Sooraj Barjatya reveals what failure taught him

Sooraj Barjatya is undoubtedly the ‘cleanest’ filmmaker in Bollywood. Known for making clean family dramas, he has also delivered many hits — be it his directorial debut ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ (1989), ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!’ (1994), or ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ (1999).
Though he made his directorial debut in 1989, he faced his first failure at box office im 2003, with ‘Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon’ (2003), starring Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor.
While talking to a daily recently, the 54-year-old filmmaker said that he learnt a big lesson from ‘Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon’ — which is to make films according to one’s conviction and not go by what the audience wants. He said that ‘Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon’ didn’t work, because it wasn’t him.
He recalled how he returned to his comfort zone and made ‘Vivaah’ (2006), without bothering about what works and what doesn’t. He added that every filmmaker will find his audience if he is being true to himself.
Sooraj is now busy working on his next film, ‘Hum Chaar’. The film, which is based on friendship, stars newcomers.