''Nagin'' ( ''Female Serpent'') is a 1976

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

-language

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, ap ...

, produced and directed by

Rajkumar Kohli Rajkumar Kohli (born 14 September 1930) is an Indian film director. He was famous for directing several popular Bollywood films such as the 1966 ''Dulla Bhatti'' and the 1970s ''Lootera'' starring Dara Singh and Nishi (Nishi later married Kohl ...

, under the Shankar Movies banner. It stars

Reena Roy Reena Roy (born Saira Ali; 7 January 1957), is an Indian actress. At the age of 15, she made her film debut with the drama '' Zaroorat'' (1972), but gained wider public recognition with her roles in the romantic comedy '' Jaise Ko Taisa'' (1973) ...

in the titular role alongside an ensemble cast, including

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Dutt; 6 June 1929 — 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director and politician. Dutt was one of the major stars of Hindi cinema in the late 1950s and 1960s and continued to star in many successful film ...

Feroz Khan Feroz Khan or Feroze Khan may refer to: * Feroz Khan (actor) (1939–2009), Indian actor and film director * Feroz Khan Noon (1893–1970), Pakistani politician and 8th Prime Minister of Pakistan * Feroze Khan (born 1990), Pakistani VJ, televisio ...

Sanjay Khan Sanjay Khan (born Shah Abbas Ali Khan Tanoli, 3 January 1941) is an Indian actor, producer, and director known for his works in Hindi films and television. Sanjay Khan made his debut in Chetan Anand's 1964 film '' Haqeeqat'', followed by the R ...

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fi ...

Mumtaz Mumtaz ( ar, ممتاز) is a name commonly used in various countries in the Muslim world, mainly Afghanistan, Brunei, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Turkey. It can also be used as a female name. ''Mumtazah'' is a related female versio ...

Vinod Mehra Vinod Mehra (13 February 1945 – 30 October 1990) was an Indian actor in Indian films. He started out as a child actor in the late 1950s before starting his film career as an adult in 1971. He acted in over 100 films from the 1970s through to h ...

Yogeeta Bali Yogeeta Bali Chakraborty (born 13 August 1952) is a former Indian Bollywood actress. She was active in the late 1970s and through the 1980s. Biography Yogeeta Bali was born on 13 August 1952. She is the niece of actress Geeta Bali. Bali mar ...

Kabir Bedi Kabir Bedi ( pa, ਕਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੇਦੀ; born 16 January 1946) is an Indian actor. His career has spanned three continents covering India, the United States and especially Italy among other European countries in three media: fi ...

Anil Dhawan Anil Dhawan is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films and television. He made his acting debut with the film ''Chetna'' (1970) followed by '' Piya Ka Ghar'' (1971). He is also known for his 2018 film Andhadhun. Now turned activist, Dhawa ...

, and

Jeetendra Ravi Kapoor ( ; born 7 April 1942), known mononymously by his screen name Jeetendra, is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He also serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures. Early l ...

; its music was composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Despite being a fantasy type film, it was a

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

at the box office and the highest-grossing film of 1976. Following the success of the film, Reena Roy attained star status. It was inspired by François Truffaut's 1968 French film ''

The Bride Wore Black ''The Bride Wore Black'' (french: La Mariée était en noir) is a 1968 French film directed by François Truffaut and based on the novel of the same name by William Irish, a pseudonym for Cornell Woolrich. It stars Jeanne Moreau, Charles Denner ...

'', which was based on

Cornell Woolrich Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley. His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich th ...

's 1940 novel of the same name. The film was later remade in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

as ''

Neeya? ''Neeya?'' () is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language horror thriller film, directed by Durai and written by P. Kalaimani. A remake of the 1976 Hindi film '' Nagin'', it has an ensemble cast that includes Kamal Haasan, Jai Ganesh, Vijayakumar, Rav ...

'' (1979), with

Sripriya Sripriya is an Indian actress, film director and politician from Tamil Nadu. She has acted in over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi languages. She has also directed films in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages, includin ...

playing Nagin.

Plot

Prof. Vijay researches snakes. According to a myth, he believes that after a certain age, they take human form. He plans a trip to a forest, along with his friends Raj, Rajesh, Uday, Kiran, and Suraj. Ultimately, Vijay uncovers the mystery, finding the besotted shapeshifting serpents Nag (male) and Nagin (female). However, his friends heckle him, so Vijay aims to prove himself. On the day of the full moon, when the snakes consummate, the group ventures into the forest. Unfortunately, at that point, Kiran shoots Nag. This worries Vijay, because in such cases, the female immediately pledges vengeance. Infuriated, Nagin identifies the killers, whose images have been captured in the dying Nag's eyes, and begins her murder spree. First, she eliminates Kiran, which makes the remaining group members panic and retreat. Next, Nagin targets Rajesh, killing him by transfiguring into his girlfriend Rita. After that dreadful situation, Vijay contacts a powerful snake charmer, who provides hindrance with omnipotent lockets. However, the enraged Nagin taunts the charmer that he cannot save them. Thus, she detaches Raj's locket by creating a brawl with a goon and slays him. Suraj withdraws his locket to protect his darling daughter, Anu, and he breathes his last, leaving Anu's responsibility to Vijay. In tandem, Raj is also slaughtered by Nagin, who has taken the form of the beautiful Rajkumari. At last, Vijay, the sole survivor, is attacked by Nagin when she dies, falling from the terrace. The movie ends with Nagin reuniting with Nag in Heaven.

Cast

as Vijay *

as Raj *

as Suraj *

as Sunita, Vijay's fiancée *

as Rajkumari, Raj's fiancée *

as Naag *

as Naagin *

as Uday *

as Rajesh *

as Kiran *

Neelam Mehra Neelam Mehra is an Indian television and film actress. She presently is playing Karan, Rishabh, Sameer, and Kritika's grandmother, Bani Luthra in the television series '' Kundali Bhagya''. Filmography * '' Nagin'' * ''Dulha Bikta Hai'' * ''Zama ...

as Sheela, Uday's wife *

Yogita Bali Yogeeta Bali Chakraborty (born 13 August 1952) is a former Indian Bollywood actress. She was active in the late 1970s and through the 1980s. Biography Yogeeta Bali was born on 13 August 1952. She is the niece of actress Geeta Bali. Bali mar ...

as Rita, Rajesh's fiancée *

Prema Narayan Prema Narayan (born 4 April 1955) is a former Model and Bollywood actress-dancer. She has acted in Hindi and Bengali cinema. She was the Femina Miss India World 1971, and represented India at Miss World 1971. Early life Prema Narayan was born i ...

Roopesh Kumar Roopesh Kumar (16 January 1946 – 29 January 1995) was a character actor in Bollywood films, especially known for his role as a villain in over 100 Hindi films from 1965 to 1995. He is widely remembered for his comic negative roles in the film ...

Komilla Wirk Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...

Ranjeet Ranjeet Bedi (born 13 September 1942 as Gopal Bedi) popularly known as Ranjeet, is an Indian actor and film director born in Jandiala Guru near Amritsar (Punjab), best known for his work in Bollywood.Singh, Nonika (1999)Ranjeet's triple love", ...

Aruna Irani Aruna Irani (born 3 May 1946) is an Indian actress, who has acted in over 500 films throughout Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati cinema, playing mostly supporting and character roles. She has won two Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Ac ...

Premnath Prem Nath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath, was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in over 100 films throughout his career. ...

Jagdeep Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jaffrey (29 March 1939 – 8 July 2020), better known by his stage name Jagdeep, was an Indian actor and comedian who appeared in more than 400 films. He played Soorma Bhopali in ''Sholay'' (1975), Machchar in '' Purana Mandi ...

Sulochana Latkar Sulochana Latkar (born 30 July 1928) known by her screen name Sulochana, is a well-known actress of Marathi and Hindi cinema and has acted in 50 films in Marathi and around 250 films in Hindi. She is most known for her performances in Marathi ...

Anita Guha Anita Guha (17 January 1932 – 20 June 2007) was an Indian actress who usually played mythological characters in films. She became known for playing the title role in ''Jai Santoshi Maa'' (1975). Previously, she had played Sita in other mytholo ...

* Heena Kausar *

Tun Tun Tun Tun
Press Release, Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...

, all lyrics written by

Verma Malik Verma Malik (13 April 1925 – 15 March 2009) was a Bollywood film songs lyricist. He was an active freedom fighter during the British Raj. He wrote many patriotic songs and bhajans and recited them immediately prior to penning lyrics for fi ...

. "Tere Sang Pyar Main Nahin Todna" was reused in ''Nagin'''s Tamil remake, ''Neeya'', and was featured in the soundtrack of the 2004 film ''

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (also simply known as ''Eternal Sunshine'') is a 2004 American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Pi ...

.''

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1976 films 1976 horror films 1970s Hindi-language films 1970s supernatural horror films Films about shapeshifting Films about snakes Films scored by Laxmikant–Pyarelal Hindi films remade in other languages Hindu devotional films Indian supernatural horror films Indian remakes of French films