Sooraj R. Barjatya

Sooraj R. Barjatya is an Indian Hindi film director. His films are produced under the Rajshri Productions banner which was first founded in 1947 by his late grandfather Tarachand Barjatya. As a director he is most known for his early hits, Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994).

Early life
Barjatya was born in Mumbai. He attended St. Mary's School in Mumbai & The Scindia School in Gwalior. Encouraged by his paternal grandfather Tarachand Barjatya, he directed his first film Maine Pyar Kiya for Rajshri at the young age of 24. He is married to Vineeta. He has three children Devaansh, Avnish and Eesha.

Career
He made his directorial debut with Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) starring Salman Khan which was a huge box office hit and launched both his and Salman's careers. He teamed up with Salman again for Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994) which became one of the highest all-time blockbusters and Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United (1999) which was a huge hit as well.

His fourth film, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon starring Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, and Abhishek Bachchan, was the first film directed by him to fail at the box office. He bounced back with his latest film Vivah (2006) starring Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao, which has proved to be one of the biggest blockbusters in his career. He has named the lead actor of all his movies 'Prem'.

He is a trendsetter and ushered in an era of family based themes in Indian Cinema. Many successful young directors incorporated aspects from his vision into their films. At a time when video piracy and satellite TV channels threatened the survival of the Indian film industry, his films instilled a new lease of life by bringing viewers back to cinema halls.

Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Sooraj Barjatya's two consecutive blockbusters are still placed among the top ten most successful films of the last 80 years.

Vivah, Sooraj Barjatya's latest film proved to be one of the biggest grossers of 2006, having celebrated a silver jubilee run at 25 centers across the country. The film was nominated for more than 15 awards.