If you are an 80’s or 90’s kid and a Bollywood buff, your childhood would be incomplete without the ‘desi tadka’ of Subhash Ghai movies. Known to have both launched the careers of stars as we know them today and revive the fading careers of actors, Ghai’s movies were a mix of powerful emotions, romance and action. The legendary filmmaker was known to have ensemble casts in his movies and seldom made films with a single protagonist.
Ghai also took a leaf out of renowned filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock’s book when he started to appear in cameos in his own films akin to the late English director. This trend was soon followed by other Bollywood directors like Prakash Jha, Karan Johar, and Prabhu Deva.
He has made a sort of comeback with the black comedy 26 Farmhouse. He has written and produced the ZEE5 movie starring Vijay Raaz, Sanjay Mishra, and Amol Parashar. As the iconic filmmaker turns a year older today on January 24, let’s take a look at some of the most iconic movies he has gifted us with.
Kalicharan (1976)
If you have grown up with Bollywood pop culture, the enigmatic supervillain LION played by Ajit and his innovative style of dialogue delivery cannot have escaped you. Starring Shatrughan Sinha in dual roles along with Reena Roy, this movie was the first one after Sholay that made the villain as famous as the hero of the movie.
Karz (1980)
This was the movie that totally reinvented the reincarnation genre although the theme had already been done innumerable times in Bollywood. Starring Rishi Kapoor, Simi Garewal and Tina Munim, the movie has also given us timeless blockbuster tracks like ‘Om Shanti om’ and ‘Dard-e-Dil’.
Hero (1983)
This highly successful romance thriller was the debut vehicle of Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri, both of whom had successful careers in the industry after this launching pad.
Karma (1986)
If the most iconic villains on the Indian silver screen are to be mentioned, Dr Dang played by Anupam Kher in this cult classic is up there along with Gabbar Singh and Mogambo. Apart from Kher, this movie had an ensemble cast of Dilip Kumar, Nutan, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sridevi, Naseeruddin Shah and Poonam Dhillon.
Ram Lakhan (1989)
One two ka four! Four two ka one! You probably know the rest. This mega-hit starred Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor as brothers separated in childhood.
Saudagar (1991)
This was another iconic movie that brought together two of the most legendary stars of the silver screen Dilip Kumar and Raj Kumar.
Khalnayak (1993)
Sanjay Dutt played the anti-hero in this cult film which also starred Jackie Shroff and Madhuri Dixit. The songs Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai and Nayak Nahi Khalnayak Hoon Main were raging hits in the 90s.
Pardes (1997)
Pardes beautifully portrayed the clash between western culture and Indian tradition. This movie starred Shah Rukh Khan, Mahima Chaudhary and Amrish Puri.
Taal (1999)
A big musical hit, this Akshaye Khanna, Aishwariya Rai and Anil Kapoor starrer had music by A.R Rahman that topped the charts during that time.
Kisna: The Warrior Poet (2005)
This movie, although did not do very well at the box office, it became a cult favorite ultimately and was hugely praised for its music by A.R Rahman and Ismail Darbar. The movie starred Vivek Oberoi, Isha Sharvani and English actress Antonia Bernath.
