silvan-desouza Bhatts have known to remake Hollywood films from time memorial though they have given several great films. In 1990s Mahesh Bhatt directed many films, many worked like Aashiqui(1990), Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin(1991) which were not that great, while Hum Hai Raahi Pyaar Ke(1993) was a superb film and worked well too, he gave flops too like Criminal(1995),Chaahat(1996), Duplicate(1998) and many more. Ghulam directed by Vikram Bhatt who earlier worked with Bhatts in films like Fareb, Jaanam, Bambai Ka Babu, got his first hit reportedly with this film. The film is a remake of On The Waterfront(1954) which was earlier remade by the Bhatts as Kabzaa(1988) and Vidhu Vinod Chopra too borrowed a chapter from it in Parinda(1989) and other films too. Ghulam starts off well, Aamir's character though may seem close to his Rangeela character is different, he plays the typical thug with a heart of gold who does dirty work as told by his brother and then changes his life. The film also has Aamir's most dangerous stunt, the train stunt which he did himself and missed the train by a second. The first half focuses more on establishment of characters and does waste a bit more time on romance but the twist in the tale is superb, The second half focuses more on how Munna changes and seeks revenge The ending may be a bit hard to digest but yet is well executed Comparing with On The Waterfront may be tough, the film does copy most of the film but adds it's own masala, love and all but yet it's watchable Direction by Vikram Bhatt is good Music by Jatin Lalit is superb, All songs are seeped in melody, be it Kumar/Alka's songs Aankhon se Tune and Jaadu Hai, or Udit Narayan's superb Ab Naam Mohabbat Ki or the crowd puller Aati Kya Khandala which was sung by Aamir for the first timeAamir Khan portrayed a tapori earlier in Rangeela(1995) but he doesn't repeat himself, he does a superb job as always and brings in the difference, He conveys a lot through his expressions. Rani with a dubbed voice is okay though she doesn't get much to do Mita Vashisht is superb in her role, Rajit Kapoor is superb Sharat Saxena is effective, Akshay Anand who also starred in Mahesh Bhatt's ZAKHM in the same year is good in his role, Raju Kher is okay in a short role,Deepak Tijori has just 1 scene, perhaps to recreate the JJWS success Amongst rest Bhatts Favourite Ashutosh Rana and Dalip Tahil have cameos

Anup Viswanathan Thampi 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".

nomanali77 I went through the list of Vikram Bhatt movies, and realized I had seen quite a few of them. And there isn't a single original storyline in any of them. Vikram Bhatt isn't happy in just getting inspired by Hollywood movies, he copies them totally. Sometimes, he does a bad job (Awara Paagal Deewana: The Whole Nine Yards, Deewane Hue Paagal: There's Something About Mary) but sometimes it isn't so bad (Raaz: What Lies Beneath and Ghulam: On the Waterfront).The difference with Ghulam is its treatment. This treatment is very rustic and non-glamorous. What you get is a nice, realistic view of the situation, with Siddhu being a very real character. Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Rajit Kapoor, Sharat Saxena and Mita Vasisht all turn in pretty good performances. I remember when I first watched the movie and was impressed by Rani. Come to think of it, I have been a fan of Rani since then itself, so I'm pretty glad things are working out for her now.Even being a copy, it is a rather good movie with a believable storyline and strong performances. Worth a peek.

dhruvdude 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