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.

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.

The movie is one complete package of romance, action and thriller. This used to be my my favourite watch in my younger days. It had everything to enjoy for a kid like me. Aamir Khan though a bit skinny looked hot as hell. Rani Mukherjee, she was the perfect role model of the beauty for me in those days. Everything of her was perfect.Her voice, man so real it was, her eyes, her face. She having that bike ride with Aamir used to be and I think still is one of of the most romantic couple goals one can ever have. I always wanted to do that, may be someday, though I think traffic rules will hardly permit that. The action sequences specially the train one was amazing and perfectly shot, gave me goosebumps when Amir had a near miss on that railroad. That last fight between Aamir and the villian was so real that I can give one enough impulses to confront any goon on this god damn planet. A must watch, at least once for anybody who wants to relish the pleasure of one great entertainment. #Ghulam1998

i was not a big amir khan's fan before this movie but after watching "ghulam" it not only made me amir khan's fan but also at the same he stamped himself as the bollywood ace...

"Ghulam" shows the sudden change in the life of sidharth who first being non-serious in his life soon realise the reality of the life and when he becomes more loyal he has to pay for the changes.. emotional scenes are wonderfully executed by amir khan, the way he has tackled difficult scenes shows what a brilliant actor he's been for bollywood... whereas rani mukherjee looks gorgeous but have little to offer in a brief role.. all in all a very good movie with a good twist and a better second half... also the climax was very astonishing... the music is good to ear... highly recommended to all amir khan's fans!

Amir plays the role of a confused, frustrated and sensitive "gunda" who lives with the evil but surprisingly knows the difference between right and wrong. His conscious is alive maybe because of something he saw happening to his dad when he was young. It casted a lasting effect on him and it stayed with him all his life. His brother also realizes the difference between the right and the wrong but readily accepts the wrong because he doesn't mind taking shortcuts in life. Excellent performances by Amir Khan and Rani both. The real hero, however, is Ronnie. He gave the best performance of his life. Every single dialog of his is nothing less than Gabbar's from Sholay. Not only does this movie have some great acting, but some excellent screenplay, dialogs, direction, storyline, and songs! One of my favorite Hindi movies of all time. Rating: ****

Poor * Average ** Good *** Excellent **** Masterpiece *****

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

I have read the reviews given by different people and I am well versed with the version played by The Great Marlon Brando(On the Waterfront) which won him Oscar for best actor,Ella Kazan the best Director and 6 other categories. It took almost 44 years to bring out the remake using the finest actor in Indian History. The fact that remains in my mind is that I had watched the filmfare award ceremony and I was only 13 but still I remember Vikram Bhatt saying that "The Award was only possible due to Aamir Khan's effort.He had taken chance with his life by not duping the Train-race stunt.Even though the train was not running at full speed it had momentum to kill the person hitting it". The commitment from the side actors are as important as the film script.If this was shot nowadays it could have been more effective with several camera angling. Aamir knew that if he had to provide justice at least .1% to the original film he had to do this. These make it almost or equivalent to the "On The Waterfront".

Ghulam is truly a masterpiece with an excellent theme by Vikram Bhatt.Definitely it is his best directorial venture.The plot of the movie taken from ON THE WATER FRONT fits very well to the culture of Subcontinent,beautifully reflects the hardships & attitude of the society in big cities and also shows the right way to fight against injustice & cruelty.The sole of the film is Aamir Khan's stunning performance.The way he has portrayed the character of Sidhu a confused,tipori is awesome.This performance has for sure declared Aamir Khan as the best actor in history of Indian cinema.Rani Mukherji looked very fresh and beautiful, the only flaw of the film is her dubbed voice which was needless.SharatSexana in the role of Ronak Singh is excellent.Music is very good.All the songs are good with "ab naam mohabbat ke ilzam " & "aati kya khandala" stand out.Overall it is an excellent film.I have seen this film 18 times till date and i recommend it to every movie lover.

Siddhu is a small time felon in Bombay who's morals can be summarised as `every man for himself'. His lawyer has faith he can change and is trying to help him by keeping him out of jail for petty offences. Siddhu's brother works for Ronny, an ex-boxer who now runs organised crime in the area. As a result Siddhu gets some muscle work for Ronny. One day Ronny's thugs are beating up some shopkeepers for money by Siddhu's house. Afterwards Siddhu meets the eldest, Hari, and befriends him. However Hari is responsible for causing Ronny trouble and hence Siddhu unwittingly helps Ronny to kill him.

I have only seen a handful of Bollywood films of these I have loved one (Lagaan) and been indifferent to the majority. I find that they have all the flaws of Hollywood exploitation movies without many of the production values. Ghulam (The Slave) is a fine example of the standard Bollywood formula - songs, pretty girls, manly heroes, hairy villains, overacting and dramatic music and direction. As such it is OK but I'm not a fan of these standard formulae. I'd rather have them with at least a bit of a new spin. However this film doesn't want to do that and gives it to us straight. The plot is a basic `do the right thing' film that borrows heavily from `On the Waterfront' in many different ways.

The action scenes suggest a Bollywood Jackie Chan but they lack any of his flair and imagination. The love interest is dropped into the film so heavily that it hits with a heavy clang - the first hour is basically just that, it isn't integrated into the film so much as just added on. It does allow about 5 songs to occur that don't fit with the tone of the film. I'm a little biased because I always struggle to tell one from the other with these things. I know that they films are meant to be whole adventures for an audience but it just felt pretty disjointed to me.

The direction is typically hilarious - rushing cameras etc that really play to the traditional Bollywood clichés. The sound effects sound too fake and don't match the action and the different in sound quality between dialogue and singing is so noticeable that it bothered me. I know that the singing is mostly done by other people in a studio but can't they at least try and match them up in terms of quality at least.

The acting is also very clichéd. Khan was a good hero in Lagaan but he was helped by the more professional feel of that film. Here he fits with the mood of the film in that he just overacts where needed - tears, anger, frustration etc, all emotions are on his sleeve for all to see. The villains are typically bad and gruff and overact like the best of them. Meanwhile love interest Mukherjee (Alisha) is suitably air brushed, pretty and shot with a constant breeze in her hair and soft focus lens!

Considering people make a big deal of Bollywood movies being a big culture. To me this just smacked of American influence. Chicago Bulls tee-shirts, T2 posters etc all clutter the sets. Meanwhile the plot borrows from lots of American films. Like I said the plot itself is just On the Waterfront without the subtext or drama. They take it and just throw out anything of value and add songs! Even the boxing scene sees the opponent being a mickey-take of BRITISH boxer Prince Naseem Hamed. Even the climax is a mix between a wild west stand-off and a Rocky movie! Does no one else see the influence of American culture in this film? It's not a bad thing but why pretend that Bollywood films are something exciting and new?

Overall this film will please those who happily accept the Bollywood film formula with all it's weaknesses. For me I view it on the same level as any other film - it's plot is weak, a basic good versus bad story, with average acting, misplaced songs and not very much to enjoy for an even slightly demanding audience.

It is my favorite movie. Specially Sharat Saxena's dangerous villain role. I like his acting as a villain.

A movie that came twenty years back which is about a budding boxer (Siddu), who realizes the path of justice after witnessing a live murder committed by his boss (Ronnie). The person murdered was none other than his lover's brother who had stood against the crimes of Ronnie. He questions his brother (Jai) for his involvement in the double-cross murder committed by Ronnie. His brother tells him that he'd be glad for their lives that Ronnie had given them otherwise they might as well had died in the streets. He remembers the golden words of his father before he died and turns a new leaf. He wins back his love interest after showing his willingness to give testimony against Ronnie & Jai. The movie then transpires to how Siddhu frees his locality from the clutches of Ronnie by fighting him in court and also in public. Good film with a nine on ten.

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.

Fantastic movie -- amir khan is super and fantastic >i advise with watchin this movie

It's the best movie I have ever seen. Strong acting, strong story. Fabulous piece of work. From start to end Ian the fan of this person. Amir sir you had rocked it. From start to end amir khan's movies makes deep impact on Indian cinema.that's piece of work no one could deliver. Tars zameen par , 3 idiots, Lagan,sarfarosh,raja Hindustani, Lagan,rang de Basanti, Ghajini, Dangal,jo Jeeva wahi sikandar they are the best of Bollywood

A slow starter at box office primarily due to low key publicity and a quiet release (unusual for an AK movie but rumours suggest this was due to an ongoing rift between AK and Mahesh Bhatt), but picked up solid pace through word of mouth and eventually became a big hit. This is a film made for the masses filled with claptrak dialogues, excellent background score and stunning action sequences - the climax fight is an absolute show stealer, one of the best hand to hand combats directed in the history of Indian cinema, terrifically performed by AK and Sharat Saxena evoking cheer and applause from audience like never seen before in a theater.

Special mention for action directors -abbas-hanif, background music composer - Amar Haldipur, Story writer - Anjum Rajabali and Director Vikram Bhatt.

Ghulam means a slave. Sidharth (Aamir Khan) is an amateur boxer who does not work, preferring to loaf about with friends. His older brother Jai (Rajit Kapoor) works with a gangster who rules the neighborhood, terrorizing merchants and demanding protection money. As a child Sidharth idolized his father, an ex-freedom fighter, whom he saw committing suicide in guilt after a visit from an old acquaintance. Sidharth meets a girl, Alisha (Rani Mukerji), who rides with a motorcycle gang, and Hari, a social worker. The film tells the story of Sidharth's romance with Alisha and his reformation.a gem of 90's era.

Great movie. Must watch movie."Ghulam," a 1998 Bollywood film directed by Vikram Bhatt, is a standout due in large part to Aamir Khan's extraordinary performance. Khan's portrayal of Siddharth, a local boxing champion who struggles with moral dilemmas and societal pressures, is both compelling and nuanced. His ability to convey a range of emotions-from intense anger to heartfelt vulnerability-adds depth to the character and drives the narrative forward.

The film's gritty storyline, coupled with its strong performances and impactful dialogues, makes it a memorable watch. The soundtrack, featuring hits like "Aati Kya Khandala," further enhances the film's appeal. Overall, "Ghulam" is a testament to Aamir Khan's acting prowess and remains a significant film in his career and in Bollywood cinema.

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.

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.

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.