No vanity vans, a family-like set and two rising stars. Filmmaker Rakesh Roshan says Karan Arjun, starring Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan as brothers reincarnated, is the story of a mother’s belief which unfolds like a fairytale.
Roshan is re-releasing the movie on November 22 just ahead of its 30th anniversary in January.
He said both Salman and Shah Rukh had different reasons for doing the film, which originally released on January 13, 1995 and featured veteran stars Rakhee and Amrish Puri. Mamta Kulkarni, Kajol and Johnny Lever were also part of the movie.
“I had worked with Rakhee a lot as an actor and with Amrish Puri ji in Kishen Kanhaiya. We became good friends. Shah Rukh worked with me in King Uncle. In fact, I gave him the first cheque as a signing amount though his other two films (Deewana and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman) released prior to King Uncle,” Roshan told PTI in an interview.
Roshan knew Salman’s father, celebrated screenwriter Salim Khan.
“We were all like a family and when I narrated the story to them, Salman loved it, Shah Rukh didn’t believe in it. He told me, ‘I don’t believe in reincarnation but if you are making it, I will work on it’,” the filmmaker said, recalling his initial conversation with the two actors.
Over the years, the movie and its dialogues like Mere Karan Arjun Ayenge, Thakur to Gyo and others have acquired a cult status and are now part of memes and reels.
Decoding the film’s appeal across generations, Roshan said most of reincarnation dramas in Hindi cinema revolved around lovers but he thought about making a movie that spoke of the bond between a mother and her children.
“If her sons are killed in front of her and she demands God to bring them back and they are reincarnated, would that not make for a good story? I remember Puri ji asking me, ‘Rakesh, do you think Karan Arjun would come back?’ I told him, ‘They will come back to avenge their death if you kill them brutally.’ It was all fun,” he said.
Roshan said one tries to be sincere to the story but how the film performs at the box office depends on the “chemistry between the audience and the movie”.
“It’s a miracle that people have loved ‘Karan Arjun’ and made it their own. I am going to release the film 30 years later and I will get to know whether they still love it or not. Will they believe in these emotions and this fairytale? I hope they will because it is a fairytale, but it is also a test for me,” he added.
Shah Rukh and Salman, who are great friends in real life, worked together on a movie for the first time in the 1995 hit and while they have shared screen occasionally, the chemistry in their first film together is remembered even today.
The director, known for films such as Koyla, Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, Koi… Mil Gaya, Krrish and Krrish 3, credits this to the way film sets operated in the 90s.
“There were no vanity vans at the time so everyone would be together on the sets. If Johnny Lever was shooting for his scenes, all the actors, including Amrish Puri ji, would sit and ‘gup shup’ would happen. We would take our evening tea together. If we were shooting outdoors, there would be a small ‘mehfil’. Actors bonded with each other and that bond reflected in their movies as well.” Roshan said son Hrithik Roshan, who debuted with “Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai” in 2000 and is one of the most successful actors of his generation, would often assist him in all his films.
Hrithik, who was 17 at the time, recently shared a memory of how the ‘Bhaag Arjun Bhaag scene’ in the movie came to be. Hrithik was a part of every story narration, the director revealed. “That’s how he has learned and even today, he (Hrithik) is the best person to bounce ideas across. I tell him impossible stories that would otherwise not work but he gets what I am thinking. He understands that the story will connect with the masses, from Jhumri Telaiya to someone sitting in LA.” Is he someone who reads the reviews of his films? “I want to know what they are saying about my film. They (critics) have always written badly about my films but I make films for the audience and if they love it, then it does not matter. But if you read something, you can improve upon certain points in the next movie. I lean towards the audience for the appreciation of my films,” he added.
The filmmaker, son of music director Roshan, started out in films as an assistant director and went on to star in many movies such as “Khoobsurat”, “Aankhon Aankhon Mein” and “Kamchor”.
He turned to direction with “Khudgarz” in 1987 and followed it up with “Khoon Bhari Maang”, “Kishen Kanhaiya”, “Khel” and “King Uncle”.
The filmmaker said he always had a dream to have his own production house like multi-hyphenates Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand.
“As an actor, I was not getting the success that I wanted, so I became a producer and then director. But before becoming a director, I watched more than 600 movies, both hits and flops, as I wanted to understand the craft. I have always tried to make my next film different from what I have done before.” Asked about the new generation embracing “Karan Arjun”, Roshan said he keeps hearing about the movie’s popularity from people around him. “You feel good that people remember your film even after 30 years. I would call it God’s blessing because I certainly didn’t plan it,” he said.
