In our cinema, mostly love stories have been made or the audience gets to see films glorifying the hero. But in Hindi and other Indian films, different types of experiments also keep happening with the stories from time to time. Sometimes stories based on real life inspire films and sometimes films based on folklore have also been made. In the last few years, the audience has seen many such films, among these films ‘Stree’ and ‘Stree 2’ got the most discussion. But do you know that even before Stree 2, several films based on folklore were made in India? Have a look at some of them here.
Laila-Majnu
The film ‘Laila-Majnu’ was released in the year 1976 and was remade in 2018 but the film did not work at that time. This year the film was re-released and it achieved the desired success at the box office. The audience praised the story and songs of this film. Triptii Dimri in the lead role of Laila and Avinash Tiwari in the role of Majnu received a lot of praise for their excellent acting in the film. This film was also based on a popular folk tale of Laila Majnu. This film was just shown according to the new times. Director Sajid Ali made the film with great intensity, while his brother Imtiaz Ali did the writing and screenplay.
Paheli
When Shah Rukh Khan’s name comes up, only his romantic style comes to mind, but in the film ‘Paheli’ (2005) he played the role of a ghost. This film was based on traditional folklore, in which a ghost falls in love with the wife of a businessman, so he takes the form of the businessman and starts living with his wife. Shahrukh played both the roles of the businessman and the ghost, while Rani Mukherjee played the role of the wife. This film did not get a big success at the box office, but it was a new experience for the audience to see Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee in completely different characters. The film was directed by renowned actor Amol Palekar.
Tumbbad
‘Tumbbad’ (2019), directed by Rahil Anil Brave and starring Sohum Shah, is a horror film that combines mythology and terror and tells the story of a man who finds a hidden treasure in his ancestral home in Maharashtra. A curse on his family and village is released by the wealth.
Munjya
The film ‘Munjya’ also caught the attention of the audience this year, this film did well at the box office and the film proved to be a hit. The story of this film was inspired by the folktale of Munjya prevalent in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. According to this folktale of Konkan, if a small boy whose head is shaved dies within 10 days, then he becomes a ghost forever and starts living on a peepal tree. The film had a tadka of comedy along with horror, so the audience liked this film very much. The director of this film is Aditya Sarpotdar, who belongs to the Konkan region, he heard the folktale of Munjaya a lot in his childhood, so it was quite easy for him to tell this story.
Kantara
The Kannada film ‘Kantara’ released in 2022 was liked all over the country. It is an action thriller film, but the story was woven into this film by adding rural life, environmental conservation and the influence of folk deities. In the film ‘Kantara’, a festival of folk deities, Bhuta Kola, was also shown very beautifully. When the audience saw this form of folk deities, a spiritual energy was infused within them. This is the reason why the film received a lot of praise from across the country apart from the Kannada-speaking audience. Rishab Shetty wrote, directed and played the main character in this film. He was able to do all these three things very well because he has a deep attachment to his culture and folklore. Soon the second part of this film will also be released.
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