Sooraj R. Barjatya (born 22 February 1964) is an Indian filmmaker who works in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

. He has directed and produced some of the most commercially successful Hindi films. His films often include themes of familial ties and values, and are rooted in traditional

Indian culture Indian culture is the heritage of social norms and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse nation of India, pertaining to the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and the Republic of India post-1947. ...

. Barjatya is the chairman of Rajshri Productions, which was formed by his late grandfather

Tarachand Barjatya Tarachand Barjatya (10 May 1914 – 21 September 1992) was an Indian film producer. He has produced many Hindi films from the 1960s through to the 1980s. He founded Rajshri Productions which continues to produce films even today. His mainstay ...

in 1947. Barjatya began his career as an assistant director to

Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt (born 20 September 1948) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Mahesh Bhatt, a number of accolades, including four Nati ...

. He made his directorial debut with ''

Maine Pyar Kiya ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' (), also known by the initialism ''MPK'', is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed by Sooraj Barjatya in his directorial debut. Produced by Tarachand Barjatya, the film was co-written by S. M. Ahale ...

'' (1989), a top-grossing romantic drama. His next release, '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994), became the highest-grossing Indian film to that point. He had further commercial success in the family dramas '' Hum Saath-Saath Hain'' (1999), '' Vivah'' (2006), and '' Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'' (2015). He won the

National Film Award for Best Direction The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Bro ...

for '' Uunchai'' (2022).

Early life

Sooraj Barjatya was born in a Marwari Jain family in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. He attended St. Mary's School, Mumbai and The Scindia School in

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

. Encouraged by his paternal grandfather,

, he directed his first film for Rajshri at the young age of 24. He married Vineeta Barjatya in 1986 and the couple have three children.

Career

Barjatya made his directorial debut with the romantic musical ''

'' (1989) starring Salman Khan and

Bhagyashree Bhagyashree Patwardhan Dassani ( Patwardhan; born 23 February 1969), known mononymously as Bhagyashree, is an Indian actress. She is known for her roles in Hindi language film and television. She is a recipient of a Filmfare Award, in addition ...

in lead roles. The film received positive reviews upon release, and emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, as well as one of the highest grossers of the 1980s. It launched the careers of its lead actors, and earned them the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut and Best Female Debut, respectively; it also earned Barjatya his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. He teamed up with Khan again alongside

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (Maiden and married names, née Dixit, ; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress and television personality. She has appeared in Madhuri Dixit filmography, over 70 Hindi films. Praised by critics for her performances and danc ...

for the ensemble musical romantic drama '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994). The film received widespread critical acclaim upon release, and emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film at the time of its release. It became the first film to gross over ₹1 billion, with ''

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website dedicated to tracking, reporting, and analyzing the financial performance of films released in the Hindi entertainment industry. Established in 2003, Box Office India has become a prominent source of ...

'' gave it the verdict "All Time Blockbuster", and described it as "the biggest blockbuster of the modern era." The film was also awarded the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for " Highest-grossing Indian film" after having grossed over ₹2.5 billion ($82 million) worldwide. ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun'' sold 74 million tickets in India, giving it the highest domestic footfalls of any Hindi film released since the 1990s. The film won numerous awards, including

National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, and was constituted in the year 1975. This is one of th ...

and the Filmfare Award for Best Film, in addition to earning Barjatya his first Filmfare Award for Best Director. ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' influenced many subsequent Hindi films, and was also a trendsetter for glamorous family dramas and NRI-related films, and started Bollywood's "big-fat-wedding-film" trend. It also inspired hugely successful filmmakers such as

Aditya Chopra Aditya Chopra (born 21 May 1971) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and studio executive who works in Hindi cinema. He is the Chairman of India's multi-national film, media, and entertainment conglomerate Yash Raj Films (YRF).

and

Karan Johar Karan Yash Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo, is an Indian filmmaker, producer and television personality who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several successful ac ...

to make films with cultural themes. ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' belongs to a small collection of films, including '' Kismet'' (1943), ''

Mother India ''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village wo ...

'' (1957), ''

Mughal-e-Azam ''Mughal-e-Azam'' () is a 1960 Indian Epic film, epic historical drama film produced and directed by K. Asif. Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Empire, Mughal Prince ...

'' (1960) and ''

Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian epic action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), hired ...

'' (1975), which are repeatedly watched throughout India and are viewed as definitive Hindi films with cultural significance. He then collaborated with Khan for the third time for the family drama '' Hum Saath-Saath Hain'' (1999), which received mostly positive reviews from critics, and emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.Top Lifetime Grossers 1995–1999 (Figures in Ind Rs)
. Box Office India. His fourth film was the musical romantic comedy '' Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon'' (2003) starring

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including si ...

, Kareena Kapoor and

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (; born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. From 2012 to 2016, Bachchan appeared in ...

in lead roles. Prior to release, the film was considerably hyped due to Barjatya's previous successes and the A-list star cast. However, upon release, it was highly panned by critics, and emerged as the first commercial disaster of Barjatya's career. His next film, the romantic drama '' Vivah'' (2006) starring

Shahid Kapoor Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of List of awards and n ...

and Amrita Rao, however, emerged as one of the highest grossers of the year, despite mixed reviews. Post ''Vivah'', he produced the romance '' Ek Vivaah... Aisa Bhi'' (2008) directed by Kaushik Ghatak, starring

Isha Koppikar Isha Koppikar (born 19 September 1976) is an Indian actress, politician and Model (person), model who has acted mainly in Hindi cinema, Hindi films, but also in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu language, Telugu, and Marathi language, Marathi ...

and

Sonu Sood Sonu Sood (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian actor, film producer, Model (person), model, humanitarian, and Philanthropy, philanthropist who works predominantly in Hindi cinema, Hindi, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Tamil cinema, Tamil films. He is k ...

in lead roles. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews upon release and emerged as a commercial failure at the box office. Following a 9-year directorial hiatus, he returned to direction with the romantic family drama '' Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'' (2015), which marked his fourth collaboration with Khan, alongside

Sonam Kapoor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sonam Kapoor, several awards, including a National Film Awards, National Film Award and a Filmf ...

. Despite mixed reviews, the film emerged as the second highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, and one of the highest-grossing films of all time, grossing over ₹400 crore worldwide. After another 7-year hiatus, his next directorial venture was the adventure drama '' Uunchai'' (2022) starring

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

, Anupam Kher and Boman Irani with Parineeti Chopra. The film received mixed reviews upon release, and emerged as an below-average grosser at the box-office. The film earned him the

, in addition to his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director, In all of Barjatya's films until ''Uunchai'', the male protagonists are named 'Prem'. He had said in an interview that "Ours was a joint Marwari family and I grew up witnessing grand functions and wedding ceremonies in the family. The opulence shown in my films is based on my impressions as a child".

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barjatya, Sooraj R. 1965 births Living people 20th-century Indian people Indian male screenwriters Hindi-language film directors Filmfare Awards winners Film producers from Mumbai Hindi film producers Barjatya family 21st-century Indian people Film directors from Mumbai Hindi-language screenwriters Screenwriters from Maharashtra Directors who won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award Rajasthani people Marwari people 21st-century Indian Jains Screen Awards winners