Earlier this year I had reviewed the classic movie Mahal. It was a trendsetter in the horror suspense genre. As expected, after Mahal, there came many imitations. Ek Paheli is one such movie. While it does not involve an old mansion, it has a beautiful and mysterious woman who visits the hero and sings sad songs. The hero is mesmerised by her presence and longs to be with her. The attempt was good but the film falters in delivering to the expectations. Naresh Kumar is the director with Feroz Khan and Tanuja in the lead roles.

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The Plot

Ek Paheli is set in Goa and begins with a mysterious scene. We see an auctioneer shop D’Silva and Sons in Panjim. The owner D’Silva (B M Vyas) is sitting outside the shop when a girl (Tanuja) arrives. She has heard there is a piano being sold and requests to have a look. He agrees. She goes in, sits and starts playing the piano. Later, the owner goes inside to find the shop empty. He looks everywhere but the girl has vanished. He is totally puzzled. The titles roll in.

Its time for the hero’s entry. Foreign educated Dr. Sudhir has returned to Goa. He is a millionaire, and a mine owner. The welcome party at the airport includes his employees Rajendranath (Rocky) and Lily (Tuntun). The presence of the two means there will be a comedy side plot. Sudhir is happy with the welcome. Outside the airport we see a sinister looking man Shankarlal (Madan Puri) smoking a pipe. He observes as Sudhir drives away in his flashy sports car. (It is later disclosed that Shankarlal was Sudhir’s father’s business associate but the father had terminated their association.)

Sudhir arrives home (its a brand new bungalow), and is welcomed by a very old looking servant John (Bipin Gupta), who has served the family for 40 years. Sudhir’s father has passed away and apparently he doesn’t have any close relations. It is mentioned that Shankarlal is staying in their old bungalow (the reason is not elaborated). Rocky tells Sudhir he is arranging a big party and planning is in full swing. Sudhir looks around the house. He finds out there is a church and graveyard right next to it and is a bit uncomfortable. But Rocky and John assure him in their own ways. Sudhir notices a vacant space. He decides it’s perfect to place a piano there. Apparently, he is fond of music.

So he participates in a piano auction in the same shop of Mr D’Silva that was shown at the beginning of the movie. Seems it’s the same piano that the mysterious girl was interested in. Another potential customer called Julie gives him tough competition but he outbids her and purchases the piano for 700 rupees.

As he is leaving, the mysterious girl meets him. She tells him he is a good man and she is happy he has purchased the piano. Apparently, she is interested in the piano and knows much about it. She mentions it has a faulty reel and requests him to get it repaired from a good technician. He invites her to come over and fix it herself. She is happy at the suggestion. She goes to his house, repairs it, and requests him not to allow any one else to play it except himself. He agrees and welcomes her to come and play the piano anytime she wishes to do so. She is ecstatic and thanks him.

He asks her name and she replies cryptically, singing Aansoo ki ek boond hoon main (I am a tear drop). Why does she sing the sad song? We don’t know as Rocky enters with a list of party guests and invitation cards. Sudhir takes a card for inviting the girl but when he turns, the girl has vanished. He is left puzzled.

Its party time. The guests arrive including Shankarlal and Julie (the girl at the auction). Julie mentions that a girl had requested her not to purchase the piano and is happy that Sudhir outbid her. (But who was that girl? why did Julie agree? is not revealed). Sudhir is in a jolly mood. He requests Julie to play the piano. She is about to play when the church bells start ringing indicating a funeral is underway. She excuses herself but Sudhir and Shankarlal coax her to play. She does so but the atmosphere suddenly changes. There is thunder, lightning, and a fierce wind accompanying the melody of the piano. The lights go off. Julie drops dead, shocking everyone in the party. The mysterious girl had requested only Sudhir to play the piano. Is there any connection with this event?

Shankarlal points out the inauspicious occurrence to Sudhir. Sudhir is shaken. He goes to the police station. The inspector is Sanjeev Kumar in a guest appearance. Sudhir is informed that Julie died due to a heart failure. Sudhir goes to her funeral and meets her family. As he is leaving, he sees the mysterious girl appearing in mourning attire. She again makes some cryptic comments regarding life and death and goes to pay her respects. When she is back, she is a changed girl. Suddenly all chirpy and full of life. She requests Sudhir to drop her at her school. So, she is a school student (aged 19 or 20!). (Why a student will arrive at a stranger’s funeral is another puzzle!).

Later, that night, the girl is back in Sudhir’s house. Its past midnight. She starts playing the piano and singing the same song about being a tear drop. Sudhir wakes up and rushes to find her engrossed in the song. After more puzzling conversation, he asks her name and intention. She reveals her name as Maria and she likes to be secretive to avoid people seeing them together as this will impact his reputation. (Noble thought!). Sudhir seems to believe everything. He is impressed and asks her to have some coffee and sends for John. But the girl vanishes as Sudhir switches on the light and hears John approaching.

Sudhir is puzzled as John has not seen the girl or heard her singing. John admonishes Sudhir for acting strangely. Sudhir gets irritated and shouts at him. Apparently, John was awarded some shares by Sudhir’s father. Sudhir insults him and reminds him that he is a servant and he shouldn’t forget that.

Rocky takes Sudhir on a tour of his property. Sudhir sees Maria suddenly and follows her. She is singing another song Main ek paheli hoon, barson se akeli hoon. As the song ends she enters a graveyard and he meets her. She tells him that she comes here often after school. She loves the peace and silence. He expresses his desire to spend his life with her but she cautions him. Their religions are different and they need to maintain their dignity. He doesn’t agree but she gives an example of his servant John, who would not accept her relation with his master. He admits his love but she leaves hurriedly.

When Sudhir returns home, he finds John has been murdered. Shankarlal arrives, playing the role of Sudhir’s well wisher. He reminds Sudhir that this is the second death in his house. He offers all help and guidance to Sudhir. He feels that some business rivals may be involved in this matter. He even suggests Sudhir to wrap up his business and leave for good but Sudhir does not agree. He needs to sort the matter at hand.

They go to the police. They are informed that John was killed by injecting a syringe filled with air. Its good to see that the police have done a lot of homework! They treat Sudhir as the prime suspect as he had a fight with John last night and seems John was entitled for a significant amount from Sudhir’s business profits.

Shankarlal goes with Sudhir to his office. We see him planting the (murder weapon) syringe in Sudhir’s drawer. So Shankarlal is the villain of the piece. He wants to lay hands on Sudhir’s business. But Sudhir is saved when Lily finds the syringe and informs Rocky. Thew throw the evidence in the sea. Sudhir is not amused.

The saga continues as Shankarlal tries to trap Sudhir. He also uses his secretary Rosy (Aruna Irani) for the job. Sudhir mistakens Rosy for Maria due to similarity in their figure and dressing styles. Shankarlal plots to have Rosy impersonate Maria, fool Sudhir and kill him in an accident.

Will they be successful? Sudhir is in love with Maria but she remains a puzzle. Will she reveal everything? Will they unite in love?

The Music

Asad Bhopali is the lyricist and music by Usha Khanna. The title song Main ek paheli hoon and Aansoo ki ek boond hoon are the better songs. Then there is Ab To Aaja Dhalne Laage Hai. All 3 solos are by Suman Kalyanpur.

There is a romantic duet by Mohammed Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur, “Mera Tumhara Saath Toh Sadiyo Ka Saath Hai.” There are 2 unnecessary songs, a long duet picturized on the comedy pair “Oh Darling I Love You” (by Mohammed Rafi and Usha Khanna) and a seductive song by Aruna Irani “Ye Raat Ye Jawani, Ye Botal Sharab Ki” (sung by Suman Kalyanpur). Overall, the music is repetitive and doesn’t have much recall value.

My Thoughts

The film engrosses you initially. Tanuja looks beautiful and plays the mysterious Christian girl convincingly. She looks the part but it is difficult to imagine her as a school girl. They could have mentioned she was in college suiting her age and attire. Her performance is controlled as most of her scenes require her to be in a sad mood, talk in puzzles and not display other emotions. Feroz Khan looks handsome and dashing but that’s about it.

The suspense build up in the first hour is good as you anticipate a certain twist but that doesn’t happen. After the villain is revealed, the film gets boring. You just hope it to end soon. There are many loopholes and red herrings just to keep the viewer’s attention. But when the final reveal happens, it all sounds silly. The comedy side plot is long and boring. Rajendranath is funny but again, it adds nothing to the story when it becomes repetitive. Other characters are predictable. Sanjeev Kumar is wasted. The film has a 60s feel and its nice to see Goa on screen with much of its natural splendor.

In summary, this one is no Mahal and that’s not a puzzle.