential reincarnation story.

Even though seasoned Bollywood watchers can spot the signs well before one of the leads first blacks out to an annoyingly catchy recurring melody from their past, we can't seem to pull ourselves away from the screen until the two lost lovers find their way to each other again. I mean, they travelled through time, fought with destiny, and by some freak genetic mutation managed to look exactly the same just to be together, the least we can do is watch as they vanquish the villains (sometimes thakurs, often long-haired and/or moustachioed) that separated them in the first place and sob while they reunite for generations to come.

Karzzz (2008) A Reincarnation of Karz (1980)

Image: Bollywood Hungama

Tongue-in-cheek aside, the caricatured nature of this genre became more prevalent in its modern-day remakes like Karz (and yes, Karzzz, sigh), thought to be inspired by The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, itself thought to be inspired by Madhumati (the tangled webs we weave), Prem (Tabu-Sanjay Kapoor), Hamesha (Kajol-Saif Ali Khan), Ab Ke Baras (Amrita Rao-Arya Babbar), and the blockbuster Om Shanti Om to name a few (there was also a low-budget film with now-TV host Pallavi Joshi called Mangni if you can remember it!). The original precursors to these spoof-like films toyed with the psychologically thrilling aspects of the stories and had some genuine mystery and intrigue.

Madhubala as the hauntress in Mahal
Image: www.chandrakantha.com

The 1949 Mahal, directed by Kamal Amrohi and starring Ashok Kumar and an esoteric Madhubala is credited as being one of the first films to deal with the subject. The film is best remembered for its haunting music ('Aayega Aane Wala') and moments of genuine psychological wrestling and angst for Kumar as the protagonist. Similarly, a decade later, Bimal Roy's Madhumati (1958), who incidentally edited Mahal, was an instant cinematic success. It not only captialised on the famous Dilip Kumar-Vyjayanthimala chemistry but had the audience guessing until the end with some plot devices which may seem cliched now but were novel for the time. In fact, Om Shanti Om's similarities to Madhumati were so clear that Roy's daughter was reportedly suing the producers, Red Chillies Entertainment (headed by Shah Rukh Khan and his wife, Gauri Khan), for infringement of intellectual copyright and plagiarism.

Over the years, some directors altered the tried and trusted formula with varying degrees of success. The Rishi Kapoor-Sridevi starrer, Nagina, relied on the audience not only believing in reincarnation but also in the ability of female cobras to morph into humans at will, avenge their mate's death, and recognise their souls in human form. Seriously. I don't have that good an imagination to make that up. Oh, and in case you were wondering and slept through the mid-1980s, yes it was a hit and there is, brace yourselves, a sequel (Nigahen).

When all is said and done, if you feel you need to justify the three hours as more than just brainless fun, you can cock up some story about better understanding the depiction of the teachings of Hinduism or Buddhism through popular culture or the social psyche of a people's attitudes to death, life, and human existence.

Frankly, I just watch them for the marked costume changes between the two lives and call it a day.