The Prem factor
Salman Khan’s breakthrough film role came from Sooraj Barjatya’s 1989 hit Maine Pyar Kiya. Five years later, the pair got back together for the record-breaking Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) and Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999), their second successful collaboration. 16 years after collaborating on three successful blockbusters, the pair returned in 2015 for Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and produced another hit. Ten years later, there are credible rumours that the renowned director-actor team is currently working together.
“Prem ki Shaadi”
Salman and Sooraj have acknowledged several times that they are definitely collaborating on Prem Ki Shaadi, and the fans were anticipating their official declaration that they will be working together once more on the movie. But now there are reports of Salman leaving the project as he and Sooraj had some creative differences. They met several times, but Salman was not sure of the final draft of the script.
Shahid Kapoor as Prem
Sooraj Barjatya has now approached Shahid Kapoor for the same role after Salman opted not to participate in the movie. According to a source who informed the outlet, “Barjatya intends to proceed with this project even after Salman Khan turned it down.” He has now toned down the age of the main character and made changes to the narrative. Salman approached Shahid, who had also portrayed the character of “Prem” in his love drama Vivah from 2006, as soon as he had finished the film. They have met several times, and based on their chats so far, it seems that they might get back together after eighteen years apart. Shahid has expressed interest in joining Barjatya, but he hasn’t given his final approval yet. Barjatya is hoping to get him on board.
Young Actor
Prem Ki Shaadi, which is expected to be an ambitious movie with a large-scale production, will star Salman, who had to back out. Sooraj needed an actor with the necessary innocence to play a character, and Shahid was the first person he thought of since he had played a character with the same name in their first movie together, the commercial hit Vivah. Shahid is anticipated to make his final decision regarding the movie by the end of this month, and if everything goes according to plan, he’ll start filming in the third quarter of 2024.
By KEVIN VARCHAND