Dak Bangla hit the cinemas in 1987 but there were hardly a few cinema halls that premiered it. After giving their patent hairy monster a good break, Ramsays tried to rekindle the old flame of underground horror that was almost at the verge of death during the late 80's with a brand new mummy. I must say that the standard of horror then was very much different from what it is today, because most of the horror movies followed similar plots. Almost every horror movie had a burnt-melted-charred-face monster. Dak Bangla is closer to any cheesy slapstick or spaghetti western than to a decent horror movie. I would have chosen Klaus Kinski to play the mummy due to his tuberculous looks and face as dead and cadaverous as a mummy. Well this mummy possesses telekinetic powers and is able to fire deadly shots with forehead! Come on, Blow me down!
A couple is shown going intimate in a lonely Dak Bangla (Rest House) in a night full of neon thunders and rain. The girl hears some sound emerging from the basement. Before they could understand anything, an unidentified creature emerges from the basement and two of them die one by one.
Ajay (Marc Zuber) is a middle-aged man looking for a job. He soon finds a job of his type. Yes, you're right he is the new manager of Dak Bangla. Before he leaves, his employer (Viju Khote) tells him about the mishap with the previous manager (whom we saw dying in the beginning). He claims that he (manager) committed suicide due to the tremendous sense of isolation and claustrophobia.
(Look Mr. Kubrick, how 'The Shining' is being exploited.)
By the way Ajay is also expecting his sister-in-law (Vaishali's younger sister) Sapna (Swapna) to join them during the summer break. Ajay shifts to Dak Bangla with his wife Vaishali (Leena Das). The two find plates full of delicious cuisines on the table and their luggage is also taken to their bedroom by some unseen entity. Vaishali has a terrible nightmare where she sees Sapna being beheaded by a grotesque man. She wakes up and is consoled by Ajay. During the ruffle they find a man (Ranjeet) in the Dak Bangla, who claims to be Khursheed Khan, the caretaker of Dak Bangla.
Sapna is in love with Raj (Rajan Sippy). She along with her other friends arrive at the Dak Bangla hoping to spend an idyllic summer break. After few days Raj also joins them. Sapna feels that she had been to the Dak Bangla before. She keeps getting nightmares about being murdered by a grisly man. Bedeviled by her dreams, she tells everything to Raj, who helps her find the cause of her dreams. The two go to a room where they find Sapna's portrait hanging on the wall, with a streak of blood across the face. Behind the portrait is stashed an old book which may have the answers to all their questions.
So what was in the book? Who is the sword-wielding monstrous figure in Sapna's dreams? Who was Khursheed Khan?
The flick is okay type, with much annoying background score. The songs are equally bad and dance numbers are out of question. The insufferable and pathetic comedy by Rajindernath could have forced viewers leave the cinema hall before the movie took pace, but thanks to the director that he saved much of his celluloid. Well, you won't regret if you watch it once, we have seen a lot worse.
