After assisting Govind Nihalani on Vijeta and Ardh Satya, Santoshi was hand-picked by Dharmendra to direct the hard-hitting Ghayal for his banner, Vijeyta Films.

Interestingly, Ghayal was released on the same day as the Aamir Khan-Madhuri Dixit campus romance, Dil.

Ghayal, meanwhile, had a violent story of injustice to tell. As it turns out, both films were declared box office champs. The simmering anger and compelling intensity of Ghayal won several awards turning its hero Sunny Deol into an actor to be reckon with overnight.

The potency of this director-actor partnership was further enhanced in Deol's National-award winning turn as a sarcasm-spewing drunk lawyer out to seek justice in Damini.

Santoshi's ability to extract poignant performances, whilst keeping the realism intact, was also evident in their final outing together -- Ghatak. The scenes involving an ailing Amrish Puri and Deol, playing his do-gooder son were especially heart-rending.

Text: Sukanya Verma

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