Subhash Ghai’s tryst with cinema began when the acting bug bit him. He was the runner-up to Rajesh Khanna in the Filmfare Talent Hunt held in the late ‘60s. In fact, he part of the ensemble cast in Kakaji’s defining film Aradhana (1969). Few would know that Ghai went on to star as the lead in such films as Umang (1970) and Gumrah (1976) before giving it for good. He then chose to become a director instead having studied at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. By the by, he met his future wife Rehana Farooqui while at the institute and married her after four years of courtship.
His directorial debut was Kaalicharan (1976), which kind of set the tone for his further endeavours – coincidence filled plots, extravagantly mounted sets, popular music and colourful villains became the hallmark of his films. In an era dominated by Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra, who were largely dependent on Amitabh Bachchan, he managed to carve a niche for himself despite not working with Bachchan till date – a film called Devaa, starring Amitabh and Madhuri Dixit was announced in the late ’80s but got shelved. Ghai also had a penchant for introducing young heroines. Madhuri was said to have shot a song sequence in Karma (1986), which was later chopped off, before she became a star with Tezaab (1988). He introduced Manisha Koirala in Saudagar (1991) and Ritu Chaudhary, rechristening her as Mahima in Pardes (1997). Other heroines brought into the industry by him are Isha Sharvani in Kisna: The Warrior Poet (2005) and Mishti in Kaanchi: The Unbreakable (2014). He’s also known for his Hitchcockian quirk of doing blink and miss cameos in his films. He came to be known as the new age Showman, taking the mantle from Raj Kapoor. Today, he’s content being a producer and overseeing his film school, Whistling Woods International, situated at Mumbai’s Film City. Presenting an analysis of some of his best work…
Kalicharan (1976)
Shatrughan Sinha played a double role in this action thriller. He played a straight-laced inspector Prabhakar who gets killed in the line of duty and is replaced by the higher-ups with a lookalike Kalicharan, a dreaded criminal. The highlight of the film was Ajit playing the devious underworld character Lion. Shatru got a break as a mainstream hero and its success provided Ghai the perfect springboard.
Vishwanath(1978)
Subhash Ghai cashed on on the hit pair of his debut film and cast Shatrughan Sinha as a vigilante lawyer who takes the law in his hands after he’s falsely implicated. The angst-filled melodrama had some great acting by Pran as Golu Gawah, a professional witness, who has a change of heart. Shatrughan’s and Prem Nath’s oneliners got the maximum claps as usual.
Gautam Govinda (1979)
Shashi Kapoor, who never got to play the ‘angry young man’ when he was paired with Amitabh, got a chance to play an angry cop in this retelling of Mother India. Shatru plays the wayward son, a goon and Shashi is the ‘lost’ son and the good guy. Nirupa Roy plays their mother. The Shashi-Shatru scenes, though loud, were as good as the Shashi-Amitabh scenes. The rustic setting of the film was unlike Ghai’s efforts before or since.
Hero (1983)
The film, revolving around a goon falling in love with the IGP’s daughter, became an overnight hit. Its rugged hero Jackie was much liked and heroine Meenakshi too carved a niche for herself. It was another musical conquest for Laxmikant Pyarelal, with songs like Tu mera jaanu hai, Pyar karnewale kabhi darte nahi and Nindiya se jaagi bahar still hummed by listeners. Lambi judai, sung by Pakistani singer Reshma has achieved cult status.
Karz (1980)
This reincarnation drama was a musical despite its macabre theme. L-P's songs such as Om shanti Om, Ek haseena thi, Dard-e-dil, Main solah baras ki are still popular. Rishi played a pop singer and him dancing on a revolving disc like stage was pure kitsch. Simi Garewal, as the gold digger, was a fine act.
Meri Jung (1985)
This courtroom saga revolved around a corrupt lawyer played by Amrish Puri, who falsely implicates Anil Kapoor’s father in a case and gets him hanged. Kapoor grows up to be a lawyer himself and takes revenge, getting Puri’s son hanged for murder. It introduced a dancing villain-Javed Jaffrey. Khushboo, who played Anil’s sister, went on to become a South icon.
Karma (1986)
Nutan and Dilip Kumar, were paired together for the first time in this revenge drama. Anupam Kher achieved a remarkable changeover in playing the stylised villain Dr Dang. Naseeruddin Shah took a departure from art-house projects and regaled in this timeless pulp entertainer.
Ram Lakhan (1989)
Jackie played a straight-laced cop while Anil played his street smart younger brother who becomes a cop for the sake of the kickbacks in this cult classic. Both want to avenge their father’s death by evil cousins played by Paresh Rawal and Amrish Puri. My name is Lakhan is still the introduction song for Anil Kapoor at events.
Saudagar (1991)
This hugely mounted friends-turned-foes saga brought together stalwarts Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar three decades after Paigham (1959). It’s said that to defuse the clash of egos between them, Ghai first filmed the Imli ka boota song, which was about their friendship in the film. The two thawed after that and made the screen come alive with their histrionics. The fresh pairing of newbies Manisha Koirala and Vivek Mushran created a buzz too.
Khal-Nayak (1993)
Sanjay Dutt was reportedly Ghai’s original choice for Hero. He compensated by making him a khalnayak. In a strange case of life imitating art, Dutt was arrested for illegal possession of arms while shooting the film. Thankfully, the film saw bumper openings everywhere. It’s said Tips paid Ghai one crore for the film’s music rights. Thanks to the raunchy number Choli ke peeche kya hai, they sure made a profit.
Pardes (1997)
The stupendous success of Shah Rukh Khan in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and the rise of the NRI cinema,made Ghai opt for SRK. The film underlined how Indian values trump over Western culture. Ghai made a switch from L-P to Nadeem-Shravan and thanks to songs like Yeh dil deewana, Do dil mil rahe hain, Meri mehbooba and I love my India, the film became a musical superhit. SRK and Mahima created sparks too.
Taal (1999)
This rich boy meets poor girl love story was buoyed by AR Rahman’s compositions, some of his finest till date. Songs like Ishq bina, Taal se taal mila, Ramta jogi, Kahin aag lage et al still remain mass favourites. Aishwarya Rai looked ethereal in every frame while Anil Kapoor charmed with his effortless act of a cynical music producer. Shahid Kapoor, incidentally, was one of the background dancers in the song Kahin aag lage. The film boosted Aishwarya’s popularity in both India and abroad and paved the way towards her superstardom.