Love stuck

At the promotional meet for his just-released Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, Sooraj Barjatya fielded questions with a practised ease. The man who...

At the promotional meet for his just-released Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, Sooraj Barjatya fielded questions with a practised ease. The man who once shied away from the media, letting his films do the talking, is finally talking. From the person who unobtrusively took notes in a corner during discussions at Frames 2002, the annual convention on the business of entertainment, to the confident director who meets the Press, Sooraj has travelled far.

When he was young, Sooraj felt terrible whenever his father Rajkumar Barjatya came home and explained why his film had flopped. But Sooraj has never come home to a flop. When his father saw Sooraj8217;s first film Maine Pyar Kiya, he declared it 8216;8216;an epic8217;8217;. The highbrow crowd cringed; but going by the success of the film, the rest of India shared the senior Barjatya8217;s sentiments. Maine Pyar Kiya broke boxoffice records and was dubbed in English and Spanish.

The stars of Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon MPKDH must be praying for a similar miracle 8212; Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan badly need a Barjatya build-up.

Sooraj, 38, best describes his personality in a 8216;collection of thoughts8217; posted on Rajshri8217;s website. He sees himself as a 8216;8216;quiet creative man like Mani Ratnam8217;8217;. Yet Ratnam gives interviews before each of his films; Sooraj, in comparison, is almost a recluse.

Intensely shy, Sooraj makes films in the Rajshri 8216;family8217; tradition. Going by blockbusters Maine Pyar Kiya 1988, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..! 1994 and Hum Saath-Saath Hain 1999, this means love, laughter, pets, songs, dances, weddings, a small crisis and relatives peeping out from every corner.

In that sense, Sooraj has departed from tradition in MPKDH. The director has shot in a foreign locale New Zealand for the first time. Sooraj has also discarded the innocence of first love; capturing red-hot passion between Hrithik and Kareena.

For those expecting this to be an extension of his earlier films, this comes as almost a culture shock. But it8217;s not as if Sooraj was ever stuck in a time warp. His actors say he may not look yuppie like Farhan Akhtar or Karan Johar, but Sooraj is as cool and in touch with his generation. Sooraj began his career by assisting in films like Mahesh Bhatt8217;s Saaransh. Yet when he made MPK at 24, he created the new Hindi feelgood musical. The family is the giant ferris wheel in the colourful hoopla he creates and as he modestly admits, he only adds sheen to the Rajshri tradition. The dowdy film banner is now, well, sexy.

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But this gay abandon is the result of obsessive detailing8212;Sooraj gives three-hour narrations to every actor, even singing them snatches. His magic touch also seems to spill over in his relationship with his actors. Bad boy Salman is docile Sooraj8217;s rare flashes of temper are usually directed at him on his sets and bratty Kareena gushes, 8216;8216;Main Soorajji ki diwani hoon.8217;8217;

Whatever his magic, you can only guess at Sooraj Barjatya8217;s personality. Perhaps, he is best summed up in one of his own lines: 8216;8216;We may wear jeans and sport Nike shoes, but we also end up making it to our yearly pilgrimage.8217;8217;