Subhash K Jha casts his lens on Maine Pyar Kiya, the romantic hit which really launched Salman Khan's career.
Salman Khan was nowhere near to being the first choice. The top contender was an actor called Faraaz Khan who fell ill just days before the film was to go on the floors. This is when Salman came into the picture. Director Sooraj Barjatya and Salman started a friendship that has endured to this day.
The main chartbuster Dil Deewana was originally composed for another Rajashri film, Agent Vinod. However the song didn't fit into its intended place. This is when Sooraj decided to let Composer Ram Laxman (that's one person) use it in Maine Pyar Kiya. Who was to know it would turn out to be one of the film's USPs?
Dil Deewana was a turning point for Lataji. It came to her at a time when she was seriously considering retirement. The film music industry was in a slump. Lataji decided to pursue classical singing instead. Just then Composer Raam Laxman came to her with the songs of Maine Pyar Kiya. Dil Dewaana and the songs of Yash Chopra's Chandni revived her interest in playback singing.
Filial kinship runs through the Prem-Suman relationship in Maine Pyar Kiya as they are shown to have grown up together in the same household. Prem's mother (Reema Lagoo) is frequently shown mollycoddling Prem and Suman like her children.
Maine Pyar Kiya was originally released in select theatres. When the audience attendance began to burst at the seams, the Barjatyas doubled the number of movie halls.
Maine Pyar Kiya was the biggest hit of 1989, ahead of Yash Chopra's Chandni, Rajiv Rai's Tridev and Subhash Ghai's Ram Lakhan.