Tahkhana: The Dungeon/Purani Haveli: The Monster Wakes (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Tulsi Ramsay, Shyam RamsayRelease Date(s)
1986/1989 (May 12, 2026)Studio(s)
Ramsay Productions (Mondo Macabro)- Film/Program Grade: See Below
- Video Grade: See Below
- Audio Grade: See Below
- Extras Grade: C+
- Overall Grade: B-
Review
[Editor’s Note: Portions of this review were originally written by Adam Jahnke.]
Tahkhana aka The Dungeon and Purani Haveli aka The Monster Wakes are two classic Bollywood horror films from the acclaimed Ramsay Bollywood Dynasty. Both these films were directed by brothers Tulsi and Shyam Ramsay, the grandmasters of Indian horror, and share a similar theme of a monster set loose in beautiful Indian mansion on lush palatial estates.
Mondo Macabro has been behind some really great international genre releases over the years and they have released some great Bollywood horror. These two, in particular, have been released previously by Mondo. The first film in this set, Tahkhana, was originally released on DVD in 2009 as part of The Bollywood Horror Collection – Volume Three (featured along with Mahakaal aka The Monster. You can read Dr. Jahnke’s original review of that release here). It was then upgraded and released on Blu-ray in the plush boxset Bollywood Horror Collection in late 2023 (which also included Aatma, Purana Mandir, Veerana and Bandh Darwaza—shamefully dropping the Nightmare on Elm Street clone Mahakaal, due to licensing issues). This is a stand-alone release representing what was originally in the boxset, as a double feature two-disc release with each film housed on its own disc. Disc one presents Tahkhana.
TAHKHANA
In a prologue, a rich, dying man cuts one of his sons, Dhurjan, out of his will for dabbling in the black arts granting the other, Raghuvir, his full estate. The old man has a secret treasure hidden in the dungeon of his estate that Dhurjan is eager to get his hands on. After abducting his young nieces Aarti and Sapna, he tries to sacrifice them to awaken a demon god. When that doesn’t work, Dhurjan winds up imprisoned for life in the dungeon and Sapna is somehow lost. Ten years later (although it looks like centuries), Dhurjan finally sacrifices himself to wake up the monster. At the same time, an adult Aarti starts her own quest to find the treasure at her grandfather’s estate. To this end, she and her boyfriend team up with a friendly local, Hera, who bears an eerie resemblance to Rambo. And yes, there will be songs and dancing.
Tahkhana represents an odd combo of adventure and horror with the expected Bollywood musical elements sprinkled in. It doesn’t quite gel and the story develops in fits and starts. Characters wander in and out of the movie seemingly at random and large chunks of the movie go by where you’re not 100% sure what the plot even is. But by Bollywood standards, the pace is relatively brisk (this one clocks in at a “lean” 125 minutes), the comic relief isn’t subtle, but it’s reigned in, and the effects are colorful. It certainly isn’t a movie for all tastes but it’s worth looking into for seekers of the unusual.
Restored in 4K using some water/humidity damaged negatives, the film looks just about as good as it ever has and ever will—which ends up with it being a watchable, colorful affair. If you’re good watching older films from regions that have somewhat lax storage standards, you’ll be fine. If you’re looking for state-of-the-art reference quality, you can forget it. Nothing is too dark; colors are bright and some of the better-preserved sequences look gorgeous. The video is presented 1080/24p at a full frame, 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Sound is a listenable Hindi DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 with English subs. It gets the job done and there are no dropouts or times where nothing can be heard. Extras are light for this one. All you get is an optional intro from the box set entitled Bollywood Nightmares with Weng’s Chop Magazine’s Bollywood Horror expert Tim Paxton giving a more focused than normal overview of the film and some Bollywood history.
TAHKHANA (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO/EXTRAS): C/B+/B+/C
PURANI HAVELI
A young couple stop off in what they think is an abandoned mansion in the middle of a lush landscape. Once asleep, a beastly roar echoes through the night. While investigating the sound, the man is attacked by a monster that is a cross between the Bigfoot from Six Million Dollar Man and Rob Zombie. His dying screams wake his wife and she rushes to his side only to find her husband dead and her quickly joining him. In comes an old, disheveled man who traps the monster in the dungeon, with the latch quickly chained up and a crucifix pushed on top as a lock. Meanwhile, in Mumbai, Kumar, a slick businessman and his wife are controlling the estate of their orphaned niece Anita who wants to run off with her photographer boyfriend Sunil, who instead has been promised to her aunt’s slimy brother Vikram. Kumar is in the process of pulling a real estate scam on Anita claiming to be buying her an estate to live on, instead, planning to turn it into a museum. During the process of reviewing the estate he just bought, we learn this is the same mansion from the beginning of the film and everyone: the broker, a handyman fixing up the place and Kumar are murdered. Some by the monster’s proxy—a demonic iron armored statue and Kumar being trapped in a graveyard by a ring of fire before being sucked into the ground.
This is all in the first 20 or so minutes of a 146 runtime. What follows is Vikram forcing himself on Anita, a picnic excursion to the mansion, an extended comic relief side story focused on long separated twins Mangu and Gangu, one a goofball friend of Anita’s, the other a rebel leader of a militia, and of course the monster’s backstory and his ties to the old man, which isn’t quite what you expect. Oh, and yes, there is song and dance. This is a smorgasbord of classic Indian cinema. A few beats better than Tahkhana, but not the best of the Ramsay library. Fans of Bollywood horror or even genre films in general will get a kick out of it and it could make for a fun Halloween watch if you’re one for scary movie marathons.
Like Tahkhana, Purani Haveli is housed on its own disc, fully restored in 4K. The negatives aren’t as damaged as Tahkhana, but there are some rough patches here and there. Again, you’ll find that this looks as good as it ever will. I didn’t have any issues, so unless you need crystal clarity 100% of your viewing time, this is an enjoyable watch. Video is 1080/24p at a full frame, 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Sound is in Hindi DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 with English subs and it sounds like an old Bollywood movie, nothing more, nothing less. Extras include the optional Bollywood Nightmares intro with Tim Paxton giving some context about why Christian symbols would work on a monster living in a largely Hindu culture and introduces us to a violent kids movie starring a yeti I wish to see. There is also a trailer for the film.
PURANI HAVELI (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO/EXTRAS): C+/B+/B+/C+
If you weren’t able to pick up the now sold-out Bollywood Horror Collection boxset, picking these up on their own is a great deal. Also available are Aatma (review here), Purana Mandir and Veerana. Bandh Darwaza, was also in that set, but it contained all the boxset extras with the film presented in SD due to the original source materials being too damaged to restore, so it has not been released on its own yet.
- Todd Doogan