Partly out of curiosity to find out how much I remembered and partly to check what I thought of them now, about two decades later. India and its people have changed almost beyond recognition since Barjatya’s films—an unabashed celebration of love and family—made fortunes and careers at the box office. But even after all these years, his unflinching faith in goodness and rootedness shines through, especially in his early work.
Currently riding high on the success of Bada Naam Karenge, a web series that marks the entry of his family banner Rajshri Productions into the streaming space, the veteran filmmaker is eager to usher in a new era of storytelling. Directed by Palash Vasvani (Gullak, Permanent Roommates), the SonyLIV show features Ritik Ghanshani, Ayesha Kaduskar, Kanwaljeet Singh, and Rajesh Tailang in key roles. Ever since its premiere on 7th February, Bada Naam Karenge has been receiving a lot of love and adulation for whipping up a sweet, family-coded romance for an audience tired of being force-fed violence.
In this exclusive interview, Sooraj Barjatya, the showrunner of Bada Naam Karenge, talks about the romantic drama, why he has been so selective with directing films, winning the national award for Uunchai, trying to stay relevant in a fast-changing world, the secret sauce to making music that stands the test of time, his next project with Salman Khan, and more.
Q. How does it feel to get so much love for Bada Naam Karenge?
Barjatya: It is like a dream come true. It reminds me of my Maine Pyar Kiya days, when suddenly it came as a jolt that itni bhi taareef mil sakti hai (this much praise can be received), because the kind of reviews we have got and the kind of response we are getting from families, women, smaller towns like Gwalior and Raipur, ye mujhe kisi film me bhi nahi mila (I have not received this in any film).
I am very happy because for two-and-a-half years, I have been hearing that OTT belongs to boldness, action, and edgy stuff, and that family content has no place here, that such content belongs only to television. Now, suddenly I find this uprooted, and I am so glad that there is an audience waiting here too.
I used to meet a lot of people who were not too happy with the kind of language that is prevalent on streaming, especially post-pandemic, asking me to make something for OTT that people across generations can watch together. They would tell me that everything is available on streaming except for family-oriented content. I am so happy that Bada Naam Karenge has filled that void, created demand, and opened up a space for all of us to tell such stories.
Q. At a time when dark crime thrillers and gritty police procedurals are dominating the streaming space, did you at any point feel like you were taking a risk with Bada Naam Karenge?
Barjatya:
Yes, yes. We have been trying to do something on OTT since 2018, and we were told by all the platforms—and correctly so—that streaming was not ready for Rajshri. But I have to give credit to Danish ji from SonyLIV, who urged me to bring the fans of Hum Saath-Saath Hain and Vivaah to the platform and create a show that gets people out of their rooms and enjoy communal viewing once again. So, it was a very big freedom for us to create something that aligns with our values.
The credit also goes to our director Palash, writer S. Manasvi ji, who came up with a subject that talks about youngsters caught between two worlds. They want to get out of Bharat (India in its traditional sense) and be a part of India (modern, globalised India) but are still connected to their roots that have their origins in Bharat. I can relate my children to it. So many things about my children even I don’t know. They don’t tell me because they think their parents will never understand. There’s guilt, there’s a want to try to understand – this is a dilemma that everyone is facing or has faced. But trust is important. You need to know that if you have given them the correct roots, then you don’t have to worry. So, we got this subject, and that’s how we were able to get this whole point across.
Q. How involved were you in the making of the show?
Barjatya: I was involved right from day one, from the concept level because SonyLIV wanted the Rajshri touch. I was the person responsible for delivering the product. So I was with the director, at the stage of music, at the casting and everything else to see that the overall swaad remains as per the Rajshri template. But a lot of credit goes to Palash for creating a younger world and keeping the innocence, the simplicity that Rajshri is known for.
Q. What got you to choose Palash Vaswani?
Barjatya: I wanted someone who knows the small-town India. When I saw Gullak, I was floored. I realized he has the vision, the understanding. So we met, Palash loved the subject and was on board. It’s been a wonderful experience. It took us almost a year-and-a-half to write the nine episodes. The entire narrative is his but I’m so happy that he kept our world alive too.
Q. Despite getting so much love and such monumental box office success over the years, you’ve directed only seven films in 36 years. Has it been a conscious choice to be so selective?
Barjatya: Not at all. If you look at it from a commercial point of view, it’s a total failure. This is no way to have a career and run a business organization. But when I started my career, I made a commitment to myself that for me, “directed by Sooraj Barjatya” will always be sacred where I will not compromise on anything.
So that leads me to write my own scripts, get into every dubbing, song situation, picturization, costume session. Because my main aim is to create a world that feels natural. It’s very difficult to do that in cinema where families are concerned. It’s easy to do action because you can see it objectively since it does not happen with us in our daily lives. But family hum sab jeete hain.
If it’s even a little bit inauthentic, the audience will know immediately. So to create worlds that feel natural where nice, good things can happen, I tend to do a lot of things myself. That’s why this delay. But we keep doing TV shows. Now we are into OTT. We have made other films. That takes a lot of time also. But I think only seven films because of my core decision that I will direct movies only when I really feel like making one.
Q. How has it been winning the National Award for Uunchai?
Barjatya: Oh, it’s wonderful. It’s one of the most liberating, grateful moments for me because I got this award for a film which was completely out of my comfort zone. It got me thinking that even if I’m nearing 60, I can still experiment. And I yet have the scope to do something more, let go of the rat race and be appreciated.
Because what happens when one has seen a lot of success is that you tend to always be safe. For instance, there was a time when I used to think about grandeur a lot when making a film—lots of dancers, elaborate sets, glamour. But with Uunchai, I just let it go. There was no heroine in the film, no chiffon saree, no function, nothing. It made me feel that I can make something without any of these things too. So it’s filled me with a lot of bliss and hope.
Q. Your films and shows promote a value system that is fast fading. Do you feel the pressure to change with the times?
Barjatya: I personally feel that it is not fading. It’s just that people are not trusting of it anymore. There is so much distrust. Today, if I say that everyone should live together, it’s not possible. Today, if I were to make a Hum Saath-Saath Hain, it’s not possible. That I understand. But that shouldn’t take away our want to celebrate festivals, birthdays and anniversaries together. These things will never fade away.
Honestly, even if people say they—especially youngsters—will not come to watch my films, I am still happy to show these values in my films because someone needs to do it. Except for Maine Pyar Kiya, youngsters have never come to watch my movies. But they bring their dada, dadi, bhua, parents. My biggest happiness lately has been when I got a message from a young viewer saying that they got a subscription of SonyLIV to show Bada Naam Karenge to their grandparents on their anniversary. It fills me with so much joy.
I don’t believe it’s fading away but even if it is, that’s all the more the reason for someone to talk about it. At Rashri, I’m telling my sons and now Palash to take the banner beyond me and experiment but with Rajshri audience in their mind. As for me, I like to be where I am. I have so much more to say. But maybe less time now.
Q. You show such exalted idealism in your films, that reality always fails to match. It has created a great dissonance in millennials who have grown up watching, internalising your cinema.
Barjatya: I’m trying now, slowly, to make my films more real. But my hope with my projects has always been that at least someone will see and learn that it’s good to be nice, that if you give respect, you will get respect. Otherwise, there are a lot of bad things in the world. But if all of us just show that, what’s the point? I have got such wonderful reactions to my films. I have so many stories where families have come together, people have come together. So somewhere, I don’t know, maybe I’m OK to take this flack.
Q. You have a fantastic ear for music. The songs, especially of Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun have stood the test of time. What do you think has worked? Can you share an anecdote or a memory from the making of the music albums of these two films?
Barjatya: We have never chased hit numbers. Even if you see Bada Naam Karenge, when Anurag Saikia (music composer) came or when Palash brought his team, first and foremost, we told them the story. What Anurag has created, it’s out of the characters. Never did we tell them that we need a hit number, something that will hit Spotify number one.
I think that is the secret of timeless music. Because no one can say what will work. We have to do justice to the picture, to the content. That is the biggest success of Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, and the other songs that are still popular today. If I wanted a hit song, I’d have never done a Joote De Do Paise Le Lo. It’s not even musical. Or even a Wah Wah Ramji. At that time, the words bhaiya or bhabhi had never been used in a song. The credit also goes to my team who believed in me.
I’ll give you a small example. We were sitting on the music of Hum Aapke Hain Koun. Music composers Ram-Lakshmanji, the lyricist, my father, everyone was there. While we were working on the music, his musicians started talking among themselves. So he stopped the sitting and asked them the matter. They said, words like sanam and saajan are popular in songs these days, who is going to listen to this bhaiya, bhabhi, didi, devar? He asked them to leave the room, saying he didn’t want any negative persons there.
See what the subject demands. Don’t run after hit songs. Had the creators not valued the subject more than popularity, we would have never got a Kahe Tose Sajna or a Kabootar Ja. How can anyone imagine a song on a pigeon could get so popular? But it did. Today, unfortunately our makers are asking for hit club numbers. It’s always being true to the situation that makes a song hit.
Q. Among your films, which is your favorite?
Barjatya: Vivaah. More than anything else, because the film that I’d made before it, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, had not done very well. Vivaah gave me a chance to bounce back from that setback and make something that I really believe in. Like Bada Naam Karenge, even during Vivaah people told me that no one is going to see this jal or arranged marriage in the times of live-in. But I didn’t think about who would come or not, I just wanted to make it.
So when you make a film with all your conviction and get appreciated even after 20 years, it fills you with joy. Of course, right now, the big high is Bada Naam Karenge because we have been able to break through the popular notion about OTT. It truly is clutter breaking and it fills me with great joy and happiness.
Q. It’s been three years since Uunchai. Are you working on a new film or a project? What can we expect?
Barjatya: Next month, I’m having a big announcement about my next. Until then we’ll have to wait. With Salman Khan, it’s going to take me time. Because I have to write something for his age now, a mature role in the family space. That will take a while to crack.
Q. Because we’re talking about Salman Khan, what is it with the name Prem? What is this enduring love for this name that it keeps on appearing in film after film?
Barjatya: I really don’t know. It represents a character we made together which started with me, a family boy who has not seen death or illness, doesn’t have any responsibility, has all the time for fun and is ready to sacrifice for family. But I wrote this character straight and then Salman bhai added his naughtiness, his spice, his colour to it. A lot of credit goes to him for how this character has come across. When he comes on our set, he just says let’s do the same thing again. Let’s not try to pollute or change anything.
