Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
Salman Khan reunites with Sooraj Barjatya, the director who made him a star with Maine Pyar Kiya. Khan’s screen image has gone several twists and turns since he played the bratty lover boy in the 1989 blockbuster, and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo sees in family mode. In this Prince and the Pauper-inspired drama, Khan is rumoured to play a royal who exchanges places with a lookalike commoner. Sonam Kapoor fetches up as his love object, while the rival to the family wealth, Neil Nitin Mukesh, skulks about. Glossy, sprawling, and packed with songs and all the frills that veteran producer Rajshri Productions can afford, PDRP appears to be taking its Diwali release schedule very seriously.
Khan famously flubbed his first audition for Maine Pyar Kiya, and almost didn’t get selected for a role that Deepak Tijori and Kunal Goswami also attempted to bag. Here are Khan and Barjatya talking about the moment that turned scriptwriter Salim Khan’s son into one of the most enduring stars of Hindi cinema.
Run Bhuumi
There is actually another movie that has dared to open alongside Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. It has a pun in its title and it stars Himani Attri as a 15-year-old athlete attempting to win a cross-country championship against the odds, including her unhelpful coach. Directed by Prashant Singh Rathore, this sporting drama is destined for a short sprint rather than a long run in the cinemas.
