Boney Kapoor's Dream to Remake Ghajini with Salman Khan: A Missed Opportunity
Boney Kapoor's ambition to bring the South Indian action blockbuster Ghajini to Bollywood with Salman Khan in the lead was almost realized, but a twist of fate saw Aamir Khan bag the rights instead.
The 2008 Tamil film Ghajini, starring Suriya, was a massive success and is credited with introducing the South Indian mass action template to Hindi cinema in the 21st century. Its success paved the way for similar remakes starring top actors, including Wanted, Rowdy Rathore, and Singham, leading to a decade of mass action dominating Hindi cinema. But Boney Kapoor had a different vision for the film.
In a recent interview, Boney Kapoor revealed that he wanted to remake Ghajini in Hindi in the mid-2000s with Salman Khan in the lead. Having watched the original Ghajini in 2006, he felt Salman would be a perfect fit for the role. "In the first half of Tere Naam, Salman sports long hair, but for the post-interval portions, when he is confined to an ashram for the mentally ill, he has shaved his head. I thought that with his chiselled physique and his hair pruned, he would be a perfect fit for Suriya's role in Ghajini," Boney Kapoor told Rediff.
To procure the rights for the film, Boney approached the film's makers, who told him that the remake rights were with Allu Aravind, who had distributed the film in Telugu. Boney recalled, "I reached out to Madhu Mantena, who was friends with Allu Aravind, for the purchase of rights. Madhu kept assuring me, 'Ho jayega (It will happen).' Meanwhile, Pradeep Rawat, who played the antagonist, showed the Tamil film to Aamir Khan. For almost six months, while he was debating over whether he wanted to do the Hindi remake of Ghajini, Madhu kept me dangling. When Aamir finally consented, Madhu Mantena and Allu Aravind decided to produce the film themselves, and I lost out."
The film eventually starred Aamir, Asin, Jiah Khan, and Pradeep Rawat in the lead roles. Directed by AR Murugadoss, the film released on Christmas 2008 and became the first Indian film to earn ₹100 crore net domestically, starting the 100-crore club. But Boney Kapoor's dream to remake Ghajini with Salman Khan was left unfulfilled.
So, what could have been if Boney Kapoor had secured the rights for Ghajini? Would Salman Khan have been a better fit for the role than Aamir Khan? And what impact might this have had on Bollywood? These are the questions that linger, sparking debate and discussion among movie enthusiasts.
