‘Salman Khan wouldn’t…’: Sooraj Barjatya on why he replaced superstar with Shahid Kapoor in Vivah

Sooraj Barjatya, poster of Vivah with Shahid Kapoor, Amrita Rao

Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya opened up about making Vivah without his favourite star, Salman Khan, and cast Shahid Kapoor in the lead role. Sooraj and Salman were frequent collaborators. Whenever they came together, records were broken, and new benchmarks were set. Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Kon, Hum Saath Saath Hain are the biggest examples. 

In a chat with Digital Commentary, Sooraj discussed why he chose Shahid over Salman, “After Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon flopped, Salman called and said ‘Let’s work on something’. But at that time, I didn’t have a story for Salman and this (Vivah) was a story that my father had given me.” Right from his early years, Sooraj decided that he “will not compromise” in his career.

Sooraj further said, “When I decided I wanted to make Vivah, I knew Salman wouldn’t fit here because he was a major star… Isme bholapan chahiye, umar chahiye aur umar toh kisiki rukegi nahi. Toh fir yeh Shahid aur Amrita ki casting hui (This needed innocence and age, and age doesn’t stop for anyone. That’s how I cast Shahid and Amrita).”

For the unversed, Vivah was released in cinemas in November 2006. The movie opened with mixed reviews, but the overwhelmingly positive response made Vivah a blockbuster. Made in the reported budget of Rs 8 crores, the film went on to earn Rs 53 crores. 

Sooraj Barjatya’s new project 

The filmmaker will soon be making his debut in the OTT world with the series Bada Naam Karenge. The show will premiere on Sony Liv, and the episodes will be live on February 7. On the film front, Sooraj’s last directorial was Uunchai. He also produced Dono, which marked the debut of Sunny Deol’s youngest Rajvir Deol and Poonam Dhillon’s daughter Paloma, along with director Avinash Barjatya. Though the movie gained decent anticipation, it became a major flop after its release.