Sooraj Barjatya has finally made his OTT debut with the romantic drama series Bada Naam Karenge. The filmmaker, who is busy promoting his series, recently called himself a ‘selfish director’ and recalled making heroines cry during the early days of his career, in an interview with Komal Nahta on his YouTube channel Game Changers.
(Also Read: Salman Khan works very hard on his roles as an actor, says Sooraj Barjatya: ‘He connects to the ordinary man’)
Sooraj Barjatya on making Bhagyashree cry
During the conversation, when the host asked if he ever got angry in real life, Sooraj recalled how he used to be rude at the beginning of his career and said, “When I started my career, I made a lot of heroines cry. You can ask Bhagyashree. I used to yell and shout. Over time, I realised that work happens where there is love and calmness. But I prepare a lot. I read my narrations to myself at least 200 times. I want to see every costume, every prop. I want to be thoroughly prepared for everything I do. This is why it takes me five years—because when I am on set, I just want to create, not correct.”
Sooraj says he’s a ‘selfish’ director
When asked if this is the reason behind the long gaps between his films, the filmmaker admitted it was one of the reasons and added, “As a director, I am very selfish because I don’t want to start until I am ready. This has been my approach since I first started. When you watch Raj Kapoor’s films—Sangam, Bobby—the way you get lost in them requires a lot of preparation. I don’t focus on numbers. If you looked at the numbers, you would call me an idiot. As a director, I don’t listen to anybody. I am involved in every single dialogue. I don’t even follow choreographers blindly; I need everything in written form. I am not a visual director like Sanjay Leela Bhansali—he is a master. Nor am I like Mani Ratnam. I am essentially a storyteller, so I don’t think visually. My approach is more story-oriented, and I give a lot of importance to every picturisation in the film. Every creative choice must go through me, which is why my process takes time.”
Sooraj Barjatya debut, recent work
The filmmaker made his directorial debut with Maine Pyaar Kiya, starring Bhagyashree and Salman Khan in lead roles. The film was a major box office success. He then went on to direct some of the most successful films, including Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! , Hum Saath-Saath Hain, Vivah, and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, among others.
Now, he has made his OTT debut as a showrunner for SonyLIV’s original series Bada Naam Karenge. Helmed by Palash Vaswani, the romantic drama stars Ritik Ghanshan, Ayesha Kaduskar, Rajesh Tailang, Priyamvada Kant, Anjana Sukhani, Gyanendra Tripathi, and Kanwaljit Singh. The series explores the challenges faced by two generations as they struggle to accommodate each other.
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