One of the greatest films of Indian cinema, Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994), was released on this very day 30 years ago. It’s common knowledge that the film was called a ‘wedding video’ during the pre-release trial by the industry. But the public accepted the film with open arms and how. It changed Bollywood forever and it also gave a boost to the careers of Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Renuka Shahane, Mohnish Bahl and director Sooraj Barjatya. That’s not all. Many others benefited from the film as well, including cinema halls and even black ticket sellers.
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30 Years of Hum Aapke Hain Koun: A black ticket seller bought 2 flats by selling Salman Khan-Madhuri Dixit starrer’s tickets in black; Current booking window at Liberty cinema didn’t open for a year as all shows were SOLD OUT in
At an event held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hum Aapke Hain Koun, the team of the film shared several fascinating trivia. The event and the screening of the film were held at Mumbai’s iconic Liberty cinema, the same theatre where the family entertainer was released in 1994. This was a time when Liberty was showing B-grade films and its infrastructure was deteriorating. Since family audiences had stopped coming, there was no proper washroom for the ladies!
Thanks to the historic success of Hum Aapke Hain Koun, the tide changed for Liberty. People from distant suburbs descended to watch the film at this cinema hall. Producer Kamal Kumar Barjatya at the anniversary screening confessed that the current booking window at Liberty didn’t open for one full year – meaning all shows were sold out in advance, even the ones on the weekdays!
Sooraj Barjatya added that even the black ticket sellers made a killing. He raised laughs as he narrated that a black ticket seller was able to buy two flats by selling the tickets to the movie in black!
Liberty became an important part of the success of Hum Aapke Hain Koun. Hence, the team of the film was gracious enough to mention Nazir Hoosein, who passed away on May 12, 2019, while remembering those from the film’s team who were no longer with us. These included Ajit Vachani, Reema Lagoo, Laxmikant Berde, Jay Borade, Rajkumar Barjatya and Rajat A Barjatya.
