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Khal Nayak

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Khalnayak
Poster
Directed bySubhash Ghai
Written bySubhash Ghai
Ram Kelkar
Kamlesh Pandey
Produced bySubhash Ghai
StarringSanjay Dutt
Madhuri Dixit
Jackie Shroff
CinematographyAshok Mehta
Edited byWaman Bhonsle
Gurudutt Shirali
Music bySongs:
Laxmikant–Pyarelal
Score:
Aadesh Shrivastava
Production
company
Distributed byEros International
Release date
  • 6 August 1993 (1993-08-06)
Running time
191 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box office₹24 crores[1]

Khal Nayak (transl. Villain) is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language action crime film written, directed, and produced by Subhash Ghai under the banner Mukta Arts Ltd. The film stars Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, and Jackie Shroff in lead roles. The plot focuses on the escape and attempted capture of criminal Ballu (Dutt) by sub-inspector Ram (Shroff) and his girlfriend Ganga (Dixit).

Released on 6 August 1993, Khal Nayak emerged as a major commercial success at the box office, grossing ₹240 million worldwide, ranking as the second highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, surpassed only by Aankhen.[2] The film's soundtrack, composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, sold 10 million copies in India, making it the year's third best-selling album, behind Dilwale and Darr.[3]

At the 39th Filmfare Awards, Khal Nayak received 11 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Subhash Ghai), Best Actor (Sanjay Dutt), Best Actress (Madhuri Dixit), and Best Supporting Actor (Jackie Shroff). It won two awards—Best Female Playback Singer (Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun) and Best Choreography (Saroj Khan), both for the song "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai"[4].

Plot

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Balram "Ballu" Prasad, a notorious gangster, is captured by Inspector Ram, who tries to extract information about Ballu's mentor, Roshan Da, while treating him with leniency. Refusing to cooperate, Ballu vows to escape, and he succeeds, damaging Ram's reputation in the process. Determined to restore his credibility, Ram’s girlfriend and fellow officer, Ganga, goes undercover as a street worker to locate Ballu. As she gains his trust, she discovers that Ballu was forced into crime due to poverty and Roshan Da’s manipulation. Moved by his circumstances, she attempts to reform him, though Ballu misinterprets her kindness as love. Upon realizing her true intentions, he turns hostile but remains protected by Ganga, who believes in his potential for change.

Meanwhile, Ram learns from Ballu’s mother, Aarti, that Ballu is his childhood friend. She reveals that Roshan Da exploited their family's hardships, falsely implicating the police in the murder of Ballu’s sister, Sunita, which led Ballu down the path of crime. As the police close in on him, Ganga helps Ballu escape but is arrested and accused of aiding a criminal, tarnishing her reputation. Later, Ballu reunites with his mother, only to be betrayed by Roshan Da, who tries to kill them. Ram launches a police operation against Roshan Da, during which Ballu learns the truth about his sister’s death. In the ensuing confrontation, Ram kills Roshan Da, while Ballu escapes. Declaring himself the new crime boss, he later discovers that Ganga is on trial for her alleged crimes.

Realizing the consequences of his actions, Ballu voluntarily surrenders and testifies to Ganga’s innocence, leading to her acquittal and reconciliation with Ram. Accepting his fate, Ballu is imprisoned, completing his arc from a misguided criminal to someone who takes responsibility for his past.

Cast

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  • Sanjay Dutt as Balaram "Ballu" Prasad, a notorious and wanted criminal working for Roshida; Navin and Aarti's son; Sunita's younger brother
  • Madhuri Dixit as Inspector Gangotri "Ganga" Singh, an undercover police officer, Ram's girlfriend and Ballu's love interest
  • Jackie Shroff as Inspector Ram Kumar Sinha, a hardworking and honest police officer; a former student at Aarti's school, Ganga's boyfriend, and Ballu's childhood friend "Babla"
  • Anupam Kher as Ishwar Pandey, inspector general of Police and Ram's distant uncle
  • Rakhee Gulzar as Aarti Prasad, a retired teacher; Navin's wife, Sunita and Ballu's mother
  • Siddharth Randeria as Navin Prasad, the public prosecutor appointed against Roshida; Aarti's husband, Sunita and Ballu's father
  • Aloka Mukherjee as Sunita Prasad, Navin and Aarti's daughter and Ballu's elder sister
  • Ramya Krishna as Sophia Sulochana, Ballu's girlfriend
  • Pramod Moutho as Roshan "Roshida" Mahanta, Ballu's mentor who lured him into a life of crime and deceit
  • Sushmita Mukherjee as Mrs. Maithili Pandey
  • Navtej Hundal[sentence fragment]
  • Arun Bali as Police Commissioner Kuljeet Chaddha
  • Anand Balraj as a police inspector
  • A. K. Hangal as Shaukat Bhai
  • Sudhir Dalvi as Shambhu Master, a village school teacher (special appearance)
  • Neena Gupta as Champa, a dancer in the song "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai"
  • Ali Asgar as Munna, a thug working for Roshida
  • Sunil Shende as the Judge of Ganga's trial
  • Hans Dev Sharma as investigation officer, assistant to Ram Kumar Sinha

Production

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Background

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Director Subhash Ghai initially envisioned the project as an art film starring Nana Patekar. The original narrative followed the protagonist's journey from Pune to Mumbai. During production, inspired by a suggestion from a screenwriter, Ghai reworked the concept, shifting the film’s direction toward the action genre.[5]

Pre-production

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Ghai was determined to cast Jackie Shroff in the role of Ram.

Anil Kapoor expressed interest in portraying the antagonist; however, Ghai advised against it, stating that Kapoor would not be suited for the role and that his casting could lead to the film's failure; Sanjay Dutt was subsequently cast in the role.

The film's lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi.[5]

Trivia

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During filming, Sanjay Dutt was arrested and incarcerated in connection with the 1993 Bombay bombings case.[5]

Awards

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39th Filmfare Awards

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Won
Nominated

Soundtrack

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The film's soundtrack was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, with lyrics penned by Anand Bakshi.

# Title Singer(s)
1. "Khal Nayak Hai Tu" Kavita Krishnamurthy & Ila Arun
2. "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" Alka Yagnik & Ila Arun
3. "Palki Pe Hoke" Alka Yagnik & Madhuri Dixit
4. "Aaja Sajan Aaja" Alka Yagnik
5. "Aise Teri Yaad Aati Hai Alka Yagnik & Mohammed Aziz
6. "O Maa Tujhe Salam" Jagjit Singh
7. "Aye Sahib Yeh Theek Nahin" Alka Yagnik & Manhar Udhas
8. "Pyar Ki Ganga Bahe" Mohammed Aziz, Udit Narayan, Manhar Udhas & Jolly Mukherjee
9. "Choli Ke Peeche (Male)" Vinod Rathod
10. "Khal Nayak Hoon Main" Kavita Krishnamurthy & Vinod Rathod

Upon release, "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" ("What's Behind the Choli") created controversy because of the inappropriate lyrics.[6]

Box office

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Khal Nayak emerged as a major success at the box office, grossing ₹240 million worldwide, ranking as the second highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, surpassed only by Aankhen.[1]

Release

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Ghai raised objections against Khal-Naaikaa, a similarly-titled film that was due to be released on the same day as Khal Nayak, at the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA). However, the IMPPA ruled against him, stating that while Ghai could change the release date of his film if he wished, the producers of Khal-Naaikaa would not alter theirs. As such, both films were released on 6 August 1993.[5]

Remakes

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Khal Nayak was remade in Telugu as Khaidi No. 1 (1994),[7] in Tamil as Hero,[8] and in Punjabi as Billa (2002).

References

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  1. ^ a b "Khalnayak". bestoftheyear.in. 5 July 2018. Archived from the original on 16 July 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Box Office 1993". Boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  3. ^ "BoxOffice India.com". web.archive.org. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Filmfare Awards (1994)". IMDb. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "Exclusive! Subhash Ghai on 30 years of Khal Nayak: The movie was supposed to be an art cinema with Nana Patekar; Anil Kapoor was keen to play the antagonist". The Times of India. 6 August 2023. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  6. ^ Mehta, Monika (2001). "What Is Behind Film Censorship? The Khalnayak Debates". Jouvert. 5 (3).
  7. ^ Lohana, Avinash (9 July 2016). "Sanjay, Ghai return with Khal Nayak". Mumbai Mirror. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Copy cat". The Indian Express. 23 September 1994. p. 6. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
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