Woh Kaun Thi?
| Woh Kaun Thi? | |
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Original poster
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| Directed by | Raj Khosla |
| Written by | Dhruva Chatterjee |
| Starring | Sadhana Shivdasani Manoj Kumar K.N. Singh Helen Prem Chopra |
| Music by | Madan Mohan |
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Release dates
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1964 |
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Running time
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140 min. |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Woh Kaun Thi? (Hindi: वो कौन थी, Who Was She?) is a 1964 black-and-white psychological mystery film directed by Raj Khosla, starring Sadhana Shivdasani, Manoj Kumar and Prem Chopra. Though the screenplay was written by Dhruva Chatterjee, parts were later rewritten, wherein Manoj Kumar took an active role. Music by Madan Mohan was the asset of this movie. The film became a hit at the box office.[1] Its success had Khosla directing Sadhana in two more suspense thrillers: Mera Saaya (1966) and Anita (1967 film).
Plot
On a rainy night, the highly reputed Dr. Anand is driving. He sees a woman standing in the road and gives her a lift. She introduces herself as Sandhya. As soon as she steps in the car, the wipers eerily stop working. He's even more spooked when the lady shows him the way when it isn't visible and guides him outside a cemetery. On reaching the cemetery, the gates open automatically and he hears someone sing the words “Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim”.
Dr. Anand is about to inherit a large fortune from a distant relative under the condition that he is perfectly mentally stable--otherwise he would not inherit the property as there had already been cases of mental instability in his family in the past. His colleague, Dr. Lata loves Dr. Anand but he already has a girlfriend, Seema. Mystery unfolds when Seema is killed by a cyanide injection and the suspects are Dr. Lata and her father, Dr. Singh, the head doctor of the hospital in which Anand and Lata work.
On a stormy night, Anand is called to a dilapidated mansion on an emergency case. There, he comes to know that the patient has already died. He is surprised to see that the patient is Sandhya. Some policemen tell him that the place has been deserted for a while and that it is rumored to be haunted. The policemen inform him that what he saw in the mansion happened years ago and many a doctor have registered similar cases with the police on rainy nights. On another occasion, he sees a newspaper which says that Sandhya died in a rail accident.
Anand is very unhappy after his girlfriend’s demise but his marriage is fixed to a girl Anand’s mother has never even seen, but was recommended by her sister. On the wedding night, Anand is shocked to see that it's Sandhya. He starts avoiding her. One day, he sees that she has painted the same bungalow in which he was called on that rainy night. Just after that, he hears her singing a part of “Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim." Another evening, he sees an unmanned boat sailing in the lake and hears another part of “Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim." Yet another night, Sandhya reaches Anand’s hospital and tries to impress him with her beauty and singing. He gets impressed and they sit in the car, where he gets déjà vu as again the wipers stop working and she can clearly see the way in the stormy and foggy night. He takes her to the bungalow and to the room where he had seen her dead and she disappears. When he reaches home, she is waiting for him and his mother says that she never left the house.
Anand is finally successful in persuading his mother to let Sandhya go back to her home by train. The next day, he comes to know that the train got into an accident, but he saw her on the terrace that same night. All these things take a toll on his mental health and he is advised to take some rest in Shimla. There, he meets a monk on a hilltop who tells him that 100 years ago at this very spot, a boy and a girl were romancing when the girl fell and died. Since then, her spirit has been roaming, waiting for her lover to return, who has been reincarnated in Anand’s form. Anand then sees Sandhya far down the hillside and she sings the last part of “Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim”. Persuaded, Anand jumps, but is saved by Lata. Later, when Anand sees Sandhya trying to lure him out, he follows her to the same old bungalow, where he sees Sandhya on the stairway in one moment and then impossibly beside him in another.
She lures him to the roof, where suddenly he sees a duplicate of Sandhya. The duplicate shouts that she is the real Sandhya but she is gagged and taken away. Strengthened by this sudden revelation, Anand realizes this woman is not a ghost and confronts her, but she accidentally falls down and dies. Then comes Ramesh, Anand’s cousin. He reveals that this was his plan so that Anand is termed as mentally unstable and that his entire inheritance would pass to the next cousin: Ramesh. A duel follows and the police arrive. The other woman was Sandhya’s twin, of whom Sandhya didn’t know, but Ramesh came to know by chance. Sandhya’s parents had separated them years ago when her father took away the other girl. He died, and she was forced to adopt unfair means for her living. The “Sandhya” who had lured him in the hospital was this other girl. This explains Sandhya’s presence at 2 places at the same time. Hence, the mystery is solved and at the end of the film Sandhya and Anand hug.
Cast
- Manoj Kumar as Dr. Anand
- Sadhana as Sandhya
- Helen as Seema, Anand's dead girlfriend
- Prem Chopra as Dr. Ramesh, a co-worker of Anand and his distant cousin.
- Parveen Chaudhary as Dr. lata, a coworker of Anand.
- K. N. Singh as Dr Singh, Anand's boss and Lata's father.
- Mohan Choti as Sher Singh, servant of the Simla quarters.
- Dhumal as Madhav, the new servant in Anand's home.
Remakes
- The film was remade into Tamil as Yaar Nee? by Sathyam (1966) with Jaishankar and J.Jayalalithaa (who later became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu).
- J.Jayalalithaa also starred in the Telugu remake Aame Evaru? (1966 film) with Kongara Jaggayya.
Music
The music composer for this film was Madan Mohan and its famous songs were penned by lyricist Raja Mehdi Ali Khan.
| Sr.No. | Song | Singer(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Lag Jaa Gale Ki Phir Ye Haseen Raat Ho Na Ho" | Lata Mangeshkar | Believed to be the best song of Lata-Madan Mohan combination; Features in Lata's own collection of her favorite songs |
| 2 | "Naina Barase Rimjhim Rimjhim" | Lata Mangeshkar | Appears several times in the movie; Since Lata couldn't travel at the time of recording, Madan Mohan sang this song for shooting purpose, himself and Sadhana lipsynched it during the shooting. That piece of his song is available on his CD Legends produced by HMV. |
| 3 | "Jo Hamne Daastaan Apnee Sunaaee Aap Kyoon Roye" | Lata Mangeshkar | A ghazal song |
| 4 | "Shokh Nazar Kee Bijailiyaan Dil Pe Mere Giraaye Jaa" | Asha Bhosle | |
| 5 | "Chhod Kar Tere Pyaar Kaa Daaman Ye Bataa De Ki Ham Kidhar Jaayein" | Lata Mangeshkar & Mahendra Kapoor | Picturized on Helen & Manoj Kumar |
| 6 | "Tiki Riki Tiki Riki Takori" | Asha Bhonsle & Mohammed Rafi | A peppy song with twist dance form. |
The music became very famous and it was also nominated for the Filmfare award that year.
Awards and nominations
- Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award for Black & White Film
- Filmfare Nomination for Best Actress-Sadhana (actress)
- Filmfare Nomination for Best Music Director-Madan Mohan[2]
