I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Jaani Dushman, one of the most popular horror flicks, mostly due to it being star-studded, excellent acting scores, an unexplored theme, and catchy songs, like "Chalo Re Doli Uthao Piya Milan Ki Rut Aai"; "Tere Hathon Me Pehna Ke Churiyan..."; "Aisi Waisi Na Samaj Sajna.."; and yet another catchy song filmed on Shatrughan Sinha and Rekha. The story focuses around the mysterious deaths of brides, all dressed in red, as is the tradition in India. The suspense mounts as one by one the brides are killed and no one seems to have a clue, and everybody seems to be suspect, including the village priest. After watching the movie I think at the end some question are left unanswered like 1.Was the priest in cahoot with the monster (Saneev Kumar) ? 2.Sanjeev Kumar's story of his sister death was it true ? 3.Did Thakurian know about each of Thakur's secret as is reflected when Jeetendra show the The 'Lal Joda'to Thakur for his blessings? 4.How did the monster come beneath the temple ? 5.How does Sanjeev Kumar go back to his home after killing the brides? 6.Did the evil always reside in the body of Sanjeev Kumar? 7.Was the secret doorway created to save brides from abduction by bandits? Overall what I like the most is Rekha's diction of Awadhi which is nicely executed in the movie along with other actors and actresses Hindi-Urdu dialogue and diction. I would like to conclude by saying that last but not the least the haunting song "Chalo Re Doli Uthao Piya Milan Ki Rut Aai" in the very apt voice of Mohammad Rafi.

No, don't really belong to such an old era. In fact, I was born well over 11 years after the film. But this film used to be such a popular choice for the (Indian) channels to run almost every other month. We as kids used to feel so frightened by it, but yet could never resist the temptation to peek at the TV screen.What brought it back was the insistence of my niece who at all costs wanted to watch the film of which the song "Chalo re doli" is played in almost every wedding film during the rukhsati scene.Reflecting upon it years after, the viewers of the new generation might find some of the stuff to be laughable, living in era where films of every genre are made with immense efficiency, editing, special effects and thousand re-takes, but for its era and given that this isn't Hollywood what we're talking about, this was quite a good film. It being a star-studded one probably added to the fun.Again, it had its flaws and even the overall length could've been shortened, but for its era it remained a thoroughly entertaining film. Not quite Bollywood's 'Aliens' (1986), but pretty doable for Bollywood. Has its thrills and carries the suspense quite well till the end. One exceptional thing was that bringing attention and suspicion to everyone except only the Thakur could've given it away, but it was clever to have shown that even Thakur was looked at with suspicious eyes around about half an hour before the ending, albeit for a very brief period before the attention then gets shifted to his son (Shera). I can imagine it being a really big success at the box office back then.

A so-bad-it's-good flick for those who are interested in viewing a real Hindi horror classic.Jaani Dushman is worth watching because: a) It was a defining moment in the careers of the Ramsay Brother, some of the most prolific low budget horror filmmakers the subcontinent's ever seen. b) Though he's uncredited (on the VCD/DVD packaging at least), the monster is played by Amrit Puri, one of the epitomes of the Bollywood villain, best known in India for his role as Mugambo in Mr. India (HAIL MUGAMBO!), and in the West for his part in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. c) In its own endearingly cheap way, it explores themes of visuality and male violence.Okay, c) may be hard to swallow.Indian villain aficionados will enjoy Amrit Puri at his campy finest, and Western viewers will get a laugh out of the mind-boggling editing and semi-sensical storyline.Purana Mandir is the sequel.

i think this one of the wicked movies ever made by raj! the story line is fantastics and the whole movie is just supa one of my best movies ever made! jaani