Ghulam

I first saw this in a theater in the late 90s. Revisited it recently. The film is an unofficial remake of On the Waterfront. While this one aint no masterpiece like the original, it has lots of action n thrilling moments. The most iconic one is the train sequence. The final showdown between the hero n the villain is a solid one too. The performance by the lead actor Aamir Khan is the highlight. Rani Mukherjee looked stunning throughout n very nice in the last scene with her black tshirt. Deepak Tijori's sideburns n his jacket is a big lol. The film does have its flaws.

The boxing match looked clearly rigged n not at all an official championship one. One of the fighter is not landing punches or defending himself but jus stayingin in one place, hands behind the rope n suffering punches by the opponent. The house/bldg doesn't have any safety hedge or any grill around. The jackets worn by the bikers are pathetic. Some of the side characters who played the bikers looked uncles n not at all youngsters.

Siddhu, a tearaway and ned, is a boxing champion. His elder brother is the accountant and henchman for a slumlord. The slumlord is a former boxing champion who rules the local community by terrorising people, extorting money from local shopkeepers n hoteliers n sometimes by match fixing. Siddhu convinces a social worker who reminds him of his dead father, into an ambush, preventing the social worker from persuading the local people to sign a police complain against the slumlord. Siddhu assumed that the slumlord's henchmen were only going to have a talk with the social worker to pressure him into not convincing the local people to file a police complain against the slumlord but is shocked when the social worker is killed.

Ghulam is a strong entry from late 90s Bollywood, blending gritty street drama with emotional resonance. Aamir Khan brings a raw, youthful energy to the role, and Rani Mukerji lights up the screen with a fresh and charming presence.

The film captures the mood of its time well-tough, emotional, and melodramatic in just the right doses. The music, especially Aati Kya Khandala, became iconic and still holds nostalgic value.

It may not be groundbreaking, but it's a well-executed, engaging film that stands the test of time. A solid watch for fans of classic 90s Hindi cinema. Raw and Refreshing - A Solid 90s Drama with Young Energy.

When I first saw Ghulam I said finally a good original film but a couple of years I got to see Marlon Brando's "On the Waterfront" and find out a movie's rip off. Still the movie is definitely a must see for people who like realistic, hard hitting films and not the loveyduvey smoochy films. Besides that aamir khan gives a brilliant performance as the confused brother trapped in underworld's tactics. Rani mukherjee is ok. Her voice is dubbed and one can clearly make out. Aamir Khan's aati kya khandala is a great highlight of the movie. The railway track race could have taken his life but he is still alive so have fun and watch this movie. This is an awesome film. My Rating 10/10

Sure, its formulaic, but personally I think there is an element of spoof in it. Look at some of the dance routines. Especially the one where they are in a log cabin. They are not taking themselves too seriously here. And it does have a charm about it. My favorite song in it is the one about going to Chandala. And the scene where he enters her window about 16 stories up - it is completely ludicrous but is hugely entertaining and I feel for the right reasons.

Amir Khan also appeared earlier in "andaaz apna apna" which was very much a comedy, allthough it did tend to veer to much towards farce at times.

Although there was some sort of an action story and a moral theme to it, i think much of it was meant to be a light comedy romance, and those parts of the film worked quite nicely.

Sure its not a particularly memorable film and isnt ground breaking cinema, but its not actually a bad film, as long as you arent expecting too much out of it. And its quite watchable.

So, yes, Ghulam is decent entertainment - an action-packed romantic musical with some story which resembles other stories. But it's fun, really fun actually. The film's entire feel is totally westernised, particularly in view of the overall demeanor of the gang, their clothing and sense of style, which is completely derivative of American culture, as are many other elements in the film. I found it amusing, although I know that such influences in India did exist back then although definitely not to such a large extent. Thankfully today Indian filmmakers show India's own cultural richness and weight (a la Gully Boy) - its colour and stark individuality did not exist in this film, a lot due to the common belief back at that time that Indian audiences want escapist cinema which will show a world far removed from their reality. In this regard, director Vikram Bhatt does his best, and he is greatly aided by the film's action and stunts, which are the most impressive in the film.

But then Ghulam is really an enjoyable watch. Its youthful spirit is really affecting, and it is very well shot for the time. The train race scene is obviously very famous today and it was really quite good, although the other one where the guy climbs up the building to enter the girl's room is not very credible. The romantic portions are still pretty nice, and the music is fun and catchy, obviously culminating in the popular "Aati Kya Khandala" number, which is particularly entertaining. Aamir Khan's dedication to his roles showed already then, and he's very good here. I'm not a particular fan of his acting talent per se, considering him often too clean and lacking in spontaneity, but his serious approach to his craft (when it's not too much) works well for him, and this film is a good example. Rani Mukherjee plays more or less a bimbo of sorts - she is very pretty but her voice is dubbed and it's annoying. Ghulam is nothing great but it is consistently entertaining, anyway.