When it comes to directing family dramas, only a few do it better than director Sooraj R. Barjatya. His films have been cherished for decades, for they can be watched with the entire family around. The director has several hit films like Vivah, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Maine Pyar Kiya and others to his credit.
Sooraj has frequently had Salman Khan as the male lead in his films. And everyone knows that Sooraj frequently uses the name Prem for his male protagonists. There’s a story behind it.
Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye:
This movie was instrumental in Sooraj deciding to name the protagonists of his films Prem. The film was directed by Lekh Tandon and was released in the year 1977 under Sooraj’s banner Rajshri Productions. The film was a huge hit.
The protagonist of this film, played by actor Premkrishen Malhotra, was named Prem. Sooraj thought that the name Prem was a lucky charm and hence played a huge role in the success of this film. He decided that from now, all his upcoming films will have a protagonist by the name Prem.
Association with Salman Khan
Maine Pyar Kiya was a milestone film in Salman’s career. The film also went on to prove Sooraj’s mettle as a director but Salman was initially not his first choice, for he thought the Dabangg Khan was too young to play the role of Prem.
Sooraj gave up on him after taking his look and screen test. Salman, instead of feeling dejected, tried to help the director cast Prem. This helpful nature of the actor pleased Sooraj.
After a lot of contemplation over the name of actors like Piyush Mishra, Vindu Dara Singh, Deepak Tijori, Sooraj finalised actor Faraz Khan. The shooting was about to start, but Faraz got ill.
It was at this moment that Sooraj decided to go ahead with Salman. The rest, as we all know, is history. With timeless music, splendid performances and brilliant direction, Maine Pyar Kiya became an instant hit.
