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Salman Khan wasn’t ‘bhola’ enough for Vivah, decided to cast Shahid Kapoor because of his age: Sooraj Barjatya

Sooraj Barjatya said that Salman Khan wasn't right for the role of Prem in Vivah, so he decided to cast Shahid Kapoor.

Sooraj Barjatya explained why he cast Shahid Kapoor instead of Salman Khan in Vivah.

Actor Salman Khan and filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya started collaborating when they were both just starting their careers. Their first hit Maine Pyar Kiya made them stars and they continued to work with each other for over a decade after that in films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Hum Saath Saath Hain but when Sooraj decided to make Vivah, he felt that Salman didn’t look innocent enough for the role. Sooraj shared the same in a recent interview where he also said that Salman was old for the character of Prem in that film.

In a chat with Digital Commentary, Sooraj was asked why, after working extensively with Salman in many of his films, he decided to cast Shahid in the lead role. To this, Sooraj explained that ever since he knew he wanted to become a filmmaker, “I decided I will not compromise.” He said that Vivah went into production after the massive failure of Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, which starred Kareena Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan.

He shared that soon after the film’s failure, Salman called him and asked to collaborate. “After Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon flopped, Salman called and said ‘let’s work on something’. But at that time, I didn’t have a story for Salman and this was a story that my father had given me,” Sooraj shared recalling the real-life story that was the genesis of Vivah.

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Sooraj said that he knew Salman wouldn’t fit in Vivah as he wanted someone who would look innocent and appeared much younger. “When I decided I want to make this, I knew Salman wouldn’t fit here because he was a major star,” he said and added, “Isme bholapan chahiye, umar chahiye aur umar toh kisiki rukegi nahi. Toh fir yeh Shahid aur Amrita ki casting hui. (This needed innocence and age, and age doesn’t stop for anyone. That’s how I cast Shahid and Amrita.)”

Before this, Salman and Sooraj had worked together on Hum Saath Saath Hain. It was during the shoot of this film in Rajasthan that Salman was accused of shooting blackbucks. In 2024, Salman’s house was shot at by alleged supporters of Lawrence Bishnoi in connection to the same case. Salman and Sooraj’s next collaboration happened in 2015 with Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, also starring Sonam Kapoor.

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