Sooraj Barjatya says Hum Aapke Hai Koun isn’t possible today, cites changing roles of women and evolving audience tastes

Sooraj Barjatya says Hum Aapke Hai Koun isn’t possible today, cites changing roles of women and evolving audience tastes

• Sooraj Barjatya says Hum Aapke Hai Koun is not possible today
• He cites changing audience tastes and evolving roles for women
• Barjatya: Joint family stories now seem unrealistic to viewers

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Veteran filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya — best known for beloved family classics like Hum Aapke Hai Koun..!, Maine Pyar Kiya and Vivah — has said that a film like Hum Aapke Hai Koun would be “not possible today” in Indian cinema, pointing to significant changes in audience expectations and the portrayal of women both on and off screen.

Sooraj made the remarks while reflecting on how storytelling and societal roles have shifted since his 1994 blockbuster hit, suggesting that the simple, traditional family narratives that once resonated so powerfully might not connect with modern viewers in the same way anymore.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, the 62-year-old said, "Where stories are concerned, agar main aaj bhi sochoon ki ghar pe baithengi ladies (the women will sit at home), that is over. You cannot make a Hum Aapke Hain Koun where everybody lives together, because it’s not possible today. But the values remain the same."

He noted that the landscape of Indian filmmaking and family structures has also transformed — from extended joint families to nuclear households — making the kind of world depicted in Hum Aapke Hai Koun feel increasingly “unrealistic” to contemporary viewers.

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"The energies are different. The way to look into a scene is different. We never used to pay so much attention to costumes and production design. The number of kitchen sets and temples I have put on screen that no one else has. That is where women come in with new ideas."