Rajkumar Santoshi is one of Hindi cinema's most popular filmmakers, and he is known for titles such as Damini, Andaz Apna Apna, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, and Khakee, among others. His latest film, Batwara 1947, starring Sunny Deol in the lead role, is now out in theatres. As part of promotions for Batwara 1947, Rajkumar Santoshi revealed that he wanted to make his debut with a version of Ghayal starring Kamal Haasan.

Speaking to Galatta Plus, the filmmaker confirmed the speculation about him wanting to make Ghatak with Kamal. "I am a huge fan of Kamal Haasan. He has inspired me by his work a lot. First, I wanted to do Ghayal also with Kamal Haasan," Rajkumar Santoshi disclosed.

Santoshi said that his friend and Kamal's close friend, photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha, even set up a meeting between the two. However, the project that he had in mind with Kamal did not take off. "That time, I was a nobody. So some of that didn't materialise," the filmmaker explained.

Instead, Santoshi made Ghayal with Sunny Deol in the lead role. The film became a blockbuster at the box office upon its 1990 release. It also won a Special Jury Award for Sunny Deol and Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the National Film Awards.

Batwara: 1947 has brought Santoshi and Sunny back together after 1996's Ghatak. In between, the filmmaker also directed Sunny in Damini (1993), which has the iconic "tarikh pe tarikh" line from the actor that has been referenced by impersonators countless times.

Coming back to Batwara: 1947, the film has earned 36.76 crore from theatres in India so far, according to data from the box office tracker Sacnilk.