Dahshat (1981)

Why so much hype?

Very Cool!!!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Movie release year and my birth year...both were same...so this is second best my life time favourite after darwaza...Navin Nischol was so dashing in the movie, I simply cant understant why people were so mad for amitabh bacchan only...the story was brilliant specially at that time...Om shivpuri was awasome...sarika was cute...and hats off to ramsays...this one was a kind of science fiction horror movie and to make this kind of movie in india specially way back in 80's was a work of extreme guts...and this is what ramsays were...

In spite of the cheesy special effects and some over the top histrionics, I found this movie to be quite engaging and entertaining in its entirety. I judge a movie on two merits---- its ability to entertain, and its potential to educate, and I felt "Dahshat" delivered on both counts. It is the Gothic story of a scientist/doctor obsessed with acquiring animal traits and powers, ending in tragic and disastrous consequences. I would commend the famous Ramsay Brothers on writing, directing and producing movies that were off the beaten path, and for charting new and unexplored territories in terms of Hindi cinema. The atmosphere, lighting,outdoors shots and palatial mansions depicted as well as the vintage cars all contributed to the eerie and disturbingly claustrophobic feel that perfectly complemented the script. I mean, we get to see Om Shivpuri handle an enormous LIVE BAT in his hands and dip it in some sort of a solution, along with myriad shots of monitor lizards, owls, sloths, venomous snakes and boas, and what appeared o be a very sad and demented lemur nailed to a wall! That in itself is worth the price of the ticket! I cannot recall a single movie, Hindi or Hollywood or otherwise, where live animals were used for these graphic experiments depicted. It certainly goes to the director and producer's credit to have incorporated such realism in the movie. The transformation sequences regarding Dr. Vishal were quite good too. Honestly, some of the recent movies have more cheesy graphics than what Ramsay Brothers portrayed back in the early 80s! It was a pleasure to see a slim and fit Indian heroine for once in Sarika, a rare commodity in the long line of overweight/obese Indian heroines in skimpy outfits showing more blubber than skin. Not a bad watch for some light entertainment and re-visiting the nostalgic Hindi Gothic horror of the early 80s.

Dahshat was released in 1981, when I didn't really know the meaning of horror films. I saw it in 2004 and now own a VCD to keep it close to my heart. When I watched it for the first time, I felt sad about Om Shivpuri, who despite being a multi-dimensional actor usually remained underrated during his spell. He was mostly seen in Mithun Chakraborty's over-hyped movies where his roles mostly remained unnoticed.Dahshat cuts straight to the point very soon. We meet Dr. Sameer (Navin Nischal) who has just landed to his native place Chandan Nagar after finishing his medical studies in Russia. He is assisted by an 'Ass Clown' Dr. Bakshi (Rajindernath), a vet by profession but looks a close relative of a roadside juggler. Sameer is welcomed by his family and is greeted by his childhood crush Kiran (Sarika), with whom he soon gets romantically entangled.Sameer comes to know of a horrible secret and terror that anonymously lies in the propinquity. It seems a grave robber is digging up graves for some reason and is stealing the cadavers. Sameer decides to look into the issue and soon meets success after a heavy affaire d'honneur. The grave-digger is a grotesque mute man (Dev Kumar), who is soon arrested by the Police. Sameer somehow traces the hideout of mute man. It's Dr. Vishal's house. Dr. Vishal (Om Shivpuri) is an unfaithful husband, who frequently gets into run-ins with his drunkard wife Mrs. Vishal (Nadira). Sameer (with Kiran) gets inside the mansion and finds a laboratory full of several live caged animals awaiting shady consequences. Dr. Vishal goes red with anger when he finds Sameer in his lab. Sameer however wins Dr. Vishal's favor by making one of his dead apparatus work.Sameer discovers that Dr. Vishal is working on animal attributes and wants to assimilate their abilities in human body so as to make his dream of making a superhuman come true. Sameer warns Dr. Vishal not to mess with the nature but Dr. Vishal scoffs at Sameer's trivial talks. One night Mrs. Vishal finds Vishal seducing his kept woman. Enraged, Mrs. Vishal injects a deadly animal serum into Vishal's body, and its at this point the real horror starts. Certain questions remain:1. What happened to Dr. Vishal? 2. What were the grave digger's intentions? 3. Were the grave digger and Dr. Vishal associated in some ways?Navin Nischal has acted well and so has Sarika (I think that's what she did, ranted like a crybaby till the end), Rajindernath, no comments please, Nadira, with the look of a historic vamp on her face has performed to her finest limits, and above all Om Shivpuri, who is the core attraction in the movie and has lived up to everyone's expectations. Although Om Shivpuri's part has similar elements from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde plot, but its the storyline that makes the film pristine. A must watch flick for all the ardent Bollywood B-Movie fanatics.

Let me say this right off the bat...Dahshat is one of the best Indian horror films I have seen. And I don't mean this in the campy sense, this is one genuinely brilliant movie. Of course one suspects that the Ramsays may have ripped the storyline lock stock and barrel from some other source, but even then I give them kudos for having presented it in a compelling unsullied form.The plot is a fine reworking of Jekyll and Hyde. The hero Dr. Samir (Navin Nischol) comes to his hometown after a gap of many years to find that it has become a gloomy sepulchral place with people afraid to move out after dark and rumors of corpses escaping their graves. Determined to investigate, he discovers a towering hooded grave-robber and a scuffle ensues. This quickly leads to a mob chase in which the dastardly fellow is apprehended. Although nothing can be got out of the fellow who is a mute, Samir's suspicions lead him to the door of the local physician Dr. Vishal.Dr. Vishal (Om Shivpuri) is a straight port of a Victorian era medical man / scientist complete with frock coat and bow-tie. This Jekyll is dabbling in research to make man "complete" by imbuing him with the heightened sense attributes of various animals. While not inherently vicious,Vishal is an overzealous investigator, not averse to trying out his new researches on patients without their knowledge and consent. He is also an unsatisfied and unfaithful husband to a drunk crone (harangue queen Nadira) with whom he has frequent showdowns. It is during one of these showdowns that the vengeful wife injects him with his prepared serum, which has the effect of converting him into an animal. Thus ensues a saga of horror in which Vishal is forced at various instances to convert to a grotesque hybrid animal form with murderous consequences.The main strength of Dahshat is the absolutely cracking lifetime performance by Om Shivpuri. This is a brilliant portrayal of the mad doctor archetype, which skilfully avoids the ham trap that such roles fall into, and even it's most grotesque moments holds your sympathies for the character. Nadira as the alcoholic wife of the deranged scientist lends great support. The other and equally notable aspect is that apart from a couple of songs and some footage devoted to the idiotic antics of comedian Rajendranath, almost every scene in this movie is propelling the narrative onward at a frantic pace. It also helps that the story provides plausible motive for all the murders the monster commits and not just aimless boob-groping of assorted extras; this is first-rate stuff. The film also has a lot of atmosphere, although some of its location shifts can be confusing. The visual FX are a mixed bag but one admires that the make-up concepts are grounded in the story.On the whole, Dahshat is a terrific achievement of Hammer-style horror by the Ramsays and one of the few films that lends substance to their reputation as this country's answer to Hammer.