Mumbai: Bollywood’s much-loved actor-director jodi Salman Khan and Sooraj Barjatya, known for delivering blockbusters like ‘Maine Pyaar Kiya’, ‘Hum Aapke Hai Koun’, ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’ and many more, is teaming up once again for a family love story.
Sooraj, who is currently working on the story of the upcoming film with Salman, told India Today, “Thoda waqt hai (There’s still time to that film). We are working on the story of the film with Salman bhai. But we will also have to have an age-appropriate script for the same. We will be announcing the film soon, probably in November. It features established actors, but we cannot talk much about it. It’s a family drama and a love story, a world that we present strongly in our films. I do feel responsible towards giving our audiences the stories that we believe and celebrate.”
The filmmaker revealed that the story revolves around a small-town boy and girl, who are trying to find their own identity.
“It’s a pure love story,” he shared.
In an earlier interview with Times Now, the director had opened up about the challenges of writing an age-appropriate script for Salman.
“It will not be a new avatar for him because with me, Salman Bhai, we always want to bring back the simplicity, the extended family, and the happiness… chhoti chhoti cheezon mein khushi (happiness in little things). But mujhe thoda waqt lagega [it will take time] because now we have to write for Salman bhai something that suits his age. That is a big challenge for me as a writer and as a director because we want him to be the same masti, same fun, but uss umar mein [according to his age]. It’s going to take me a little more time,” Sooraj had said.
Recalling his first impression of Salman, Sooraj told Mid-Day, “He was such a short guy, and didn’t look like a hero at all. But when I saw his photos, he was outstanding. That is the power of camera presence.”
The director further shared that Salman wanted to turn down ‘Maine Pyaar Kiya’, but when they “got to the interval point, we shook hands, and decided to do the film”.
Sharing about Salman’s look test, Sooraj said, “Not sure if it was my fault or his, but there was no throw in his voice. We then moved to dance sequences, got in Farah Khan for the rehearsals, and somehow, it was all going wrong, and he wasn’t dancing well either. But then when I put him in a chair and handed him a guitar, he just nodded a bit on the camera, and I knew it. His face, his style, his romance… everything was on point… but he wasn’t able to talk.”
On how ‘Maine Pyaar Kiya’ finally happened, the director shared, “For six months, Salman sent other people and asked me to launch them instead of himself. In fact, I visited him during a shoot just to say that I have to move on from him, but even there, he had a couple of people lined up and wanted me to choose them for Maine Pyar Kiya… How to tell a ‘No’ to this person. Credit goes to his personality, and how he has always been truthful. He always believed that the film was more important, and it is still there today. Even now, if I want to make a film with someone else, he’d be supportive, and even ask if I needed him to do a guest appearance.”
