'Salman Will Add His Naughtiness'

'I go to Salmanbhai every day before the shoot.'
'I write straight scenes, simple scenes.'
'He will read them and add a little bit of spice.'

Sooraj Barjatya dabbles with OTT for the first time, with the Web series, Bada Naam Karenge and he feels that urban audiences don't know India.

Barjatya, who spent a career making family dramas, most of them set in smaller towns, shares how he understands this milieu so well.

He rewinds his career, and also discusses the man he helped make a superstar, Salman Khan.

After working in films like Maine Pyaar Kiya, Hum Saath Saath Hai, Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Sooraj and Salman are doing another film together.

"It will take more time because things have to be written as per our age now. Things need to be done according to Salmanbhai's age to do justice to him," Sooraj informs Patcy N/Rediff.com.

What is the progress on your new film with Salman Khan?

It will take more time because things have to be written as per our age now.

Things need to be done according to Salmanbhai's age to do justice to him.

But I will announce my next film next month. It will not be with Salmanbhai. It's a smaller film and the subject is very dear to me.

Apart from Uncchai, all the male leads in your film have been named Prem.
Not just Salman but also Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor. In fact, even Sonu Sood was named that in your production, Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi. Is there a reason for doing so?

No, no. Wherever I find that the character suits the values of Prem, I have used it.

Prem essentially is a family boy, whose day starts with ease and whose night ends with ease, who has not seen much ups and downs in life, who is a carefree, happy, good to everyone, a little flirt, a little naughtiness, who enjoys festivities, functions, being with the family...

Such a character we end up calling Prem from the scripting process.

Unchai belonged to a different age group, to deeper things. It had characters who had seen life, who have seen death, who have seen solitude.

How did you cope with a failure like Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon?

Like any other person.

It was not a failure but yes, it did not get that kind of appreciation. It teaches you a lot.

Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon will be my biggest teacher because it made me trust that to make what I am good at rather than what sells.

It showed me that you should do what you are good at.

It made me shut my expectations and listen to my soul.

Then I came up with Vivah and I'm so happy that it put me back on track.

You have worked with Salman Khan in four blockbusters. What is that understanding between you two? How has that improved over the years?

It is the same.

When you start together, you know each other in and out.

Salmanbhai keeps telling me, 'Soorajbabu, wohi karte hai jo pehle kiya tha.'

Let's go at an easy pace, make the world slow, just relax, let's show niceness.

That's the world I know and he says, let's keep doing that.

Our working style is very simple.

I go to him every day before the shoot.

I write straight scenes, simple scenes.

He will read them and add a little bit of spice. He will add his naughtiness; that's how these scenes work.

He knows exactly how I will shoot. He knows which shot will come next because we have worked more than 600-700 days together on set.

It's never an actor-director (relationship). It's more like brothers, where we try to help each other create niceness on screen.

In 2023, you launched your son Avnish with your production, Dono. He directed the romcom, starring debutant star kids, Sunny Deol's son Rajvir and Poonam Dhillon's daughter Paloma. But the film didn't do well.
Was it a setback for the company as well as for Avnish?

When I started, my father told me this is a profession where there will be hits and failures.

He said, keep your originality.

I was fortunate to get a hit at (my) first (attempt).

My pitch to my son was the same thing: Hits and flops will come, stick to originality.

I'm very happy and proud that he kept the Rajshri ideology at the back of his mind and made his own voice.

This is not Sooraj's voice.

With his next, he'll go farther. He will take Rajshri much beyond me.

We will start his film as soon as he's ready.

Any career regrets?

No. But I should have made more films over these 35 years rather than just seven.

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Why didn't you make more?

I tend to write myself and it's not easy to make things look natural on screen where families are concerned.

It takes time to make it look natural for everyone to feel, 'Oh, this is my world, this is my mami's world, my bua's world.'

I do everything myself -- the music, the choreography... As a director, I'm involved at every stage.

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