| Ghayal | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rajkumar Santoshi |
| Written by | Nasir Adeeb (uncredited)[1] |
| Screenplay by | Rajkumar Santoshi |
| Dialogues by | Dilip Shukla |
| Story by | Rajkumar Santoshi |
| Produced by | Dharmendra |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Rajan Kothari |
| Edited by | V. N. Mayekar |
| Music by | Bappi Lahiri |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Vijayta Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 163 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹2.5 crore |
| Box office | ₹20 crore |
Ghayal (transl. Wounded) is a 1990 IndianHindi-languageaction drama film written and directed byRajkumar Santoshi in his directorial debut and produced byDharmendra. The film starsSunny Deol andMeenakshi Seshadri, along withRaj Babbar,Moushumi Chatterjee,Om Puri,Amrish Puri,Kulbhushan Kharbanda,Shafi Inamdar,Annu Kapoor,Sudesh Berry andSharat Saxena. The film grossed₹20 crore and was ablockbuster hit atBox Office.[2] It was also the 2nd highest-grossing film of the year. According toBox Office India, "Ghayal had set records in repeat runs. No film from the nineties was even close to it in repeat runs and onlySholay has higher business in repeat runs in the history of Hindi cinema. It grossed several times more than its original run during rereleases but the exact number is unknown."[3]
The film received 8 nominations at the36th Filmfare Awards, and won a leading 7 awards, includingBest Film,Best Director for Santoshi andBest Actor for Deol. At the38th National Film Awards, the film won theNational Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Sunny Deol received theNational Film Award – Special Mention.Ghayal was remade inTamil asBharathan in 1992, in Telugu asGamyam in 1998 and in Kannada asVishwa in 1999[4] and Pakastani Punjabi asMard (1991).
On 5 February 2016, a direct sequel titledGhayal Once Again was released.
The story centres on Ajay Mehra, a promising amateur boxer, who lives happily with his elder brother, Ashok Mehra, sister-in-law, Indu, and his beautiful girlfriend, Varsha Sahay. Their peaceful life shatters when Ashok, a businessman, goes missing.
Ajay's frantic search for his brother leads to a shocking discovery: Ashok had been entrapped by the ruthless and powerful industrialist, Balwant Rai. Rai had used Ashok’s company as a front for his illegal activities. When Ashok resisted and gathered incriminating evidence against him, Rai had him kidnapped and tortured. Upon learning that Ajay also possessed knowledge of the evidence, Balwant Rai murders Ashok.
Rai orchestrates a sinister plot, framing Ajay for his brother's murder. During the ensuing, heavily manipulated court trial, Ajay's own defence counsel, Pramod Sharan Gupta, having been purchased by Balwant Rai, falsely implicates him in the murder of his brother and maliciously smears his reputation by alleging an illicit relationship with his sister-in-law, Indu. Betrayed by the legal system and witnessing the immense power of his tormentor, Ajay’s faith in justice is completely destroyed. The trauma and public disgrace drive his sister-in-law, Indu, to tragically commit suicide.
While imprisoned, Ajay makes friends with a group of convicts who are essentially good at heart, but have turned to crime due to desperate circumstances. Realizing the law will never deliver justice for him or his deceased family, Ajay and his friends execute a daring prison break. Police Commissioner Ashok Pradhan assigns ACP Joe D'Souza, an honest police officer, to pursue Ajay, who is now a fugitive.
Ajay, aided by Varsha, embarks on a relentless mission for retribution. He systematically dismantles Balwant Rai's criminal network, targeting the men who framed him one by one. The film culminates in a dramatic showdown where Balwant Rai kidnaps Varsha, drawing Ajay into a final confrontation. Ajay rescues Varsha and chases Rai to an amusement park. Despite the intervention of the police, Ajay’s intense rage and desire for ultimate justice override his compliance. In a final act of poetic revenge, Varsha covertly slips Ajay a gun, which he uses to fatally shoot Balwant Rai in front of the police and a crowd of witnesses. The film concludes with Ajay being arrested, having exacted his own form of justice and accepting the consequences, cementing his transformation from an ordinary man to a wounded vigilante.
Rajkumar Santoshi initially wanted to make the film withKamal Haasan in the lead role, but was hesitant as the actor's previous Hindi films did not perform well. He subsequently approachedSunny Deol to act and produce the film.[5]
The music was composed byBappi Lahiri. The lyrics of the songs were penned byAnjaan andIndeevar.
A woeful version of the song is "Saath Hain Hum Sab Isse Badi Kya Khushi", sung independently and sedately byKumar Sanu. Another song, "Mungda" rendered tersely in the film, originally occurs in the 1977 filmInkaar. Anjaan wrote all the songs except two versions of "Sochna Kya", which were penned by Indeevar. "Sochna Kya" was cover version of songLambada byKaoma from albumWorldbeat, which was itself based onLlorando se fue byLos Kjarkas.
| Song | Singer |
|---|---|
| "Mahiya" (Sad) | Lata Mangeshkar |
| "Mahiya" (Happy) | Lata Mangeshkar,Pankaj Udhas |
| "Sochna Kya" (Happy) | Asha Bhosle,Shabbir Kumar,Kumar Sanu |
| "Sochna Kya" (Sad) | Kumar Sanu |
| "Don't Say No" | Amit Kumar,S. Janaki |
| "Pyasi Jawani" | S. Janaki |
Won
Nominated
Below is a table of the lead characters in the story ofGhayal and its remakes.
| Movie | Language | Hero | Heroine | Hero's Brother | Sister In Law | Villain | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghayal (1990) | Hindi | Sunny Deol | Meenakshi Seshadri | Raj Babbar | Moushumi Chatterjee | Amrish Puri | |
| Bharathan (1992) | Tamil | Vijayakanth | Bhanupriya | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | Sangeetha | Anandaraj | |
| Gamyam (1998) | Telugu | Srikanth | Ravali | Sarath Babu | Geetha | Kota Srinivasa Rao | [6] |
| Vishwa (1999) | Kannada | Shiva Rajkumar | Suchitra Krishnamoorthi | Anant Nag | Suhasini Maniratnam | Satya Prakash |
A sequel namedGhayal Returns was announced in 2014. But before the film could enter production, it faced financial problems. However, Sunny Deol stated that he was determined to make the film.[7] After once being stalled and then being postponed several times, the film was finally released with the title,Ghayal: Once Again, on 5 February 2016.[8]
"There are five Bollywood adaptations of Maula Jatt as well. Four of which failed, so Dharmendra, who starred in them, eventually called me and I wrote Ghayal."