Indian filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya, known best for his films around Indian culture and family values, revealed why he didn’t cast Salman Khan in ‘Vivah’, despite three blockbuster collaborations.
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Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya, who had Salman Khan as Prem in all his films but ‘Vivah’ and ‘Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon’, had cast Shahid Kapoor as the beloved character in the 2006 romance drama, giving then-newbie his first major blockbuster.
Speaking about Kapoor’s casting in a new interview, Barjatya revealed why he didn’t reunite with Khan for the film, despite their three successful collaborations; ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’, ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!’ and ‘Hum Saath-Saath Hain’.
“If I look at it like that, I am selfish with my own work because nothing is more important than me being a writer and director. Be it my previous films, Maine Pyaar Kiya ho, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, it is always the subject matter which calls me first, or else why would I take 5 years to make a film?” he said. “It is always the subject that matters the most.”
He continued, “As for Vivah, my father had shared this story with me, from a newspaper cutting, in which a tailor from Meerut had married a girl even though she got scarred by fire burns. So we thought of making a love story based on that humanity.”
“And because the story demanded someone fresh and naive, so Salman being the star was not the right fit for that age and he also lacked that innocence and naivety,” explained Barjatya. “Hence, Shahid and Amrita were cast in those roles.”
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Notably, ‘Vivah’, starring debut co-stars Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao, along with an ensemble supporting cast, follows ‘the story of two individuals, and relates their journey from engagement to marriage and aftermath’. Despite opening to mixed reviews from critics, for its overly dramatized depiction of events, the title emerged as an unexpected blockbuster, becoming the biggest commercial hit for both actors at that point.