| Raja Hindustani | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Dharmesh Darshan |
| Written by | Dharmesh Darshan Javed Siddiqui (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | Robin Bhatt |
| Story by | Dharmesh Darshan |
| Produced by | Ali Morani Karim Morani Bunty Soorma |
| Starring | Aamir Khan Karisma Kapoor |
| Cinematography | W.B. Rao |
| Edited by | Bharat Singh |
| Music by | Songs: Nadeem-Shravan Background score: Surinder Sodhi[1] |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Tips Industries Eros International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 177 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹5.75 crore[2] |
| Box office | ₹76.34 crore (US$21.55 million)[2] |
Raja Hindustani (transl. Indian Raja) is a 1996 IndianHindi-languageromantic drama film directed byDharmesh Darshan. It tells the story of a cab driver from a small town who falls in love with a rich young woman.[3]Aamir Khan andKarisma Kapoor play the lead roles. Released on 15 November 1996, the film's plot was inspired from the 1965 filmJab Jab Phool Khile, starringShashi Kapoor andNanda.[4] The film's music was composed byNadeem-Shravan, with lyrics bySameer.[5] It went on to win fiveFilmfare Awards, including the awards forBest Film, Best Actors,[6] Best Music and sevenScreen Awards.[7][8]
Raja Hindustani was the third most commercially successful Hindi film of the 1990s in terms of net gross.[9] Made on a budget of₹5.75 crore, the film went on to gross₹76.34 crore worldwide,[10] becoming the highest-grossing film of the year,[11] and the fourth highest-grossing film in India of the 1990s behindHum Aapke Hain Koun..!,Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge andKuch Kuch Hota Hai.[9] Karisma Kapoor was complimented for her looks and performance as Aarti: a rich, beautiful, sensitive, young woman full of dreams and desires.[12] It is Kapoor's biggest commercial success till date and is regarded as one of her best performances; it was a major turning point in her career.[13][14][15][16] She won theFilmfare Best Actress Award for her role.[12][17] The chemistry between the lead pair of Aamir Khan and Karisma Kapoor was praised and there was a much talked-about kissing scene.[18][19][20] The film was remade inKannada asNaanu Naane in 2002, starringUpendra andSakshi Shivanand in lead roles and was later dubbed inTelugu asPrema Bandham.
Aarti Sehgal is a beautiful young girl. Her evil stepmother Shalini wants to gain her father Bakshrath's wealth. Aarti arrives in Palankhet for a vacation to discover memories of her late mother and hires the services of available driver, Raja Hindustani. Ultimately, they bond and fall in love after an accidental passionate romantic kiss.Bakshrath arrives to take Aarti back to Mumbai and rejects Raja as his son-in-law, but they disobey him and marry. He later accepts their love, bringing them to Mumbai.
To gain total control of Bakshrath's assets, Shalini sets a trap that causes Raja and Aarti to get separated. Upon knowing her pregnancy, Aarti decides to inform and reunite with Raja. The doctor advises her not to travel. Shalini is asked to reach Palankhet to inform and convince Raja to come back to Mumbai. However, she misleads him that Aarti wants to divorce him, and then Aarti that Raja now hates her. Thus they get stuck in misunderstandings and separate.
6 months later, Aarti gives birth to a son, whom she dearly loves. Raja later gets to know that she has his child and is under the impression she intends to keep him away from it. Fearing he can never see his son, Raja kidnaps him. The lies and deception of Shalini come out. Distraught, Aarti reveals the truth to Raja, and they unite.
Manisha Koirala was first offered the lead actress role, but she refused.[21][18]Juhi Chawla andAishwarya Rai were also among those actresses who were considered for the role. Palankhet was a fictional location created for the film, and is aportmanteau of two real hill stations' names:Palampur andRanikhet.[22]
Film criticAnupama Chopra, while reviewingRaja Hindustani forIndia Today wrote, "the film is disappointingly dated, but Darshan scores with his music-catchy 'Pardesi, Pardesi'— and with his leading lady, Karisma."[23] She went on to praise Kapoor's performance saying, "Karisma looks stunning and acts surprisingly well. She is the lifeblood of this otherwise-banal film."[23]
Raja Hindustani earned₹76.34 crore worldwide, including a domestic gross of₹73.84 crore.[24] Its domesticnett was₹43.15 crore, and its adjusted worldwide gross is equivalent to₹394 crore.[2]
Box Office India declared it an "All-Time Blockbuster".[25][26][27] Domestically, it was the fourth highest-grossing film of the 1990s, afterHum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) (₹116 crore),[28]Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995) (₹86.49 crore)[29] andKuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) (₹80.12 crore).[30] Adjusted for inflation,Raja Hindustani is the fifth highest-grossing film of India since the 1990s.[31]
| Raja Hindustani/Prema Bandham | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 51:20 | |||
| Label | Tips | |||
| Producer | Nadeem Shravan | |||
| Nadeem Shravan chronology | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack was composed byNadeem-Shravan.Planet Bollywood ranks the film's soundtrack at 56 in its all-time top 100 greatest Bollywood soundtracks.[32]
It consisted of tracks like "Kitna Pyara Tujhe Rab Ne" (which is uncredited and unofficial translation of thePunjabi song "Kinna Sohna Tenu Rab Ne Banaya" byNusrat Fateh Ali Khan), "Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein", which had become an immensely popular wedding song, andSapna Awasthi,Udit Narayan andAlka Yagnik's "Pardesi Pardesi", which was a major chartbuster at the time and which also led to the film's success.[20]Udit Narayan won his 3rd Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for this song. The album became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year by a wide margin.[33]
Aniket Joshi ofPlanet Bollywood gave the album a rating of 9.5 out of 10 stating, "Raja Hindustani is a must for lovers of good ever lasting melody."[34] The soundtrack album sold 11 million copies and is one of the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack albums of all time.[33] It was the third best selling album of the 1990s afterAashiqui (1990) andDil To Pagal Hai (1997).[33]
Alka Yagnik considers "Poochho Zara Poocho" as one of the best songs she ever rendered. The song has been copied by many a composer since. Anand-Milind lifted the tune in the "Tumse Dil Lagane Ki Sazaa Hai" part of the song and used it in the song "Mausam Ki Tarah Tum Bhi Badal To Na Jaaoge" fromJaanwar (1999). Both songs were picturized on Karisma Kapoor and had in common, singer and lyricist: Alka Yagnik and Sameer. The director of the later movie is Suneel Darshan, who is an elder sibling to Dharmesh Darshan.
Again, the same portion of the song was used byHimesh Reshammiya in the "Tujhe Apna Dil Dene Ka Hai Mazaa" part of the song "Pyaar Kar" from the filmHumraaz (2002).
One of the riffs used in the background score of the film was later on used by Nadeem-Shravan in the chorus of the song "Tum Dil Ki Dhadkan Mein", from the filmDhadkan (2000).Dhadkan was also directed by Dharmesh Darshan, with the movie's soundtrack composed by Nadeem-Shravan, and lyrics written by Sameer.
The song, "Saala Main To Sahab Ban Gaya", from the 1974 filmSagina, was briefly used in the movie. The song was picturised on Aamir Khan. InSagina, the song was filmed onDilip Kumar and sung byKishore Kumar. In this film, Kishore Kumar's original vocals were retained.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pucho Zara Pucho" | Kumar Sanu,Alka Yagnik | 06:12 |
| 2. | "Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein (Male) (Yaman Kalyan)" | Udit Narayan | 06:03 |
| 3. | "Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein (Female) (Yaman Kalyan)" | Alka Yagnik | 06:03 |
| 4. | "Kitna Pyaare Tujhe Rabne (Shivaranjani)" | Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik | 06:22 |
| 5. | "Pardesi Pardesi (Part 1) (Pahadi)" | Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik,Sapna Awasthi | 07:28 |
| 6. | "Pardesi Pardesi (Part 2) (Pahadi)" | Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik | 08:20 |
| 7. | "Tere Ishq Mein Nachenge" | Kumar Sanu,Alisha Chinai,Sapna Mukherjee | 08:14 |
| 8. | "Pardesi Pardesi (Sad) (Pahadi)" | Suresh Wadkar, Bela Sulakhe | 02:40 |
| Total length: | 51:22 | ||
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42nd Filmfare Awards | Best Film | Cineyug | Won |
| Best Actor | Aamir Khan | Won | |
| Best Actress | Karisma Kapoor | Won | |
| Best Music Director | Nadeem-Shravan | Won | |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Udit Narayan for "Pardesi Pardesi" | Won | |
| Best Director | Dharmesh Darshan | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Archana Puran Singh | Nominated | |
| Best Performance in a Comic Role | Johnny Lever | Nominated | |
| Navneet Nishan | Nominated | ||
| Best Lyricist | Sameer for "Pardesi Pardesi" | Nominated | |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Alka Yagnik for "Pardesi Pardesi" | Nominated | |
| 1997Screen Awards | Best Film | Cineyug | Won |
| Best Director | Dharmesh Darshan | Won | |
| Best Actor | Aamir Khan | Won | |
| Best Comedian | Johnny Lever | Won | |
| Best Music Director | Nadeem-Shravan | Won | |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Udit Narayan for "Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein" | Won | |
| Best Screenplay | Robin Bhatt | Won |
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