Sooraj Barjatya didn’t want to direct Hum Aapke Hain Koun, had two ECGs ‘due to stress’: ‘Why would I do a remake?’

Sooraj Barjatya talks about his 1994 hit classic Hum Aapke Hain Koun!, starring Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lead roles.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | November 4, 2024 07:58 PM IST

3 min read

Sooraj Barjatya on his hit film Hum Aapke Hain Koun!

Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya, the celebrated director known for iconic family films such as Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, and Vivaah, has had his fair share of troubles while approaching his movies. Earlier, in a conversation with The Film Companion, he talked about how his father Raj Kumar Barjatya pushed him to make the Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit starrer Hum Aapke Hain Koun!

Sooraj shared that there were several instances where ‘at every step people were saying that this is no film to be made.” “People also said that this is a Chhaya Geet or video cassette, but my team held on. The credit goes to first and foremost my father,” he said.

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Elaborating a conversation he had with him three years before making the film, Sooraj revealed, “When I was dubbing Maine Pyaar Kiya in Telugu, he sat me down and asked, ‘Iske baad kya (what next)?’ and I thought ‘Dekh lenge (we will see)’. He then said that there is a subject that I want you to make and you can make it. He told me that we made Nadiya Ke Paar in 1981 and it was a big hit in one of the Hindi belts because it was in the Awadhi language. He said that no one else has seen it and I should make it in Hindi. Mujhe bhi naya josh tha and maine socha ki main remake kyu banaunga (I had just delivered a hit and I wondered why would I direct a remake).”

The director further added that the stress and pressure of releasing another hit was getting to him. “Fir idhar udhar dhoondhta raha aur subject, but I couldn’t find anything. So, my father believed in me. It took me three years to write the script. I went through two ECG’s because I was not getting the sur of what he wanted. I was so stressed, ek picture hit hogayi thi pehle toh pressure zyada tha (there was pressure as my first film was a hit). When you sit to write, every film has its own nut to crack. It was entirely my father who asked me to play around with the characters, no villains, only good people, make a musical!”

For the unknown, Barjatya’s 1994 classic was honoured with the National Film Award for best popular film providing wholesome entertainment. The film, which was India’s biggest blockbuster in the 90s, is a story that celebrates family values, love, and relationships.

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