22 March,2025 08:58 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon poster, Sooraj Barjatya
In 2003, Sooraj Barjatya came out with the romantic musical Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon starring Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Abhishek Bachchan. On the latest episode of Mid-day's Sit With Hitlist series, Sooraj sheds light on the film that became a meme material with the advent of social media. Hrithik played the role of Prem Kishan, who falls in love with Sanjana essayed by Kareena. His extremely energetic persona continues to leave viewers in splits.
After Hum Saath Saath Hain, Sooraj felt films were getting modernised and felt like he was being left behind. In a bid to break away from the image, he came up with Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon. He shared, "I had the best cast. I feel so guilty towards Hrithik, Abhishek, and Kareena because they gave me everything but while making that film I realised I am not there, it is not me."
He added, "I was not myself in the film. As a director when you are trying to make something where you are trying to impress others, you try to bring every possible thing that works that succeeds that is succeeding but it is not you."
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Govinda had a chat with Sooraj and told him that everyone has a purpose designed for them to execute. "His wisdom stayed with me so much and then I made Vivah. From that film, I stopped wanting to be anything else or start judging anything."
Weighing in on the trend of box office obsession and how many crores a film makes, Sooraj stated that instead of the important elements that make a film great, makers focus on marketing. He said, "More than creativity, a lot of youngsters come to me and discuss a script and jump to first-day collection. I keep telling them, âFirst see your sound design, see your edit, see your writing, see your cut. Don't think of the trailer before you finish the picture. Don't think of your release date before your picture. So, somewhere marketing has been given more importance than creation."
