Reincarnation In Films | Part 02 | Under Lens

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud blended the element of eternal revenge so well that many films followed the suit in coming years.

Reincarnation of Peter Proud was a story of a man troubled by his visions from his past life where he was killed by his wife. Taking a cue out of it, Subhash Ghai made Karz which will be long remembered as the most popular film about reincarnation. Ravi is killed by his wife Kamini. He takes another birth as Monty and takes revenge the way it should have been taken. Haunting theme music became the recurring element. It inspired films like Enakkul Oruvan, Yuga Purush and Om Shanti Om. Success and popularity of Karz can be gauged by the facts that many film titles were based on blockbuster music of this film.

In 80s and 90s, many films were woven around reincarnation. In India, films like Karan Arjun, Suryavanshi, Hameshaa etc. and in west films like Déjà vu, Made In Heaven etc. were made. Keeping aside BO collections, content wise nothing notable was introduced. New ideas and better technology literally meant a closure for a dated idea. Then came films like Cloud Atlas and Eega. Their technical brilliance is one thing and content driven plot is another. These films worked and got critical acclaim as well. Especially Cloud Atlas which involved karma and reincarnation with such a brilliance that even sages from ancient India would feel proud. Though in between some good films came but they failed to move on from the oft repeated ideas and plots.

The idea of rebirth is so natural to human that despite of logical failure and absence of concrete evidence, it remained one of the most popular formulas of filmmaking.

Reincarnation In Films | Part 01 | Under Lens

Films, like religions, across the globe are fascinated by the idea of reincarnation. Though West feels detached from the idea, East is simply enamored with it. However there are enough reference in popular culture across the boundaries that we can assume that every culture, in a way or other, has shown some interest in the idea. From Mark Twain and Edgar A. Poe to Anthony Horowitz, literature explored the idea. In a similar fashion, films toyed around the idea in great detail.

In silent era, cinema was highly influenced by folklore and fantasy stories. Though reincarnation was not as popular as morphing as an idea, it was still pretty much valued. Especially in Indian films which were woven around Indian Mythology. Stories of Nala Damyanti, Harishchandra, Vishnu Avatars etc. were huge resources incorporated the idea of reincarnation in Hindu scriptures. These stories became very popular among masses and even caught the imagination of West. West, however, didn’t explored this concept in great detail despite of having it as a recurring theme in Greek and Roman mythology. There are certain lost films in which characters died to take rebirth or transformation into an animal. These ideas were rarely detailed beyond a point. Europe was exploring abstract which had great influence on story telling in coming years.

With Sound and then Color Era, the idea of Reincarnation went a step ahead and beyond mythology. Films like Mahal and Madhumati became big hits. In sixties, Neel Kamal and Milan followed the trend in India. The Three Lives of Thomasina and Patton too had strong references of rebirth. Around this time, films were more romantic and the element of eternal love was put forth. It worked well with the audience. But more was in store for them.

Love stories were fading away and changes were challenging them.