Forgotten Villains: Mola Ram Temple of Doom

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Photos copyright Lucasfilm

I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.

While some might say that Mola Ram from Indiana Jones and the Temple of doom is hardly a forgotten villain, you have to remember that it’s easy to get swept over by the likes of the Nazi themed Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Last Crusade, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Dial of Destiny. Mola Ram is the scariest of all the Indiana Jones villains. Let’s look at why Mola Ram is so terrifying.

Played deliciously by Amrish Puri, Mola Ram is high priest of the Thuggee cult. Like some kind of poisonous spider, he has installed himself and his temple beneath Pankot Palace. He has stolen an entire village’s child population to slave in the mines where they are beaten by brutal guards. This act alone is enough to anger Indy and propel him into action. Such is his influence he controls the local politicians and royalty using the mind altering blood of Kali Ma, a drink that puts anyone that drinks under his influence. His God is Kali, the Goddess of Death and he intends to bring her back to rule the Earth by reuniting the three Sankara Stones. With them brought together he will unleash Kali upon the world. He was a survivor of the British colonial attempt to wipe the Thuggee out where his father was also a high priest. Now he has revived the cult, he intends the oppressors will be slaughtered and Kali reign over the planet.

Amrishs’ wide eyed manic look and almost musical voice adds a lot to Mola Ram’s success. It is easy to believe that he could bend anyone to his cause by being the embodiment of a feared ancient cult. It is devil worship but on a much grander scale. His buffalo horned head piece with the shrunken human head represents both sides of his nature; the animalistic side that is an apex predator and the human head reminds them that any one of them can be killed at a moment’s notice for desecration.

His temple is built around volcanic vents filled with lava into which he likes to plunge unwilling sacrifices. Mola Ram rules by fear and placing the temple amid lava fields conveys Satan himself and the flames of Hades. A huge demonic statue dominated the chamber its massive hands intertwined with chains attached to cages that drop into the lava below. It also harbours two of the sacred Sankara stones with slots ready for the others when they are found. It is harsh rock, sweat drenched bodies where the chambers echo with the whimpers of beaten children. That is all it takes to keep the locals under control. He rules with an iron fist and even Indy seems uncomfortable when he sees who his adversary is. Indy does not believe in magic but has seen things he cannot explain, and this is a prime example.

Now memory cheats because it wasn’t until recently that I realised the sacrifice scene is even more horrific than I remembered. In the scene, a man is brought forth as a sacrifice and he is secured into the cage. Watch Mola Ram’s eyes here; the shadowing is brilliant, and his voice is soft as if his chant to Kali Ma is hypnotic and reassuring. he reaches up to the statue of Kali Ma with outstretched hand as if drawing power from her. He then slowly moves his hand to the man’s chest, fingers spread like a talon before he turns to the crowd with the beating heart in his hand and the sacrifice still very much alive.

However, probably due to edits for television I recall only the hand on the chest ready to scoop out the heart. In the un-edited version, you see Mola Ram’s hand enter into the chest and pull out the heart. You also see the sacrifice look down and see the hole in his chest heal in seconds. Such a display is a sign of the power of Kali Ma which has the worshippers gripped in fearful devotion. Indy, Short Round and Willie especially are horrified. As the man with no heart prays, he is lifted in the cage and dropped into the lava. Drums with human heads on them beat, Mola Ram chants, the worshippers sing and swept up in their love of Kali, cheer as the man is consumed by the lava. His beating heart in Mola Ram’s hand bursts into flame. The priest cackles because with this act he has once again secured his hold over these people. When even the instruments reflect terror there is no one you can’t control.

Through his movies, Indy has never been influenced by the Nazis or their thinking. He is solidly on the side of good, devout in his mission to bring these artifacts to the world. He is a man of morals that cannot be corrupted no matter how hard others have tried; until now. Captured, the three heroes are pulled into Mola Ram’s web. Short Round will work in the mines, Willie will be sacrificed to the lava and Indy will become a loyal servant of Kali.

Helpless Indy is forced to drink the blood of Kali Ma and succumbs immediately to her power. He has no problem dropping Willie into the lava. Indy like all heroes is a symbol of hope, that the day will end well, and everything will be alright. He came here because the children of the village had to be saved and the Sankara stone returned to the village before it turns to starving ash. When the possessed Indy attacks Short Round, the young boy reflects all of our horror that Indy has gone to the dark side. It seems no one, not even the purest of heart can stand against Mola Ram. He is almost reptilian in his encouragement of Indy killing Willie. To him, nothing good will last before the might of Kali Ma.

However, this is Indiana Jones and when Short Round breaks the curse, he is battling the Thuggee guards and pulling Willie from the lava. For the first time Mola Ram’s plans are threatened as Indy steals the stones. The high priest does not see an American but another white face that like the British threaten the Thuggee religion. This fight with Indy is now on a global scale; whatever side wins will control the planet.

Such is Mola Ram’s ferocity and determination he will chase Indy to the ends of the Earth to get the Sankara stones back. He is a master manipulation and a superb strategist because he knows where Indy will go to escape, the great rope bridge.

Although I have to say when Short Round almost falls through the wooden slats, those crocodiles got very excited. Damn they have great eyesight to see him that far up. But despite his hubris, Mola Ram underestimates his enemy. He believes that when Indy threatens to cut the bridge, he will not do it especially with his friends also on the bridge plus the stones are too important for Indy to let them all fall into the infested crocodile waters to be lost forever. So confident is he that he has read his enemy’s intentions, Mola Ram also steps on to the bridge. The look on his face when Indy cuts the rope is priceless as they cling to the precarious bridge. Mola Ram does not care about his guards, shoving them off to try and smash Indy to the waters below. We also see the warrior side of him as he has the traditional punch up while hanging from the bridge. He almost rips Indy’s heart out before they struggle over the bag containing the stones. Mola too late realises this man is a man of learning and Indy spits that he has betrayed Shiva and begins an incantation. The stones burn through the bag. As Mola claims they are his, he grabs one as it falls burning his hand before Indy takes it from him. Losing his grip Mola Ram plunges to is death to be devoured by the hungry crocodiles below.

With his death and the arrival of the British forces, the Thuggee cult is destroyed one more and Indy returns the stone and its children to the village. For me this is the most uplifting ending for the Jones movies as it is the harrowing journey of them all.

We can all see and fight against Nazis and their slimeball agents, but Mola Ram is a totally different kettle of fish. He has access to a darkness that would suck the Nazis dry and is far more ancient and primeval that anything Indy has ever faced. If touched by this evil, it robs you of who you are and leaves you a helpless zombie. Only pain can bring you back from its grip leaving both physical and mental scars that will stay with you forever. Indeed, in the Dial of Destiny, Indy mentions what happened to him. It is obvious that Mola Ram still haunts the dreams of Indiana Jones.

Of all the evil that he has battled, Mola Ram is the closest thing to the Devil Indiana has ever faced.