There are a few movies you go crazy about when you see them the first time, specially when you are young, just in college/hostel sort. Ghayal is one such movie I felt strongly about. The major reason was that the movie made me feel powerful & realize that I can defend myself or should be able to defend myself. It was an inspirational movie which made the common man feel important.
I also liked the way the background is created for a 'goody goody in private life' boxer to go mad & take his own revenge. It is also highlighted how corruption at any level can affect the life at the worst level.
This movie also speaks to common man in the sense they are often surprised by their relatives & their behavior at the time of crisis. The movie also displays the good policemen that need to face limitations due to the system. Overall every aspect of every character was well thought & presented perfectly on screen.
Ghayal like Sarfarosh shows that to make a good 'commercial movie' you do not have to be stupid! Like Sarfarosh, Ghayal also does it the hard-way & not an easy route like Ham Aapke hain Kaun/Q Hain/Kisliye Hain/Aisehi Hain etc etc movies! :-) Family melodrama, Marriage Functions stuff. These movies do represent our society & present a good entertainment at the same time being totally honest to the subject.
This movie shows how good camera work & good editing when coupled with GREAT acting & story telling can do wonders. This movie was displayed in the same week Aamir's Dil (a Stupid as usual Indra Kumar film) was displayed. I watched them both. I repeated Ghayal many times after that but never 'Dil'.
The Star-cast performance is very good & is further elevated due to the Santoshi touch. Santoshi made public realize that the He-Man Jr has a very good acting potential specially portraying a character who has denied his own right & justice. Sunny gave the BEST performance of this life. He shows the lighter part of the character initially very well & also the transition to the angered, frustrated person. He perfectly suits for the action scenes & also the scene in the court when he throws stuff at Gupta-Uncle. He got filmfare (presented by Rekha!!) up against Agneepath (Beating Amitabh's larger than life role, The same year Agneepath got Amitabh the national award; Dharmendra got the best film award at national level too. You can read my Agneepath review here: https://mouthshut.com/readreview/54602-1.html).
Meenakshi is also extra-ordinary. She has given memorable performance in many Santoshi movies. Babbar is OK or maybe good. The in-mates of Sunny Mitwa, Vardaraj & Sudesh Beri are perfect & add to the appeal of the movie. The array of Villains make it memorable too. Amarish Puri shows that he is all time great villain in Indian movies & also one of the best actors! Om Puri A special mention is deserved by his ultra-perfect & powerful role. His dialogs repeatedly draw applause. 'To mujrim Ajay nahi mujrim police hain maaf kijiye sir main aise system ka sath denese Ajay ka sath dena pasand karunga! Annu Pakoor is also perfect, he has done his portrayal very honestly & like his role in Darr understands his character perfectly.
Direction: As mention through the review. It is just GREAT. Santoshi has handled various scenes where he makes people realize what a diff they can make with simple contribution. Sunny's consoling the student in the police station is marvelous. When he hits this policeman (Gupta?) public screams with passion. Sunny going on Amarish(resolver) with just a knife & making him run away also draws applause. Santoshi has shown his versatility in Anadaz Apana Apana which came after Ghayal. It was also a GREAT movie & that shows the range of this person.
The music was first rate. The songs though not extra-ordinary were above average. They are presented well in the sense that they do not interfere with the story & overall flow rather they blend in the movie. 'Mitawa teri kasam haay, Jina nahi jeena muzhe tere bina', 'Pyar to muzhse karati ho don't say no' if funny with awkward Sunny making his best effort to dance wel? :) 'Pyasi jawani hain' is a direct & honest song with a clear purpose! :) It also give a few relax moments in the fast moving movie. 'Sath hain hum sab isse badi kya khushi' is presented both happy & sad.
This review is my tribute to the film which inspired me to join the Gym! :) You won't be able to tell by my physique but I used to do an extreme exersize in the days of college & at least the credit of me starting it goes to Ghayal (I continued it because it increased my bowling speed like crazy: really enjoyed extreme workouts in the evenign & the cricket in the morning!)
I am sure many of readers have already seen this movie if not 'I INSIST'. :-) (Arnold in T2)
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