Sooraj Barjatya can be credited for many things - two of the biggest hits of Hindi cinema - Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun ?, for flying the flag for arranged mar riages, for making stars of Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Amrita Rao and for creating the immortal Prem . Though the next film from the Rajshri stable, Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi , is produced by Barjatya and directed by newcomer Kaushik Ghatak, Prem lives on and this time is played by Sonu Sood.
Besides Salman, Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapur have also played Prem. I recently asked Barjatya if Prem will be in all his films to which he replied, “I hope so. He represents a particular character and how boys in society should be. All the characters have filtered down from Prem in Maine Pyar Kiya . Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi also stars Eesha Koppikhar and is about - surprise - a wedding that derails at the last minute when the girl says she needs more time. The boy agrees to wait till she is ready and a 12-year courtship follows.
Long live Prem.