Can Sooraj Barjatya make a web-series?
The Hindu
Sooraj Barjatya, at 60, is busier than ever — developing films, web shows and television serials. He speaks about his new innings
When I enter the Prabhadevi office of Rajshri Productions — all very white and polite, like their films — it’s a hive of activity. Young actors are milling about in the lobby, enquiring about ‘interviews’. A gold-fonted standee announces their 2025 slate: two feature films, two web shows, and two television serials. Inside his office, Sooraj Barjatya is taking copious notes in long hand. The director of enduring family sagas like Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! and Hum Saath-Saath Hain won the National Film Award, at 58, for Uunchai(2022) — a story of three old men who set out to conquer Mount Everest. The film’s unexpected success (it earned around ₹50 crore at the box office) has creatively reenergized Barjatya.
“My films have never worked in Andheri, Malad, Nariman Point,” he says. “I was surprised by the collections from big cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Calcutta. Although I did lose out on my conservative tier-2 audience. They are still expecting the pageantry and festive fervour in my films.”
In his quiet, incremental way, Barjatya has been expanding his horizons. His next, Bada Naam Karenge, is a web series aimed at Gen Z. Directed by Palash Vaswani, known for the beloved series Gullak, it’s about a young couple forced to cohabitate during the pandemic, and how that affects their families. “A lot of people told me that OTT belongs to action and crime. They said the Rajshri-style family narratives won’t work.”
When he did get the call from Sony, he presumed it was for their television channel, Sony TV, and not their streaming platform, SonyLIV. “But they were certain they wanted to bring the Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! audience to the web space. I was quite taken aback.”
Barjatya hasn’t watched Breaking Bad or other iconic crime shows that have defined the medium. But he does keep up with what he likes. “I recently watched Nobody Wants This on Netflix. I am a fan of Brothers & Sisters and This Is Us. In fact, everybody keeps telling me to make something like This Is Us in India.”
While he’s generally averse to violence in cinema, he swears by The Godfather trilogy, calling it a ‘masterpiece of characterization’ and a deep study of family dynamics. “The dinner table scene at the end of Godfather 2, it can go along with a Rajshri production,” he laughs.
Has he seen Animal, the 2023 blockbuster that bastardized The Godfather? The film, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, is a savage skewering of the wholesome family film epitomized by Rajshri.