General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Ajay (अजय)

Ajay (अजय) is a 1996 Hindi-language romantic action drama film directed and produced by Suneel Darshan, starring Sunny Deol as Ajay, a middle-class man whose family is murdered, and Karisma Kapoor as Manorama, the woman he loves.¹ It was Darshan's first film as a director.²

Key fact	Detail
Release	20 December 1996 in India per IMDb and trade listings; some trade sources, including Box Office India and Bollywood Hungama, date it 27 December 1996¹^•³
Director / producer	Suneel Darshan, his directorial debut, under the banner Shree Krishna International²^•⁴
Lead cast	Sunny Deol (Ajay), Karisma Kapoor (Manorama 'Rama'), Reena Roy (Durga), Suresh Oberoi (Raja Brijraj Singh), Kiran Kumar (Chote Raja Ranbir)¹
Music	Anand-Milind, lyrics by Sameer; "Chamak Chhallo" performed by Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik⁵
Runtime	146 minutes (2h 26m) per IMDb; other listings give 2h 27m to 167 minutes¹^•³
Box office	Budget ₹60 million (₹6 crore); India net about ₹91.8 million (₹9.18 crore); verdict Average³
Certification	UA in India⁶

Spoilers

Plot

The film's premise, as summarized by Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, is that Ajay, a decent man from a middle-class family, meets the dancer Manorama at a club and spends time with her; when he returns home he finds his entire family murdered. He goes to work for the criminal Roopesh Singh, and while working for him finds a clue that leads him to the killer.⁴^•¹ In this version of the story, the evidence links Roopesh to the murder, and Ajay sets out on revenge.⁷

A fuller synopsis on Box Office India gives the romance more weight. Raja Brijraj Singh and his younger brother Raja Ranbir Singh are wealthy landlords of the village of Kishangarh who want their headstrong, foreign-returned niece Manorama to marry the equally wealthy Roopesh Singh; she instead falls for the poor Ajay. Brijraj kidnaps Ajay's mother Laxmi and forces Manorama to give false evidence against Ajay, who is arrested; Laxmi is killed and Ajay escapes from lockup.³ BookMyShow's synopsis likewise centers the class conflict, with Ajay saving Rama's life and winning her love despite her uncles' opposition.⁸

Production

Darshan's debut. After working as a distributor and producer of Hindi films, Suneel Darshan turned director with Ajay; he also conceptualized the film and wrote its dialogues, aiming for a mass commercial film with technical polish.² According to IMDb trivia, the cinematographer Manmohan Singh was originally set to direct, but Darshan was not satisfied with his work and took over.⁹

Casting and the title. Juhi Chawla began the film as the heroine but was replaced by Karisma Kapoor after two schedules, when her dates became difficult to manage.²^•⁹ The title matches the lead actor's real name: Sunny Deol's birth name is Ajay Singh Deol. In the early 1990s Deol had announced a film titled Ajay under his home banner Vijeta Films, to be made with director Rajkumar Santoshi; that project never took off, and when Darshan approached him he agreed to let the new film use the title.²^•⁹

The film took about three years to complete. It was shot extensively abroad in Switzerland, France, Scotland, and Holland, at seven Indian outdoor locations, and in a Mumbai studio.²

Music

The score is by the composer duo Anand-Milind, with lyrics by Sameer.³ The song "Chamak Chhallo" is performed by Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik.⁵ The contemporary trade paper Film Information called the music fair, ranking "Chhammak Chhallo" as the best number followed by the title song, and noted that the picturizations of both were enjoyable for Sunny's and Karisma's dances.¹⁰

Reception and box office

Film Information's review, published in its issue dated 28 December 1996, called the story routine and the screenplay unimaginative, and judged that Darshan "does not make an impressive debut as director," criticizing his reliance on close-ups; it did praise the action scenes and the production values, while finding the climax unduly lengthy and the ending abrupt.¹⁰ The film later drew a 4.2/10 rating on IMDb from about 310 users.¹

Commercial performance. Box Office India records a budget of ₹60 million (₹6 crore), an opening day of ₹7,000,000 on 225 screens, a first weekend of ₹20.1 million (₹2.01 crore), a first week of ₹36.1 million (₹3.61 crore), and a total India net gross of ₹91.8 million (₹9.18 crore), with a verdict of Average; worldwide gross was about ₹168 million (₹16.80 crore) including $115,000 overseas.³ Sacnilk's figures are close, with India net of ₹90.6 million (₹9.06 crore) and worldwide gross of ₹167 million (₹16.70 crore), also labeled Average.¹¹ Bollywood Hungama lists the same opening day, weekend, and week figures and a lifetime India net of ₹91.8 million (₹9.18 crore), with an Average verdict.¹² The review in Film Information had predicted that the heavily priced film would need the absence of opposition, owing to a cinema closure in Maharashtra from 1 January 1997, to build its business, with North India led by Punjab expected to perform best.¹⁰

Availability

The film is streaming in India on ZEE5 and VI movies and tv (free with ads), and has also been listed on Prime Video, ShemarooMe, Airtel Xstream Play, Plex, and Fawesome.¹³^•¹⁴

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 1990s › Action and thriller films › Released 1996 to 1999

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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