Karzzzz/Neel Kamal

Reincarnation Films Reincarnation is part of the Hindu belief system, so it's not surprising that may Hindi film hits have used a rebirth plot—the most famous was, of course Bimal Roy's Madhumati (elements of it were used in Om Shanti Om), and Subhash Ghai's Karz, which was a remake of Hollyyood film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, and has now been remade as Karzzzz by Satish Kaushik.

The big blockbuster, was of course, Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun, and much before that that, the musical hit Milan. There were other lesser known films with the 'punar janam' theme—Kudrat, Mehbooba, Dharkan, Mahua, Ab Ke Baras.

Then, there's the almost forgotten Neel Kamal (1968) by Ram Maheshwari, based on a Gulshan Nanda story, which did not have a revenge theme, but a romantic plot with a reincarnation angle. In the past, artisan Chitrasen (Raj Kumar) was entombed alive by the king, in the Rang Mahal he built for his beloved, because he dared to woo Princess Neel Kamal (Waheeda Rehman). Chitrasen's spirit (singing Aaja Tujhko pukare mera pyar ) haunts Rang Mahal, waiting for Neel Kamal's return. In the present, Sita (Rehman) and her friends go on a trip and she sleepwalks on to the train tracks. She is saved from being knocked down by the train by Ram (Manoj Kumar). Later her father (Balraj Sahani) offers Ram his daughter's hand in marriage, and the two get hitched.

Ram discovers that his wife's sleepwalking is not an illness, but involves a love story from her past life. Sita is 'summoned' by a voice calling to her. Her mother-in-law (Lalita Pawar) suspects that Sita goes off to meet a lover and taunts her. One day, she sleepwalks to Rang Mahal, and there she meets Chitrasen, who reminds her of the past birth when she was Neel Kamal. The only way the two can unite is if Sita dies too, and she agrees to sacrifice her life. In the end, without Sita dying, Chitrasen's soul is liberated and she is never troubled by the past again, going on to live happily ever after with Ram.

The film was quite watchable, and Waheeda Rehman won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for 'double' her role in it . It also had a melodious musical score by Ravi, that included hit Sahir Ludhianvi-penned numbers like Babul ki duaen leti ja, Hey rom rom mein basnewale Ram, Sharma ke yun ne dekh, Meri zindagi to thi plus the haunting Aaja track.