Madhumati (1957)

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One of the better contributions to the popular Indian genre of the ghost story, Madhumati tells the story of two young lovers denied by death but not by fate. Devendra, a middle-aged man, takes shelter during a storm in an old house where he sees the ghost of a woman. This prompts him to relate the… More One of the better contributions to the popular Indian genre of the ghost story, Madhumati tells the story of two young lovers denied by death but not by fate. Devendra, a middle-aged man, takes shelter during a storm in an old house where he sees the ghost of a woman. This prompts him to relate the story of Anand and Madhumati to his traveling companions and sets up the narrative's framing device. Anand is a painter who falls in love with Madhumati, but bad blood separates the family Anand works for and Madhumati's family. Sent away by his deceitful boss, Anand returns to discover that Madhumati has disappeared. Anand and her father search for her only to discover she has been kidnapped by Anand's boss. In the confrontation that follows, Anand is beat within an inch of his life. After recovering, he again wanders the countryside where he first met Madhumati. Here he meets another young woman, who resembles Madhumati in every way. Confused and withdrawn, he begins to believe that the two are one and the same and hatches a plan to catch his boss in a trap. What follows blurs the lines between reality and the supernatural as Madhumati comes back from the grave to accuse her killer and rescue her beloved. ~ Brian Whitener, Rovi