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Karma's Child: The Story of Indian Cinema's Ultimate Showman
Subhash Ghai is the man behind some of Hindi cinema's most iconic movies. Of the sixteen films he made between 1976 and 2008, twelve-Kalicharan, Karz, Vidhaata, Hero, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Meri Jung, Saudagar, Khal Nayak, Pardes, Taal and Yaadein-were blockbusters, and the others were critically acclaimed. Known for the strong stories, the memorable music and the grandeur of his films, Ghai not only helmed dream-cast multi-starrers but also signed on rank newcomers who went on to become established names in Bollywood. With his innovative thinking, he brought the crowds flocking back to the theatres when video piracy was at its peak, was the first in India to release the music of a film on audio CD and was a pioneer in taking Hindi cinema to global markets.
A self-made man who rose to dizzying heights, Ghai proved the adage that destinies are created-and destroyed-every day in the Mumbai film industry. Today he runs Whistling Woods, the country's foremost film his legacy to future generations of filmmakers.
Karma's Child, his memoir, written with Suveen Sinha, tells the story of a man who believed he was destined to direct his own future, no less dramatically than a Subhash Ghai film-and did so.
A self-made man who rose to dizzying heights, Ghai proved the adage that destinies are created-and destroyed-every day in the Mumbai film industry. Today he runs Whistling Woods, the country's foremost film his legacy to future generations of filmmakers.
Karma's Child, his memoir, written with Suveen Sinha, tells the story of a man who believed he was destined to direct his own future, no less dramatically than a Subhash Ghai film-and did so.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 15, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 19, 2025
When you think of some of the biggest commercially successful movies of the 80s and 90s in India, especially about Hindi movies, you cannot ignore the films of Subhash Ghai. He delivered a string of blockbusters, one after another, such as Vidhata (1982), Hero (1983), Meri Jung (1985), Karma (1986), Ram Lakhan (1989), Saudagar (1991), Khal Nayak (1993), etc. Two of his other successful movies, Pardes (1997) and Taal (1999), which were released in the late 90s, are still remembered by movie buffs for their plot and music.
Ghai, whose journey as a director began in the late 70s, with Kalicharan (1976) and Vishwanath (1978), which were also commercial hits, is still remembered by the moviegoers for their dialogues. Big hit movies were made earlier also, but what made Subhash Ghai’s movie different was its larger-than-life characters, mesmerising dialogue delivery and magical music. His unique storytelling style, which often revolved around larger-than-life characters and their memorable dialogues, set his movies apart. In almost all of his successful films, whether it was a blockbuster or lower than that, the characters and their dialogues became famous and memorised by moviegoers like popular songs. For example, whether it was the conversation between DSP Prabhakar Srivastava (played by Shatrughna Sinha) and Seth Dharamraj (played by Ajit) in Kalicharan, Abu Baba (played by Sanjeev Kumar) and Shamsher Singh (played by Dilip Kumar) in Vidhata, Arun Verma (played by Anil Kapoor) and G. D. Thakral (played by Amrish Puri) in Meri Jung, Rana Vishwa Pratap Singh (played by Dilip Kumar) and Doctor Dang (played by Anupam Kher) in Karma or tussle of Rajeshwar Singh (played by Raj Kumar) and Dada Veer (played by Dilip Kumar), all of these scenes and dialogue are hugely popular with the masses. This biography Karma’s Child (2024), covers Ghai’s journey in the film industry. What intrigued me to go through this book is his illustrious career as a filmmaker. I wanted to know how a person can create such magic on screen; his movies became blockbusters, that too one after another, with memorable dialogues and songs. In their whole career, most of the directors generally get one or two bigger hits and memorable movies, but here is a man who, out of 19 films he directed, 12 were critically and commercially successful, including the musical hit Karz (1980), which was said to be ahead of its time. Giving commercially successful movies one after another, that too with some lessons, is not child’s play. However, this book does not fully stand on this scale, but still, it does not dismay its readers. It explains some important aspects of Ghai’s life and his movie-making style, which makes it a worthwhile read. It tells you some of the unknown aspects of Ghai’s personality, which gives you some idea about him as a successful filmmaker, whose works have always left a long-lasting impact on viewers. The book narrates that if Ghai was once convinced about the plot and how a particular movie should be made, then he used to become too adamant to change his mind. Due to this attitude and conviction in his craft, either the actors were changed or that particular movie was shelved. For example, Deva, which Ghai was making with Amitabh Bachchan, was shelved due to the lack of adequate dates Ghai got from Bachchan. So, like this, the book tells you many such stories, which make its reader aware of the highs and lows of movie-making.
Like his movies, the book is very well written, because it describes the ups and downs through which Ghai went as a filmmaker in a very simple language. The book has 22 chapters, but they generally end in ten to fifteen pages, which does not make it lengthy. This book is not like any other biography, which narrates a person's life in an episodic manner by indulging lots of incidents (whether good or bad); it is all about Ghai’s life in movies. The book is structured in a way that each chapter, apart from the first, which examines his early life and childhood inner conflicts, and the second and third, which detail his FTII years and his initial efforts to establish himself as an actor and writer, recounts the stories behind each film he produced or directed. It also delves into his personal life, his struggles, and his triumphs. Those who are interested in knowing them will definitely like it.
Ghai, whose journey as a director began in the late 70s, with Kalicharan (1976) and Vishwanath (1978), which were also commercial hits, is still remembered by the moviegoers for their dialogues. Big hit movies were made earlier also, but what made Subhash Ghai’s movie different was its larger-than-life characters, mesmerising dialogue delivery and magical music. His unique storytelling style, which often revolved around larger-than-life characters and their memorable dialogues, set his movies apart. In almost all of his successful films, whether it was a blockbuster or lower than that, the characters and their dialogues became famous and memorised by moviegoers like popular songs. For example, whether it was the conversation between DSP Prabhakar Srivastava (played by Shatrughna Sinha) and Seth Dharamraj (played by Ajit) in Kalicharan, Abu Baba (played by Sanjeev Kumar) and Shamsher Singh (played by Dilip Kumar) in Vidhata, Arun Verma (played by Anil Kapoor) and G. D. Thakral (played by Amrish Puri) in Meri Jung, Rana Vishwa Pratap Singh (played by Dilip Kumar) and Doctor Dang (played by Anupam Kher) in Karma or tussle of Rajeshwar Singh (played by Raj Kumar) and Dada Veer (played by Dilip Kumar), all of these scenes and dialogue are hugely popular with the masses. This biography Karma’s Child (2024), covers Ghai’s journey in the film industry. What intrigued me to go through this book is his illustrious career as a filmmaker. I wanted to know how a person can create such magic on screen; his movies became blockbusters, that too one after another, with memorable dialogues and songs. In their whole career, most of the directors generally get one or two bigger hits and memorable movies, but here is a man who, out of 19 films he directed, 12 were critically and commercially successful, including the musical hit Karz (1980), which was said to be ahead of its time. Giving commercially successful movies one after another, that too with some lessons, is not child’s play. However, this book does not fully stand on this scale, but still, it does not dismay its readers. It explains some important aspects of Ghai’s life and his movie-making style, which makes it a worthwhile read. It tells you some of the unknown aspects of Ghai’s personality, which gives you some idea about him as a successful filmmaker, whose works have always left a long-lasting impact on viewers. The book narrates that if Ghai was once convinced about the plot and how a particular movie should be made, then he used to become too adamant to change his mind. Due to this attitude and conviction in his craft, either the actors were changed or that particular movie was shelved. For example, Deva, which Ghai was making with Amitabh Bachchan, was shelved due to the lack of adequate dates Ghai got from Bachchan. So, like this, the book tells you many such stories, which make its reader aware of the highs and lows of movie-making.
Like his movies, the book is very well written, because it describes the ups and downs through which Ghai went as a filmmaker in a very simple language. The book has 22 chapters, but they generally end in ten to fifteen pages, which does not make it lengthy. This book is not like any other biography, which narrates a person's life in an episodic manner by indulging lots of incidents (whether good or bad); it is all about Ghai’s life in movies. The book is structured in a way that each chapter, apart from the first, which examines his early life and childhood inner conflicts, and the second and third, which detail his FTII years and his initial efforts to establish himself as an actor and writer, recounts the stories behind each film he produced or directed. It also delves into his personal life, his struggles, and his triumphs. Those who are interested in knowing them will definitely like it.
February 3, 2025
Karma’s Child is a biography of filmmaker Subhash Ghai. Before I write anything further, just the statistic is worth a mention. He has been in the industry for almost fifty years, made films for almost 30 years, number of films he has made 16, number of pages of the book is almost 300. He is an actor, a filmmaker and an academic. He talks of his struggle, the hardship days, the heartbreaks and the humiliations. After that he turns a filmmaker and shares about how he is getting used to success, becoming the showman of the industry, the hopes and expectations from him. The journey of every film, how he had to put in and invest so much before he could ripen the harvest. He also talks about films that were planned but didn’t get made that were close to his heart like Deva. And he talks about making a dream called Whistling Woods. And how today it’s a platform of many filmmakers, actors and technicians. It’s a full life, a wholesome life and a successful life. If you are a fan of his movies and if you want to know more about the man then this is the book written by Suveen Sinha. He has done a great job. Congratulations.
July 15, 2025
After a long time, I picked up a physical book—and this one isn’t an autobiography but Subhash Ghai’s journey as a filmmaker.
It starts strong: his childhood, his parents’ divorce, and friendships across class lines. But those threads disappear quickly. No mention of whether he stayed in touch, or his journey toward parenthood and adoption.
The book shines when it dives into his transition from actor to writer to director. There’s plenty of behind-the-scenes drama—Simi’s lackluster performance in Karz and his threat to shelve it, Manisha and her mom wooing him with roses every hour, and how he discovered talents like Madhuri and Jackie.
He opens up about working with DOPs like K. K. Mahajan, Ashok Mehta, and Kabir Lal, and explains why projects like Deva (with Amitabh) and Sangeet (with Kamal Haasan) got shelved.
What really stands out is how he uses songs as part of the story, not as fillers. His evolving equation with music directors—from Laxmikant-Pyarelal to Kalyanji-Anandji to A.R. Rahman—shows a director adapting to changing times.
My only grouse: it’s all his version. A few voices from others would’ve added balance.
It starts strong: his childhood, his parents’ divorce, and friendships across class lines. But those threads disappear quickly. No mention of whether he stayed in touch, or his journey toward parenthood and adoption.
The book shines when it dives into his transition from actor to writer to director. There’s plenty of behind-the-scenes drama—Simi’s lackluster performance in Karz and his threat to shelve it, Manisha and her mom wooing him with roses every hour, and how he discovered talents like Madhuri and Jackie.
He opens up about working with DOPs like K. K. Mahajan, Ashok Mehta, and Kabir Lal, and explains why projects like Deva (with Amitabh) and Sangeet (with Kamal Haasan) got shelved.
What really stands out is how he uses songs as part of the story, not as fillers. His evolving equation with music directors—from Laxmikant-Pyarelal to Kalyanji-Anandji to A.R. Rahman—shows a director adapting to changing times.
My only grouse: it’s all his version. A few voices from others would’ve added balance.
January 30, 2025
Loved this book.
Mr. subhash ghai’s life is worth reading.
Mr. subhash ghai’s life is worth reading.
April 6, 2025
Nostalgic. Reminded me of the movies Hero , Karma when i was a kid. A great filmaker who made it on his own. Loved reading it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews