Not Sunny Deol, But This Actor's Performance Stood Out In Rajkumar Santoshi's Ghatak

The 90s saw many hits delivered by Bollywood Actor, Sunny Deol. One of his most famous films from 1990 is Ghayal which marked the directorial debut of Rajkumar Santoshi. The film earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and National Film Special Jury Award. In 1993, he reunited with the director for the highly successful film Damini. Finally, in 1996, he starred in Ghatak, which made the actor stand out with his powerful role. However, it was not Sunny Deol who won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Ghatak took the box office by storm upon its release in 1996. It was one of the superhit films of the year which set the cash registers ringing. The film also starred Meenakshi Seshadri, Amrish Puri, and Danny Denzongpa. Amrish Puri portrayed the role of Sunny Deol’s father. From the script to the songs, the audience was hooked to the film and naturally, the lead actor won the hearts of millions with his stellar performance. His acting also won him praise from critics.

It was Amrish Puri who won the Filmfare Awards For Best Supporting Actor. Sunny Deol was nominated for Best Actor but did not win it. Amrish Puri also won the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor. Ghatak saw Danny Denzonpa playing the role of a villain named Katya. There were other villains as well, but it was Kashi Nath, essayed by Sunny Deol and the fight of the villains that was the major highlight and memorable for cine-goers.

Ghatak earned more than five times its budget. As per reports, the film was made at a budget of Rs 6.2 crore and earned Rs 32 crore, making it a box-office superhit. Reportedly, after the release of the Rajkumar Santoshi directorial, the film grossed Rs 15.21 crore and worldwide, it earned Rs 26.57 crore.

Another interesting fact about the film is that Sunny Deol was not the first choice for the lead actor. South star Kamal Haasan was first offered the role and even an ad was commissioned which was supposed to appear on Screen Magazine saying, “Welcome back to the Hindi screen.” Reportedly, producers were not ready to back the actor.