Nehruvian Ghosts: Kamal Amrohi’s Film, Mahal (1949)

Abstract

The Nehruvian era has been seen as marked by the focus on sovereign human agents, no longer dependent on non-humans and their powers to achieve self-defined goals. This reinforced the distinction between humans and their others, notably ghosts and otherworldly creatures. However, this article argues, this exorcism was less successful than often assumed. A close reading of the film Mahal (directed by Kamal Amrohi in 1949) shows that ghosts were not only present at a narrative level, but also continued to establish their presence, right at the centre of the modern medium of the film and amongst filmmakers committed to the Nehruvian project.