Raja Hindustani

Raja Hindustani (transl. Raja, the Indian) is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Dharmesh 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 and Karisma Kapoor play the lead roles. Released on 15 November 1996, this film's plot was inspired from the 1965 film Jab Jab Phool Khile, starring Shashi Kapoor and Nanda.[4] The film's music was composed by Nadeem-Shravan, with lyrics by Sameer.[5] It went on to win five Filmfare Awards, including the awards for Best film and Best Actors,[6] and seven Screen Awards.[7]

Raja Hindustani
Film poster
Directed byDharmesh Darshan
Produced byAlive Morani
Karim Morani
Bunty Soorma
Written byDharmesh Darshan
Javed Siddiqui (dialogues)
Screenplay byRobin Bhatt
Story byDharmesh Darshan
StarringAamir Khan
Karisma Kapoor
Suresh Oberoi
Johnny Lever
Navneet Nishan
Veeru Krishnan
Kunal Khemu
Pramod Moutho
Mohnish Behl
Tiku Talsania
Farida Jalal
Archana Puran Singh
Music bySongs:
Nadeem-Shravan
Background score:
Surinder Sodhi[1]
CinematographyW.B. Rao
Edited byBharat
Production
company
Distributed byTips Films
Release date
  • 15 November 1996 (1996-11-15)
Running time
177 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budgetest.₹57.5 million[2]
Box officeest.₹763.4 million[2]

Raja Hindustani was the third most commercially successful Hindi film of the 1990s in terms of net gross.[8] Made on a budget of ₹57.5 million, the film went on to gross ₹763.4 million worldwide,[2] becoming the highest-grossing film of the year,[9] and the fourth highest-grossing film in India of the 1990s behind Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai .[8] The film's music became popular and was successful, especially in the central and eastern states of India.[10] Karisma Kapoor was complimented for her looks and performance as Aarti: a rich, beautiful, sensitive, young woman full of dreams and desires.[11] 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.[12][13][14][15] She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her role.[11][16] The chemistry between the lead pair of Aamir Khan and Karishma Kapoor was praised and there was a much talked about kissing scene.[17][18][19] The film was remade in Kannada as Naanu Naane in 2002, starring Upendra and Sakshi Shivanand in lead roles and in Odia as Priya Mo Priya in 2005.

Plot

Aarti Sehgal (Karisma Kapoor) is a wealthy young girl who is the only child of her father, Mr. Sehgal and stepmother Shalini, who wishes to acquire all the wealth of her husband.

Aarti decides to go for a vacation to Palankhet, to discover the memories of her deceased mother. Upon arrival, she finds out she has no transportation from the airport to Palankhet, and so she hires the services of the only available driver, Raja Hindustani (Aamir Khan).

During her stay in Palankhet, Aarti and Raja bond and ultimately fall in love after they accidentally kissed each other. One day, to Aarti's surprise, her father arrives in Palankhet and intends to take her home with him. Aarti tells her father about Raja, but Mr. Sehgal says that he will only accept the marriage on the condition that Raja goes to Mumbai and learns to become a respectable member of society. Raja refuses and forces Aarti to make a decision. Aarti chooses Raja but begs for her father's blessings. Her father refuses to offer his blessings and leaves for Mumbai.

After some time, Mr. Sehgal forgives his daughter and visits her in Palankhet. While there, he gives his daughter and son-in-law a new house. Raja refuses to live in the house because he does not see it as a gift, but rather as a charity since he is poor. Shalini, her brother, Swaraj, and her nephew Jai seek to exploit this conflict to gain total control of Mr. Sehgal's assets. Under the pretext of a birthday party, they bring Raja and Aarti to Mumbai and set in motion events that cause Aarti and Raja to separate.

Aarti realizes that she is pregnant, but, due to health problems, the doctor advises her not to travel. Instead, her stepmother is asked to go to Palankhet to inform Raja about his baby and to request him to come to Mumbai. However, Aarti's stepmother tells Raja that Aarti wants to divorce him. Raja refuses. After some time, Raja learns that Aarti has had a baby and is under the impression that she intends to keep him away from the child. Fearing that he will never be allowed to see his baby, he decides to kidnap the child. Distraught, Aarti goes to see Raja and begs him to let her have their child back. Ultimately, the lies and deception of Aarti's stepmother are revealed, and Aarti and Raja reunite.

Cast

Production

Juhi Chawla was first offered the lead actress role, but she refused.[20][17] Pooja Bhatt and Aishwarya Rai were also among those actresses who were considered for the role.[21] Palankhet was a fictional location created for the film, and is a portmanteau of two real hill stations' names: Palampur and Ranikhet.[21]

Reception

Critical response

Film critic Anupama Chopra, while reviewing Raja Hindustani for India Today wrote, "the film is disappointingly dated but Darshan scores with his music-catchy Pardesi, pardesi — and with his leading lady, Karisma."[22] 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."[22]

Box office

Raja Hindustani earned ₹763.4 million worldwide, including a domestic gross of ₹738.4 million.[23] Its domestic nett was ₹431.5 million, and its adjusted worldwide gross is equivalent to ₹3.94 billion.[23]

Box Office India declared it an "All time blockbuster".[24][25][26] Domestically, it was the fourth highest-grossing film of the 1990s , after Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994)(₹1.16 billion),[27] Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995)(₹864.9 million)[28] and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai(₹801.2 million).[29] Adjusted for inflation, Raja Hindustani is the fifth highest-grossing film of India since the 1990s.[30]

Soundtrack
Raja Hindustani
Studio album by
Nadeem Shravan
Released1996
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length51:20
LabelTips
ProducerNadeem Shravan
Nadeem Shravan chronology
Jeet
(1996)		 Raja Hindustani
(1996)		 Himmatvar
(1996)

The soundtrack was composed by Nadeem-Shravan. Planet Bollywood ranks the film's soundtrack at 56 in its all-time top 100 greatest Bollywood soundtracks.[31]

It consisted of tracks like "Kitna Pyara Tujhe Rab Ne" (which is translated from the Punjabi song "Kinna Sohna Tenu Rab Ne Banaya" by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan), "Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein", which had become an immensely popular wedding song, and Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik's "Pardesi Pardesi", which was a major chartbuster at the time and which also led to the film's success.[19] Udit Narayan won his 3rd Film Fare Best Playback Singer for this song. The album became the best selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year by a wide margin.[32]

Aniket Joshi of Planet 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."[33] The soundtrack album sold 11 million copies and is one of the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack albums of all time.[32] It was the third best selling album of the 1990s after Aashiqui and Dil To Pagal Hai.[32]

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" from Jaanwar (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 copied by Himesh Reshammiya in the "Tujhe Apna Dil Dene Ka Hai Mazaa" part of the song "Pyaar Kar" from the movie Humraaz (2002).

The song, Saala Main To Sahab Ban Gaya, from the 1974 film Sagina, was briefly used in the movie. The song was picturised on Aamir Khan. In Sagina, the song was filmed on Dilip Kumar and sung by Kishore Kumar. In this film, Kishore Kumar's original vocals were retained.

Track list
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Poocho Zara Poocho"Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik06:12
2."Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein (Male)"Udit Narayan06:03
3."Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein (Female)"Alka Yagnik06:03
4."Kitna Pyaare Tujhe Rab Ne"Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik06:22
5."Pardesi Pardesi (Part 1)"Sapna Awasthi, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik07:28
6."Pardesi Pardesi (Part 2)"Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik08:20
7."Tere Ishq Mein Nachenge"Alisha Chinai, Sapna Mukherjee, Kumar Sanu08:14
8."Pardesi Pardesi (Sad)"Bela Sulakhe, Suresh Wadkar02:40
Total length:51:22

Awards
Award Category Nominee Result
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
Screen 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

See also

References
  1. Tiwari, Gorakh (8 August 2020). "परदेसी परदेसी जाना नहीं | Pardesi Pardesi Jana Nahi Lyrics in Hindi".
  2. "Raja Hindustani — Movie — Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  3. Ghura, Pritika (13 February 2014). "5 Lessons of Love from Bollywood". The Times of India. p. 5. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  4. Chowdhury, Nandita (31 December 1996). "Charisma takes over". India Today. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  5. PTI (5 February 2012). "I miss music director duo Nadeem-Shravan: Sameer". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  6. "Best Film award winners down the years". Filmfare. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  7. "Screen Awards Winners 1996". Screen India. Archived from the original on 17 January 2002. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  8. "Top Hits 1990–1999 - - Box Office India". Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  9. "Top Hits 1996 – Box Office India". Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  10. "19 Years of Raja Hindustani: 5 unforgettable songs from Aamir-Karisma's blockbuster". India TV News. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  11. N, Patcy (1 December 2011). "Best of the Kapoors III: Karisma, Kareena, Ranbir". Rediff. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  12. "Birthday blast: Karisma Kapoor's biggest hits". filmfare.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  13. Iqbal, Murtuza (25 June 2019). "Birthday Special: Top performances of Karisma Kapoor". EasternEye. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  14. "Happy birthday Karisma Kapoor: Raja Babu to Fiza, 10 films which show how she carved a niche for herself in Bollywood". The Indian Express. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  15. Desk, India TV News (25 June 2014). "Karisma Kapoor best films – IndiaTV News". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  16. "From Zubeidaa to Fiza, a look at Karisma Kapoor's iconic performances on her 44th birthday". Firstpost. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  17. "Raja Hindustani turns 21: Did you know Aamir Khan consumed one litre of vodka for the film?". Hindustan Times. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  18. Prakashan, Priya (25 June 2014). "Birthday Special: Watch Karisma Kapoor's uncensored hottest kiss with Aamir Khan!". India.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  19. "5 Reasons We Still Remember Aamir-Karisma's Raja Hindustani Even After 20 Years". Entertainment News. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  20. "Juhi Chawla: Thought industry will shut down without me". The Indian Express. Mumbai. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  21. Daniels, Christina (2012). I'll Do It My Way: The Incredible Journey Of Aamir Khan. Om Books International. p. 91. ISBN 978-93-80069-22-7.
  22. Chopra, Anupama (15 December 1996). "Movie review: Raja Hindustani,". India Today. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  23. "Raja Hindustani - Movie - Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com.
  24. "Top Lifetime Inflation Adjusted Grossers Worldwide (IND Rs)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  25. Nikhat Kazmi. "Box Office: With Rs 200cr in kitty, 'Ghajini' rewrites records". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  26. "Top Lifetime Grossers 1990–1999 (Figures in Ind Rs)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  27. "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! - Movie - Box Office India". www.boxofficeindia.com.
  28. "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge - Movie - Box Office India". www.boxofficeindia.com.
  29. "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - Movie - Box Office India". www.boxofficeindia.com.
  30. "Top Hits All Time". Box Office India. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  31. Lall, Randy. "100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks Ever Features". Planet Bollywood. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  32. "Music Hits 1990–1999 (Figures in Units)". Box Office India. 22 January 2009. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  33. Joshi, Aniket. "Raja Hindustani Music Review". Planet Bollywood. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
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