Sooraj Barjatya Was Disappointed With Salman Khan’s First Impression; ‘Ye Kaisa Hero, Height Bhi Chhoti Thi’

Salman
Khan
made
his
acting
debut
with
a
brief
role
in

Biwi
Ho
Toh
Aisi
in
1988
but
it
was
Sooraj
Barjatya’s
romantic
musical

Maine
Pyar
Kiya
which
catapulted
him
to
fame.
The
1989
film
also
marked
the
beginning
of
Sooraj
Barjatya’s
career
as
a
filmmaker.

Over
the
years,
the
actor-director
duo
went
on
to
work
together
in
films
like

Hum
Aapke
Hain
Koun..!,

Hum
Saath
Saath
Hain
and

Prem
Ratan
Dhan
Payo.

Sooraj
Barjatya
in
his
recent
interview
with
Pinkvilla,
recalled
his
first
impression
that
he
had
of
Salman
Khan
when
he
was
looking
to
cast
a
newcomer
in
his
directorial
debut.

The
filmmaker
told
the
news
portal
that
before
making
Maine
Pyar
Kiya,
he
had
no
experience
in
writing
or
direction,
but
his
father
threw
him
in
the
deep
end.
He
was
advised
to
make
a
film
that
was
inspired
by
the
youthful
energy
of
Hollywood
hits

Grease
and

Saturday
Night
Fever,
but
retained
the
structure
of
Bollywood
epic

Mughal-e-Azam.

Speaking
about
the
casting
of

Maine
Pyar
Kiya,
Sooraj
Barjatya
revealed
that
they
were
looking
for
lead
actors
who
had
no
prior
baggage
and
an
image
to
live
up
to.

The
filmmaker
recalled,
“It
was
pure
luck,
Salman
walked
in…First,
we
thought
why
would
Salim
Khan’s
son
would
want
to
work
with
us,
so
I
sent
a
message,
and
he
came.
And
when
he
came,
he
wasn’t
looking
at
all
like…
Bohot
chhote
se,
bahar
reception
pe
baithe
(He
was
small,
sitting
at
the
reception)…
I
said,
yeh
kya
hero
aise
(What
kind
of
hero
is
this)…
He
gave
me
his
photographs,
and
the
photos
were
magical.
And
he
came
with
the
apprehension
that
‘main
toh
mana
kar
dunga,
mujhe
dhoti
wohti
pehna
denge
(They’ll
make
me
wear
rustic
outfits)’.”

He
added,
“Toh
main
suna
raha
hoon
with
apprehension,
ke
yeh
bohot
chhota
sa…
Height
bhi
chhoti
thi
unki
(I
was
narrating
the
story
to
him
apprehensively,
thinking
that
he
is
such
a
short
guy),
and
he’s
thinking
that
he
wants
to
turn
it
down.”

However,
Salman
Khan
was
sold
by
the
narration.
When
it
was
over,
he
asked
Sooraj
Barjatya
not
to
cast
anyone
else
in
the
role
of
Prem
in

Maine
Pyar
Kiya
and
the
rest
is
history.
While
speaking
with
the
news
portal,
the
filmmaker
also
shared
that

Maine
Pyar
Kiya
was
‘the
costliest
film
ever
made’ at
the
time.

Sooraj
Barjatya
is
currently
awaiting
the
release
of
his
upcoming
film
Uunchai,
starring
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Parineeti
Chopra.
Salman
Khan
on
the
other
hand,
has

Tiger
3
and

Kisi
Ka
Bhai
Kisi
Ki
Jaan
in
the
pipeline.