{ "id": "epewfv4ksx", "slug": "ghatak-1996-film", "title": "Ghatak (घातक) (1996 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": 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"culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.hindi-films-of-the-1990s.action-and-thriller-films.yr-1996-1999", "markdown": "# Ghatak (घातक) (1996 film)\n\n**Ghatak** ([घातक](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghatak-lethal); English title *Ghatak: Lethal*) is a 1996 Hindi-language action drama directed, produced, and written by [Rajkumar Santoshi](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajkumar-santoshi), starring [Sunny Deol](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunny-deol) as a wrestler who confronts a gangster terrorizing a Mumbai neighborhood while seeking medical treatment for his ailing father. It was released on 8 November 1996 and finished among the year's top commercial successes.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghatak-lethal)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 8 November 1996, Hindi, on 220 screens[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739) |\n| Director / producer | Rajkumar Santoshi, for Santoshi Productions[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghatak-lethal) |\n| Lead cast | Sunny Deol (Kashi Nath), Meenakshi Sheshadri (Gauri), Danny Denzongpa (Katya), Amrish Puri (Shambu Nath), Om Puri (Sachdev)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghatak-lethal) |\n| India nett gross | ₹152,350,000 against a budget of ₹62,500,000; verdict Super Hit[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739) |\n| 1996 rank | Fourth-highest India distributor share of the year, ₹8,41,50,000, behind Raja Hindustani, Agni Sakshi, and Jeet[3](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/years.php?pageId=7&year=1996) |\n| Footfalls | 15,835,000 in India[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739) |\n| Milestone | Meenakshi Sheshadri's last film to date[4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/ghatak-lethal) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nKatya ([Danny Denzongpa](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-denzongpa)) is a ruthless mobster who has taken control of a town on the outskirts of Mumbai, violently putting down opposition, including murdering a man who publicly opposed him.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghatak-lethal) Kashinath, called Kashi (Sunny Deol), a wrestler from Banaras who was abandoned on the ghats as an infant and raised by the freedom fighter and social worker Shambhunath ([Amrish Puri](https://www.edgepedia.org/amrish-puri)), brings his ailing father to Mumbai for treatment.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghatak-lethal) The doctor diagnoses Shambhunath's illness as cancer in an advanced stage, and Kashi discovers that his brother Shiv and the fellow shopkeepers of the locality live at the mercy of Katya and his brothers, who want to seize their land.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739)\n\nKashi begins to resist Katya's rule and urges the townspeople not to be afraid; when Katya's men are beaten up, Katya publicly challenges him and kidnaps Kashi's nephew.[5](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/ghatak) In one of the film's pivotal humiliations, Katya forces the ailing Shambhunath to imitate a dog, and Katya later has Kashi's brother killed, escalating the conflict into open revenge.[6](https://aambar.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/ghatak1996/) Kashi also meets Gauri (Meenakshi Sheshadri), and the two grow close over the course of the story.[5](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/ghatak)\n\n## Production and cast\n\nRajkumar Santoshi directed, produced, and wrote the film under his banner Santoshi Productions.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghatak-lethal) A Directorate of Film Festivals catalog profile describes Santoshi's films, including *Ghayal* (1990), *[Damini](https://www.edgepedia.org/damini)* (1993), and *Ghatak* (1996), as known for strongly etched lead characters marked by pent-up anger, while noting that he has also worked in other genres such as the comedy *Andaz Apna Apna* (1994).[7](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/67_50thNfacatalogue.pdf)\n\nThe ensemble included, besides the four leads, [Om Puri](https://www.edgepedia.org/om-puri) as Sachdev, Tinu Anand as a police officer, [Mamta Kulkarni](https://www.edgepedia.org/mamta-kulkarni) in a song appearance, and [Rohini Hattangadi](https://www.edgepedia.org/rohini-hattangadi), Makrand Deshpande, and Deep Dhillon among others.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghatak-lethal) • [5](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/ghatak) Mukesh Rishi played Katya's brother Jeena, the toughest opponent Kashi faces before reaching Katya himself.[6](https://aambar.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/ghatak1996/) Music is credited to Anu Malik and R. D. Burman, with Ishwar Bidri as director of photography and Vanraj Bhatia handling background music.[4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/ghatak-lethal) • [8](https://www.indya101.com/c/movies/overview/id_1236/Ghatak) For Meenakshi Sheshadri, who played Gauri, the film was her last to date.[4](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/ghatak-lethal)\n\n## Box office\n\n**Commercial performance.** Box Office India records a first day of ₹80,00,000, a first weekend of ₹2,27,00,000, and a first week of ₹4,28,00,000, building to a total India nett gross of ₹152,350,000 and an India gross of ₹26,04,00,000, with overseas gross of $150,000 and a worldwide gross of ₹265,762,500.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739) Sacnilk gives slightly different figures: India net ₹151 million (₹15.10 crore), India gross ₹259 million (₹25.90 crore), worldwide ₹264.8 million (₹26.48 crore), and a budget of ₹60 million (₹6.00 crore), with the same Super Hit verdict.[9](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Ghatak_1996) The film drew 15,835,000 footfalls in India, and Box Office India's inflation-adjusted nett gross stands at ₹1,522,851,950.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739)\n\nAmong 1996 Hindi releases, Ghatak ranked fourth by India distributor share, behind *Raja Hindustani* (₹278,900,000), *Agni Sakshi* (₹108,400,000), and *Jeet* (₹95,200,000), and just ahead of *Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi* (₹82,350,000).[3](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/years.php?pageId=7&year=1996) A Films Discourse compilation likewise lists it fourth for the year by India net, at ₹152.4 million (₹15.24 crore), with a Superhit verdict.[10](https://filmsdiscourse.com/box-office/?by=net&year=1996)\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nThe film holds a 7.6/10 rating on IMDb from about 5,000 users, with an unweighted mean of 8.0.[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116407/ratings/) Retrospective reviews praise the father-son pairing of Amrish Puri and Sunny Deol and Danny Denzongpa's villain, and place the film in the same lineage as Santoshi's *Ghayal* and *Damini*.[6](https://aambar.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/ghatak1996/) Santoshi has since been reported as reuniting with Sunny Deol on new action films described as being on the lines of *Ghatak*, and has clarified that one announced project, *Ghatak Ghus Ke Maarega*, is not a sequel.[12](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-details/ghatak/movieshow/62519099.cms)\n\nReported runtimes differ across databases: Box Office India lists 152 minutes, Rotten Tomatoes and the Times of India list 2 hours 38 minutes, and Indian Film History lists 3 hours.[1](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghatak-lethal) • [5](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/ghatak) The film is currently available for streaming on Zee5 in multiple regions.[13](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/ghatak/VGuEiq25nR752r1wrbRmW5/where-to-watch/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Ghatak, Box Office India](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=2739)\n2. [Ghatak, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghatak-lethal)\n3. [Top India Distributor Share 1996, Box Office India](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/years.php?pageId=7&year=1996)\n4. [Ghatak: Lethal (1996), Moviebuff](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/ghatak-lethal)\n5. [Ghatak (1996), Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/ghatak)\n6. [Ghatak (1996), Ambar Chatterjee's Reviews](https://aambar.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/ghatak1996/)\n7. [Rajkumar Santoshi profile, 50th National Film Awards catalogue, Directorate of Film Festivals](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/67_50thNfacatalogue.pdf)\n8. [Ghatak overview, Indya101](https://www.indya101.com/c/movies/overview/id_1236/Ghatak)\n9. [Ghatak (1996) box office, Sacnilk](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Ghatak_1996)\n10. [1996 box office collections, Films Discourse](https://filmsdiscourse.com/box-office/?by=net&year=1996)\n11. [Ghatak (1996) ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116407/ratings/)\n12. [Ghatak movie details, Times of India eTimes](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-details/ghatak/movieshow/62519099.cms)\n13. [Ghatak where to watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/ghatak/VGuEiq25nR752r1wrbRmW5/where-to-watch/)\n\n---\n*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*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/ghatak-1996-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/ghatak-1996-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Ghatak (घातक) (1996 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/ghatak-1996-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Ghatak (घातक) (1996 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghatak-1996-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/ghatak-1996-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghatak-1996-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Ghatak (घातक) (1996 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/ghatak-1996-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Ghatak is a 1996 Hindi action drama directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, starring Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Danny Denzongpa, and Amrish Puri; a Super Hit that ranked fourth in 1996 distributor share." }