05 August,2023 09:34 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Still from Hum Aapke Hai Koun
Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit's family drama 'Huma Aapke Hai Koun' was released 29 years ago today. The 3 hour 26-minute long film directed by Sooraj Barjatya is a big hit and achieved cult status. The film, and its songs continue to impress the audience even after 3 decades. However, the film did not get a good response after its premiere. While Barjatya was disheartened it was filmmaker Aditya Chopra who was confident that the film will do well if a few changes are implemented.
In the Netflix docu-series 'The Romantics' that was released earlier this year, Sooraj Barjatya recalled that 'Hum Aapke Hai Koun' did not get a good response at its premiere, "We had a show (for the industry) at Liberty. That show was a disaster." But Aditya Chopra called him to tell him how much he loved the film. "He told Barjatya, "Sooraj, it's a damn good film. Don't worry." When the director told him about the audience's reaction to the film, Aditya suggested, "Cut two and a half songs from the film and it will fly!"
Considering his suggestion, Barjatya removed the songs 'Chocolate Lime Juice" and "Mujhse Juda Ho kar" from 'Hum Aapke Hai Koun'. The song was featured when the film premiered on TV.
"I thought I had made the greatest film, but when we had the premiere people were not liking it! I clearly remember the audience walking out with every song! I thought I had made a good but then I started wondering, âYe kya hogaya' (what has happened)," Barjatya had said in an interview with indianexpress.com about the response to the premiere of 'Hum Aapke Hai Koun'.
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However, a few days after its release, the film found its audience through word-of-mouth attention. The film went on to become an all-time blockbuster. "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! taught me that I just have to make movies and present them. You never know what is going to happen on that Friday and you cannot blame the public that they don't know about cinema. They know everything," Barjatya said.
Apart from Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit, the film also starred Mohnish Bahl, Renuka Shahane, Reema Lagoo, Anupam Kher among others.
