Woh Kaun Thi?

Plot synopsis:
On a rainy night, the highly reputed Dr. Anand is driving. He sees a woman standing in the road and gives her a lift. She introduces herself as Sandhya. As soon as she steps in the car, the wipers eerily stop working. He's even more spooked when the lady shows him the way when it isn't visible and guides him outside a cemetery. On reaching the cemetery, the gates open automatically and he hears someone sing the words “Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim”.
Dr. Anand is about to inherit a large fortune from a distant relative under the condition that he is perfectly mentally stable—otherwise he would not inherit the property as there had already been cases of mental instability in his family in the past. His colleague, Dr. Lata loves Dr. Anand but he already has a girlfriend, Seema. Mystery unfolds when Seema is killed by a cyanide injection and the suspects are Dr. Lata and her father, Dr. Singh, the head doctor of the hospital in which Anand and Lata work.
On a stormy night, Anand is called to a dilapidated mansion on an emergency case. There, he comes to know that the patient has already died. He is surprised to see that the patient is Sandhya. Some policemen tell him that the place has been deserted for a while and that it is rumored to be haunted. The policemen inform him that what he saw in the mansion happened years ago and many a doctor have registered similar cases with the police on rainy nights. On another occasion, he sees a newspaper which says that Sandhya died in a rail accident.
Anand is very unhappy after his girlfriend’s demise but his marriage is fixed to a girl Anand’s mother has never even seen, but was recommended by her sister. On the wedding night, Anand is shocked to see that it's Sandhya. He starts avoiding her. One day, he sees that she has painted the same bungalow in which he was called on that rainy night. Just after that, he hears her singing a part of “Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim." Another evening, he sees an unmanned boat sailing in the lake and hears another part of “Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim." Yet another night, Sandhya reaches Anand’s hospital and tries to impress him with her beauty and singing. He gets impressed and they sit in the car, where he gets déjà vu as again the wipers stop working and she can clearly see the way in the stormy and foggy night. He takes her to the bungalow and to the room where he had seen her dead and she disappears. When he reaches home, she is waiting for him and his mother says that she never left the house.
Anand is finally successful in persuading his mother to let Sandhya go back to her home by train. The next day, he comes to know that the train got into an accident, but he saw her on the terrace that same night. All these things take a toll on his mental health and he is advised to take some rest in Shimla. There, he meets a monk on a hilltop who tells him that 100 years ago at this very spot, a boy and a girl were romancing when the girl fell and died. Since then, her spirit has been roaming, waiting for her lover to return, who has been reincarnated in Anand’s form. Anand then sees Sandhya far down the hillside and she sings the last part of “Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim”. Persuaded, Anand jumps, but is saved by Lata. Later, when Anand sees Sandhya trying to lure him out, he follows her to the same old bungalow, where he sees Sandhya on the stairway in one moment and then impossibly beside him in another.
She lures him to the roof, where suddenly he sees a duplicate of Sandhya. The duplicate shouts that she is the real Sandhya but she is gagged and taken away. Strengthened by this sudden revelation, Anand realizes this woman is not a ghost and confronts her, but she accidentally falls down and dies. Then comes Ramesh, Anand’s cousin. He reveals that this was his plan so that Anand is termed as mentally unstable and that his entire inheritance would pass to the next cousin: Ramesh. A duel follows and the police arrive. The other woman was Sandhya’s twin, of whom Sandhya didn’t know, but Ramesh came to know by chance. Sandhya’s parents had separated them years ago when her father took away the other girl. He died, and she was forced to adopt unfair means for her living. The “Sandhya” who had lured him in the hospital was this other girl. This explains Sandhya’s presence at 2 places at the same time. Hence, the mystery is solved and at the end of the film Sandhya and Anand hug.

Tags: suspenseful, murder, romantic

Review:
Watch the film to find out.
is the first out of three Raj Khosla-directed thrillers starring Sadhana in the lead, the other two being Mera Saaya (1965) and Anita (1967).
Actually, all three films have similar concepts and are all successful, although Mera Saaya is my favourite.
The movie starts on one rainy night when Manoj Kumar's Dr. Anand while driving home meets a young, serious and awkward woman, whose image will chase him for a long time to come.
The movie is high on suspense, and Raj Khosla handles everything very well.
The script is tense, interesting and twisted, at times so much that there isn't a possible solution one would offer.
The writers try to lead the audience to one particular prediction, but the movie is still highly unpredictable.
I liked many of the film's scenes.
The movie is aided by some melodious songs composed by Madan Mohan and sung by Lata Mangeshkar, it is technically well done and is generally well cast.
While Manoj Kumar does well and is pretty decent as the confused guy, it is expectedly Sadhana who dominates this show with her beauty and ambiguity, successfully creating a mysterious, eerie character.
The climax actually turns into an anticlimax which reveals all the secrets in one hit and is a bit too direct for my liking.
I just felt everything was uncovered because there was no other way around.
Clearly, the writers wanted to keep the mystery for as long as they could and then throw everything into one scene which clarifies it all within two minutes.
But even then they failed to answer some substantial questions like how the car's wipers stopped and how Sadhana found the way visible through the car's front windowpane while the guy could not.
This is a major plot hole and I wonder how the makers did not notice that.
Anyway, Woh Kaun Thi?
Anyway, Woh Kaun Thi?
is still a memorable Raj Khosla thriller which was quite good for its time and is still worth watching today..
Sadhana at her mysterious best.
On a rainy night, a doctor on his way back home meets a white sari clad girl.
He offers her a lift and as soon as she steps in the car wipers cease working.He's even more spooked when the lady tells him she knows the way and guides him outside a cemetery.
Enroute when he notices her hand is bleeding, she tells him "Mujhe khoon achcha lagta hai" (I like blood) A while later a distraught father stops his car begging him to save his daughter's life.
He follows the man and comes to a manor-like house, but unfortunately the girl in question is already dead.
He is surprised to see her, she being the same who he just dropped off at a cemetery a while ago.
When he goes back,he encounters some policemen who tell him that the place is deserted and no-one has been living there for a while now.
Thus starts off the promising premise of Woh Kaun Thi,a wonderful whodunit by Raj Khosla aided by some great music by Madan Mohan.
Sadhana never looked more enticing (check her out in "Lag Ja Gale") and Manoj Kumar thankfully is restrained.
The supporting cast is also good..
Spledind performance.
Splendid performances by Manoj & Sadhana.A haunting tale from Raj Khosla.
A thoroughly gripping story.
Songs are melodious and catchy.Manoj plays his role convincingly and Sadhana is charming as well as haunting in it.All the supporting cast has done their part convincingly.There is not a dull moment in this film.The ambiance of the film is spooky and the songs add to it.
The plot is taut and keeps the audience engaged.The viewer gets intrigued by the twist and turns of the story.
Sadhana is at her best as the haunting lady who makes the viewer trying to guess her true identity.The suspense is absorbing and keeps one wondering what will happen next?
The songs lend an aura of mystery to the film.
Great music by MadanMohan..
Watch if for Sadhana.
I was not much fan of yesteryears Indian movies before seeing this movie.
Man this movie is so captivating, it just suck you in..
The very first scene when the protagonist(Manoj Kumar) gives lift to Sadhana, and the dialogues that goes in that journey is pretty cool..
Little flaws of editing or tilt screen is easily forgotten when you consider this is made in 50s.
for me movie is all bout the the leading actress Sadhana..
She luks so natural and ravishing...
now I understand what was all the fuzz about Sadhana's Cut..
Watching her on screen is simply mesmerizing.
If you like this you will surely watch the trilogy of Wo kaun thi, Mera saaya and anita..
I am a big fan of Sadhana so i wud recommend this movie to everyone..
8/10 easily..
It's the time of wee hours in India and it's raining outside in Hyderabad.
What can be the better situation to write a review of this movie which begins with the scene of heavy rainfall and that scene itself lends momentum to the mystery of the movie ?
The opening scene picturized upon Saadhana and Manoj Kumar in heavy rainfall is itself so impressive that the viewer gets compelled to watch the full movie.
Perhaps in no other Indian suspense-thriller, the opening scene is that much impressive.
Manoj Kumar driving home in heavy rainfall finds Saadhana standing in the middle of the road, wearing a white saari and getting drenched without apparently unaffected by this fact.
Mysterous dialogues take place between them and finally Manoj Kumar drops her near a graveyard with spellbound to see her disappearing in it with a highly melodious song echoing inside - Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim.
The spellbinding suspense starts now for the next two and a half hours.Woh Kaun Thi (who was she ?) is a black and white movie released in 1964 starring Manoj Kumar and Saadhana.
It is still considered a classic mystery.
In fact the fact of its being black and white is a plus point of this movie as the mystery appears to be deeper with the characters appearing on the screen looking more mysterious than they actually are.
The great music composed by Madan Mohan rendered further strength to the suspense and thrill of the movie and Saadhana in the title role delivered a splendid performance to make the movie as spellbinding for the viewers.I have already discussed the highly impactful opening scene.
The story moves quickly with the fact coming out that our hero, Manoj Kumar is a doctor, working in the hospital of K.N. Singh and having a love affair with Helen.
Shortly Helen gets murdered and the mysterious woman, Saadhana who had disappeared in the graveyard in the beginning reappears before him in a further mysterious fashion only to disappear even more suspensefully.
His mother gets him married to a girl of her choice but you can guess that when he sees her face on the first night of their conjugal life (yes, there were times in India in which the bride and the groom of an arranged marriage were able to see each other's faces for the first time on that night only), he is taken aback to see the same girl, now as his wife.
Then several twists and turn keep on coming in the narrative taking the story to Shimla and the suspense is finally revealed in the climax.The story is just very very good and Raj Khosla was an able director of his time who directed classic suspense movies like Mera Saaya and Anita too.
He has handled the plot very well.
The problem is with the revelation of the suspense in the climax in which the police officer, Raj Mehra delivers a long speech regarding the mystery and despite that leaves many significant questions unanswered.
If you ignore that fact, you won't find any fault with the movie which contains comedy, romance and melodious music alongwith the gripping mystery.
The very first scene grips you like a powerful clamp and then you are so engrossed in the narrative that you can leave the movie after seeing its climax only, not before that.Saadhanalooks so gorgeous in the movie that it's better for you to watch her instead of reading my narration about her.
And acting ?
She has delivered a highly admirable performance in the pivotal role.
Manoj Kumar is OK.
The supporting cast includes Helen, K.N. Singh, Parveen Chaudhary, Prem Chopra, Dhumal, Raj Mehra, Ratnamala etc and all of them have performed their roles pretty well.Technically also the movie is perfect.
The aura of suspense is maintained throughout.
The cinematographer has ably captured the snowy beauty of Shimla.The discussion of Woh Kaun Thi cannot be complete without its music.
Madan Mohan has composed immortal music for the movie with the classic songs of Lata like Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim, Lag Ja Gale and Jo Hamne Daastan Apni Sunaai.
The other songs of the movie viz.
Chhod Kar Tere Pyar Ka Daaman (Rafi), Shokh Nazar Ki Bijliyaan (Asha), Tiki Riki Tiki Riki Takuri (Rafi-Asha) are also very melodious and a treat to listen.No suspense-thriller fan should miss this movie..
Great suspense.
The movie has a great suspense which is only revealed at the end It cannot be guessed easily if you haven't seen similar movies.
It also has an element of horror setting.
Sadhna's acting is brilliant.
Manoj Kumar looks handsome.
Watch it for the mystery that the movie carries all throughout.
There are a few moments of slow pace but overall a great thriller.