Mahakaal

Mahakaal (The Monster) is an Indian take/ripoff of the Nightmare on Elm Street Movie.

The movie stars the quite beautiful Archana Puran Singh as Anita who gets tormented by the evil demon Shakaal, who was buried alive by her father after he had killed sacrificed several children, one being Anita's sister. Shakaal attacks Anita and her closest ones throughout the movie. Anita and her gang tries to avoid him by going on field trips and by doing a few musical numbers where they sing and dance.

The movie is made by the Ramsay brothers who might have the "honour" of being the horror kings of India. It's actually a quite decent movie visually with some colorful and creepy looking scenes. The creepiness goes quickly away however thanks to a lot of comic reliefs (and i mean A lot) and effects which are a little to simple and not so effective. They also rip off the famous soundbits from the American Freddy movies which is a good addition to this one. It also rips off a scene from Day of the Dead and a good murder scene from Nightmare on Elm Street Part III.

I wish the movie had been shorter though. Running a little over to hours is way to long for a movie like this. And there is plenty of scenes which could have been cut out. Everything including the "comic relief guy" played by Johnny Lever would have been nice since he isn't funny or have anything to add to this movie. I guess that would have made the movie 20 minutes shorter and also a much better experience. Take away the subplot with the bad dude who wants Anita as well and you got a movie that is about 80 minutes long which would be an even bigger improvement. If others feel like me then I'm sure we'll see some fanedits in the future.

There's also a problem with Hindu-Freddy. He does not speak (although he laughs a lot) or really do anything very frightening. Freddy's charisma in the American movies is one of it's biggest assets and I'm quite surprised the Ramseys didn't use that in this one. The mullet on Hindu-Freddy however gives him a little plus.

The movie was actually started on in 1988, but was put on hold when another Indian take on the Freddy movies came along called Khooni Murdaa.

Although it has it's fun parts and funny dance numbers I'd only recommend it to the ones who are curious and want to laugh at a Freddy ripoff movie. See it for the nice visual nightmare scenes and try to ignore Johnny Lever and enjoy Mahakaal.

The movie is available on a Mondo Macabre DVD which was released in the summer of '09. Support Mondo Macabre who continues to put out weird and unknown Asian cult movies! Enjoy.

"The Monster" (aka "Mahakaal") is a fun and scary film at the same time. Yes, it's a ripoff of "A Nightmare on Elm Street", but it was so much fun for me. And the acting wasn't as bad as I expected. Not Oscar worthy. But fine for an Indian horror film. The music is taken straight from the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. The thing that really stands out is the role of Johnny Lever. He is funny, clumsy and everything you want from Mr. Lever. The musical numbers also stands out. The comedy stands out. The villian is not the best. A cheep rip-off of Freddy Krueger. In this film called Shakaal. But overall it's a great pile of entertainment. I definitely recommend this title!

Nightmare On Elm Street The Hindu musical I was hoping for a dubbed version or subtitles Because I want to understand what's being said (I'm weird like that) In fairness it doesn't really matter very much anyway Because you would have to be blind or in a coma or never seen a Nightmare On Elm Street To not know what movie they're copying Not sure why they needed a Michael Jackson copycat or so many musical numbers I did notice there was one musical number that was completely muted I'm assuming it was because of copyright issues With all that aside I don't really care it's a wildly fun and entertaining good time at the movies.

The beginning years of the 90s were most traumatic for the B-horror genre of Bollywood. Attempts were made to return the audience to the old school of horror but these attempts only fueled the sense of hate among the audience for the Ramsays, who were once liked by the horror buffs for their originality. I really don't understand what went wrong with the Ramsay brothers that they failed to maintain their originality in the early 90s. They tried to make their film as shocking as possible with a limited budget in hand. The resulting films, which were usually rip-offs of highly successful American films, failed to do any good to them as they all turned into a big fiasco. Previously, The Ramsays used to copy few jack-in-the-box scenes from certain Hollywood films but as the time went by, they said yes to complete plagiarism. Films like 'Aakhri Cheekh' and 'Mahakal aka The Monster' are the living examples of plagiarism which never helped the Ramsays reclaim their lost position in Bollywood.

'Mahakal' is 'A Nightmare on Elm Street - 1984' rip-off but those who've already seen this Wes Craven masterpiece will be left with frowning faces once they have watched this piece of trash. The main storyline comes concurrent with ANOES with few exceptions where Ramsays have tried to improve it. Ha ha, they thought they were improving the original version but we know what they came up with. If anyone of the Ramsays is reading my review then please note that by making 'Mahakal' you've only insulted yourself and not Wes Craven. Wes Craven made a masterpiece which was hellish and freaky in every sense and was packed with guts and gore. Including dance numbers and infantile comedy doesn't give 'Mahakal' an advantage over ANOES.

Archana Puran Singh who along with Navjot Singh Siddhu has been criticized by many for her meaningless laughter plays the lead part in 'Mahakal'. She often dreams of a man with long steel fangs who attacks her in dreams. Archana usually wakes up with cuts and bruises she gets during her struggle with the monster in her dreams. Her family and friends try to console her, but Archana is the destined prey of this monster who won't leave her unless she has been laid to rest forever.

I guess this part clearly coincides with the original ANOES but whatever has been trashed out apart from the above plot is clearly an additive and a foolish contribution to the original version. If they want to make a rip-off they should first learn to create an effect on the viewers. I don't say that films need a good budget to be effective. Films like 'Gehrayee', 'Raat', 'Red Rose' etc. didn't have a heavy budget but their effect can be felt till date. All you need is a good plot, good actors and expert direction. I won't recommend 'Mahakal' to anyone who has already watched the original A Nightmare On Elm Street', because 'Mahakal' is simply a comedy of errors.

This was the first Bollywood movie I've ever seen, and I have read that by Bollywood standards it's considered bad, but I got a tremendous kick out of this movie.

I rented it due to the Nightmare on Elm Street link, but I was amazed just how blatant the rip-offs are. The first half of the movie follows the original film almost exactly, even in small details. The soundtrack is a light variation of the original, but there were many scenes where it sounded like not one note had been changed.

In terms of popcorn enjoyment, this movie is delightful. There's literally something for everyone: horror, music, goofy comedy, tawdry drama. There's a little bit of gore; the only missing ingredient is nudity. The murderer is at times goofy, but he has no dialog, so the horror scenes are rarely spoiled.

Most surprising of all, Mahakaal actually has a few moments where it's genuinely good. A murder involving real cobras is very creepy, and the fact that it rips of NOES' effective soundtrack helps at times to enhance the horror. There's also a very effective musical sequence in a Disco Bar that actually helps the plot, using an interesting visual technique along with catchy music.

While no classic, Mahakaal is a must for cult movie enthusiasts. Hopefully, it's release on DVD will lead to a rediscovery.