Sooraj Barjatya’s three and a half hour long wedding-video, done in gloriously unapologetic shades of purple, pink, mauve and military-green, was not a film. It was an extended evening of musical chairs that made the great Indian wedding look like an occasion to flaunt the peacock within all of us. Sadly, from this point onwards, the clothes, attitude, flamboyance and extravagance flaunted in Barjatya’s non-cinematic reel raga became the benchmark and definition of ‘Lavish Wedding’.
After Maine Pyar Kiya, Sooraj Barjatya and Salman Khan decided they would come together for another love story, this time a full-blown musical with fourteen songs. Salman was not sure if that would work.
Initially, when the film opened, audiences complained about its length. So two of the songs were removed. But when the film went on to become the biggest box office hit in the history of Hindi cinema, the two edited songs Chocolate limejuice and Mujhse juda hokar were restored on public demand.
Lata Mangeshkar, whose voice is the soul of Hum Aapke Hain Koun, recorded ten songs in four days, as she had to leave the country for a concert tour. She recalled Sooraj Barjatya being part of every recording. “He knew exactly where and how he wanted the songs. He had the music mapped in his mind,” she remembers. One reason why Hum Saath Saath Hain, the follow-up to Hum Aapke Hain Koun, flopped is because Lataji’s voice was missing.
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When Sooraj was ready with Vivah in 2006, I asked him if it would be as big a hit as Hum Aapke Hain Koun. He replied, “I can’t remake Hum Aapke Hain Koun because that part of my life is over. It’s never thought of. It just happens. I’ve always gone by instinct. No one can do that, not even me. Every project dictates its own vision. At 40 I could look at the man-woman relationship with some detachment. Unlike my earlier films, Vivah isn’t about the festivities connected with a marriage. It’s about the definition and dynamics of a marriage. I feel youngsters are losing touch with the beauty of relationships.”
Sooraj and Salman have done four films together. Sooraj represents everything that is good, kind and humane in Salman. From the time they made their debut as leading man and director in Maine Pyar Kiya, they’ve shared a very spiritual relationship. Although they’re the same age, Salman looks up to Soorajji. Their friendship struck a rough patch during Hum Saath Saath Hain (when the black buck incident happened). But that’s in the past now. Today Salman is closer to Sooraj and his family than ever before.
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