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The success of Maine Pyar Kiya gave us the confidence that you can get people back into the theatres again. Equally important, it boosted our confidence in ourselves. But there were too many interviews, too much publicity. Then it hit me that I had to make another film! And none of the scripts I looked at appealed to me, so I decided to write the script myself. Afterwards I went back to my father and said, “Please treat me as if I am making my first film again. Tell me where I am going wrong because I don’t have the experience I need.” He said, “Ok, let us take it step by step”. |
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When we had the trade show of Hum Aapke Hain Koun, I was the laughing stock. They said that I had made a marriage video; there was no suspense, no villain. At the first show a boy came and consoled me with “This happens to every filmmaker. Just move on to the next film.” I was totally shaken. Of course the film went to shatter all records and ran continuously for 100 weeks in India and for over 50 weeks in London and Canada. That confirmed my belief in our values. And that the audience wanted to see the values of Indian culture working in their lives. |
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My next film Hum Saath Saath Hain came at a point where I suddenly had to face a tragedy – my mother’s death. I realized what life was all about. And Hum Saath Saath Hain was in a way me telling the audience to value the time they spend with their family because I regretted that I had not spent enough time with my mother. It was a success but not as big as Hum Aapke Hain Koun. |
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Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon was a film that I made as a way of getting out of my comfort zone. When it was released people said, “Sooraj, we want to see the kind of movies you made with HAHK, with the same kind of family values.” I realized how lucky I was to have the audience expect that from me. |
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| My latest film Vivah was going back to my roots... a return to innocence and simplicity. As my 5th film, it was my most satisfying one. This film is not just about dances and functions that one associates with Indian marriages but also talks about the special rights that we give to the other person when we unite for Vivah ....Vivah deals with the 'courtship' period in a couple's life which we all experience as magical.... |
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Anyone who has never failed has never tried. Failure is an opportunity to learn. |
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I believe that films should mirror an ideal state of life. My grandfather always said, “Let us take the audiences a little higher on the stage of enlightenment.” He said this because he was a devotee of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother at the Pondicherry Ashram. So Rajshri will always make idealistic films. |
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I believe Marriage is a relationship that helps you celebrate the good times and get over the bad times. |
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I believe that if I am not in pain and not in the hospital, then I have no right to complain about anything in life. |
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I believe there is a God and there is a conscience. Nothing is more important than having a good night’s sleep with a clear conscience. The feeling that I’ve done nothing wrong today, I believe in karma on day-to-day basis. That is if I do wrong, I get the result in 24 hours. Cause and effect is the law of nature. |
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For me, the most wonderful thing in life is that I can make films and influence people’s emotions in some way. This is the greatest gift I could have ever received. |
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