The Making Of Khalnayak: How A Hollywood Pitch, A Breakup, And A Bomb Blast Shaped Bollywood's Most Controversial Film

In the summer of 1993, Subhash Ghai's Khalnayak stormed Indian screens like few had before it. What began as a signature Ghai masala entertainer quickly spiraled into a whirlwind of blurred lines: between hero and villain, glamour and scandal, fiction and reality. And everything collided in a story where the real drama was as gripping as the reel.

At the centre was Sanjay Dutt, whose real-life Bombay blasts case nearly halted the film's release. Add a tabloid-fodder breakup with Madhuri Dixit, a battle over the 'Khalnayak Vs Khalnayika' title, and the firestorm of controversy and moral panic ignited by the song Choli Ke Peeche kya hai.  Khalnayak seemed doomed. But it survived and soared into legend, fueled by controversy and songs that still echo in nightclubs decades later.

What Was Really Going On In Early 1990s As Khalnayak Took Shape?

By the early '90s, the media had begun calling Subhash Ghai the new "Showman" of Bollywood, a title once reserved for Raj Kapoor. Riding high on a string of back-to-back blockbusters like Karma, Ram Lakhan, and Saudagar, which earned him the Best Director Filmfare Award, Ghai was at the peak of his game.

He next announced, Devaa, a high-profile project with the reigning superstar Amitabh Bachchan. But creative differences between the two halted the project before it could take off. Some say Ghai didn't let go of the idea entirely and began shaping what would eventually become Khalnayak. But do you know that Khalnayak was initially planned as a Hollywood film? 

While vacationing in the U.S., Subhash Ghai stayed with tennis star-turned-Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj. Amritraj urged Ghai to take a leap, suggesting he try his hand at a smaller Hollywood film to test the waters beyond Bollywood. Ghai pitched him the idea on the spot. Amritraj liked it. They registered the story with the Writers Guild. The title of the story was Be Negative. They sent it off to agents representing two top Hollywood stars.

Ghai has recalled in his interviews that Eddie Murphy was approached for the role that would later go to Sanjay Dutt, while screen legend Omar Sharif was offered the part eventually played by Jackie Shroff. Negotiations got underway as Ghai began collaborating with a team of Hollywood writers on the screenplay, but soon realised his sensibilities rooted in Bollywood didn't fit their culture. It became clear to the 'showman' that he was better off making films on his own turf where he had full creative control over writing, editing, music, and performances.

Back in Mumbai, he initially toyed with making a small-budget 'serious film' with Nana Patekar and Jackie Shroff.  The lead character in this version was a dholakwala freshly released from Pune's Yervada Jail, heading to Mumbai for a life of crime.  After completing the first draft, Ghai called Nana Patekar, who liked the story and agreed to play Khalnaayak.  

Film media at the time reported that people close to Ghai warned him against making a small-budget art film. They said a showman of his stature should deliver a big commercial spectacle with a star-studded cast. 

Nana Patekar was dropped from the film and expressed his displeasure in interviews.

And then Sanjay Dutt, who was having a resurgence of sorts after his shaky start was signed to play Khalnaayak while Ghai regular Jackie Shroff took on the role of the police officer. Ghai had worked with Dutt a decade earlier in Vidhaata, but it was the success of Sadak and Saajan that propelled Sanjay into Bollywood's top tier. By the end of 1991, Sanjay Dutt, for the first time in his career, was the most sought-after star in Hindi cinema. Showtime magazine announced it in the cover story: 'Sanjay Dutt: The New Superstar'.

Off-screen, Sanjay Dutt dominated headlines with his high-profile romance with Saajan co-star and Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixit. 

The doomed romance

Sanjay Dutt's life unfolded like a saga of highs and lows few could imagine. Born to screen legends Sunil Dutt and Nargis, his childhood was marked by hardship, followed by his mother's long battle with cancer and his own long struggle with addiction. By the late 1980s, as his career finally gained momentum, tragedy struck again. His wife, Richa Sharma, was diagnosed with cancer.

After a series of surgeries, Richa went into remission. But during this fragile period, Sanjay and Richa's marriage was also unravelling. Enter Madhuri Dixit.

Sanjay's nineties resurgence began with Thanedaar (1990), where Madhuri starred as his leading lady. The film is best remembered for the chartbuster "Tamma Tamma," featuring Dutt, a non-dancer, trying to keep pace with the dancing diva.

Apart from Thanedaar, Sanjay had previously worked with Madhuri Dixit in Khatron Ke Khiladi and Kanoon Apna Apna. Both had signed more films together, such as Sahibaan and Mahaanta, and were spending a fair bit of time together. Soon rumours of a romance between them started doing the rounds in Mumbai. When Saajan became a blockbuster, their chemistry was widely credited for its success.

This was when Sanjay's love life is said to have taken a very interesting, scandalous turn. Madhuri Dixit was signed as his leading lady in Khalnayak. While the stories about his association with Madhuri may not have been good for his already floundering marriage, their on-screen partnership would give Sanjay the best phase of his career.

"Sanjay bolta tha, yeh picture bohot door tak jaayegi par dekhta tha Madhuri ki taraf"- Subhash Ghai 

In 2023, during a special screening celebrating 30 years of Khalnayak, Subhash Ghai turned towards Sanjay Dutt and playfully teased him, "Yeh bolta tha, yeh picture bohot door tak jaayegi par dekhta tha Madhuri ki taraf." Taken aback, Dutt laughed quietly, choosing silence over a reply. 

More than Saajan's success or Sanjay's rising stardom, it was the Sanjay-Madhuri story that dominated film magazine pages. Despite their denials, tabloids brimmed with innuendo and speculation. The media even hinted that Sanjay planned to divorce Richa.

By 1992, while shooting Khalnayak, the film press openly labelled them a couple. Their fondness was clear, and Madhuri, at least, made no effort to hide it. She once told an interviewer, 'My favourite partner is Sanjay Dutt, he's a real joker . . . and his stories make me laugh all the time, but he is also a gentleman.'

To another interviewer, she said, 'Sanju is a fantastic person. He has a loving heart and, in contrast to the widely held view, a good sense of humor. He is the only guy who makes me laugh all the time. He does not play games. He is open and uncomplicated.'

But Madhuri didn't say much more than this to the press. Insiders believed their relationship was serious, with whispers of a wedding. Filmfare did a cover story titled 'Madhuri to Marry?', which hinted that Madhuri was planning to get married in 1994 - it didn't say to whom - and that she would leave the film business after her wedding.

In the same story, it was reported that Sanjay and Madhuri had grown close during the Mysore schedule of Sahibaan (1993) and that 'Sanjay played Prince charming to the hilt'. Midway through the schedule, the location was shifted to the picturesque hills in Manali. According to Sahibaan's director, Ramesh Talwar, 'He [Sanjay] was always following Madhuri around and whispering "I love you", totally ignoring the fact that there were others around.'

Though Richa seemed to want to work things out, Sanjay Dutt filed for divorce in early 1993.
From the moment Khalnayak was announced, it was the hottest buzz in film circles. Sanjay had crossed the one crore signing-amount mark with Khalnayak. But as shooting progressed, no one could foresee the monstrous storm that was about to hit the film and Sanjay Dutt. 

When The Storm Hit

Friday, on 12 March 1993, as Sanjay Dutt shot the film Jai Vikraanta in Jaipur, Mumbai was shattered by a series of deadly blasts. 257 people lost their lives, and 713 were injured. After the Jaipur schedule, Sanjay left for Mauritius on 2 April 1993 to shoot the climax of Sanjay Gupta's Aatish. Within weeks, his name surfaced in the Mumbai blasts investigation, linking him to the conspiracy and sparking a national media frenzy.

When he landed in Mumbai on 19 April, police were waiting. The arrest marked the darkest chapter of his life-and one of Bollywood's biggest scandals.

The media was relentless, and the Dutt's felt cornered, abandoned by many, despite a few powerful allies in the film industry rallying behind them.

But there was one special person from whom Sanjay Dutt and his family were expecting support. Sanjay was waiting for his 'close friend' Madhuri Dixit to call or come over to meet him, but the wait for Madhuri was futile.

A June 1993 cover story in Stardust said what Sanjay was dreading: 'Madhuri Dumps Sanjay!' It went on to narrate how Madhuri apparently decided almost overnight after Sanjay was arrested that she wasn't going to have anything to do with him any more.

But things did not end at this. A few days later, Madhuri aired her version of the truth on the alleged relationship in the press. Senior journalist and author Bharathi S. Pradhan, who interviewed Madhuri at the time, recounted the incident in 2011.

"Madhuri nipped the entire Dutt episode by giving me an interview . . . She made it extremely clear on record that she was not involved with him. No, she replied, she was not in love with him. No, she said, there was no question of marrying him; she had nothing to do with him."

Recalling the important interview, Bharathi said, 'It was only a few weeks later, after the cover story was published, that I realised I'd been the messenger. She had unequivocally broken off with Sanju with that one well-timed interview. Nobody blamed the straightforward Madhuri for putting an end to the Dutt chapter . . . A Dutt-Dixit alliance would've been disastrous, and she was too sensible not to see it.' 

Headlines, Controversies, And The Khalnayak Release

Khalnayak had also grabbed headlines for its music. Firstly, an HMV loyalist, Subhash Ghai, moved to Tips, which was paying him Rs 1 crore for the music rights over HMV's Rs 40 lakh. It was a big deal, but he lived up to the expectations raised with Choli Ke Peechey, becoming a mammoth chartbuster. The music label sold one crore cassettes in the first release itself. But the song sparked outrage after a Delhi lawyer filed a case, calling it obscene, harmful to children and 'degrading Indian culture.' Politicians and women's groups soon joined in, and the controversy escalated just as the film neared release.

The censor board was adamant that the song, with its 'obscene' lyrics, should be deleted from the film. But Subhash Ghai fought back. The song stayed and went on to become a monster hit. It wasn't only Sanjay's infamy that prompted people to line up outside movie halls to watch the film. The song Choli ke peeche played an important part too.

When Khalnayak was in the making, filmmaker Saawan Kumar launched Khal-Naaikaa, a separate film with a similar sounding title starring Anu Agarwal, Jeetendra and Jaya Prada. The press buzzed with attacks and accusations from both sides. Both films were locked in a race to the finish, and both hit theatres on the same day.

As Khalnayak neared release, it took on a sharply political edge. Days before its premiere, BJP's student wing, ABVP, stormed Mumbai's Maratha Mandir, halting a screening of Sanjay Dutt's Kshatriya. Other theatres soon pulled his films under pressure. Protesters burned Sanjay Dutt's effigies and defaced hoardings with garlands of slippers.

On May 5, 1993, Dutt was granted interim bail and rushed to finish dubbing for his pending films.

The posters of Khalnayak didn't shy away from using Sanjay's legal troubles to push the project. They featured a handcuffed Sanjay declaring, 'Haan, main hoon khalnayak. [Yes, I'm a villain.]' Many in the film industry thought that Ghai was opportunistically milking the tragedy to promote his film. Ghai brushed aside this criticism, saying the promotions were in fact planned much in advance. 

With the media portraying Sanjay as Bollywood's arch villain, Khalnayak finally hit theaters on August 6, 1993.

Loud and unapologetically Ghai, Khalnayak was packed with hit songs, melodrama, and over-the-top characters. It may not have aged well, but in 1993, it was truly an event. Glossy posters declared it "An Amazing Portrait of a Sensitive Villain." When it opened on August 6, lines stretched around theatres. The verdict was clear: Bollywood's original bad boy had become an even bigger star.

Khalnayak ended the year as the second-highest-grossing film of 1993, just behind David Dhawan's Aankhen, and one of the decade's biggest box office hits.

Thirty-two years on, filmmakers still vie for the rights to remake Khalnayak. Subhash Ghai himself continues to tease the possibility of a Khalnayak 2.

In these three decades, Sanjay and Madhuri have crossed paths many times at Bollywood functions and even shared the screen again in Kalank (2019).  In 2017, Sanjay was a guest speaker for a session at Goafest. During the round of audience questions after the interview, someone asked Sanjay Dutt, 'Given a chance today, which actress would you like to marry?'

Sanjay, in all seriousness, replied, 'I would like to marry Madhuri Dixit.'