After a protracted string of failures, Akshay Kumar was desperate for a hit when Suneel Darshan’s Jaanwar was released. Karisma Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty also starred in the moving father-son narrative movie.
Jaanwar was eager to collaborate with the director once more because of how well he did at the box office and connected with the public. So much so that he was concerned the director might not choose him for his next when he heard that the director had met with a young actor following the release of Jaanwar.
However, Akshay soon overcame his fear once Suneel Darshan chose him for his upcoming film, Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love. The director remembered the day he first explained the concept to him in a video interview with Bollywood Hungama.
“He (Akshay) invited me for dinner one night at his house and asked, ‘Ab kya banaoge aap mere saath?’ So I just narrated another idea of mine to him. It was Ek Rishtaa. It was immediately after (Jaanwar),”said Suneel Darshan. He added, “Akshay was so mesmerized by the narration, that he went down-to-earth, literally. “We were just talking,” continued Suneel Darshan. “And in the process of the conversation, he sat down to the floor. He couldn’t believe that he was a part of a story that was so emotional. He had just lost his father. So, his emotional ends were quite ignited. He was so thankful that I had a story like this for him.”
In Ek Rishtaa, Amitabh Bachchan played a father whose connection with his son, Akshay, becomes bad. At the same time, Mohnish Behl’s character, who plays the father and runs a large corporation, deceives his employee and son-in-law. The movie was about a father-son team who reunites for the benefit of their family and business.