25 Years of Hum Saath Saath Hain: Revisiting The Film’s Heartfelt Exploration Of Family Bonds

The  strangest thing about Hum Saath Saath Hain, Sooraj Barjatya’s  flamboyant  arcadian brocade-draped  plunge into  parivaarik  prattle  post Hum…Aapke Hain Koun  was   its  curious casting. Saif Ali  Khan who admits  he  was the odd one out at  the start , was cast opposite  his future sister-in-law Karisma Kapoor and she most definitely looks  older than  him in hindsight, which is  fine if only Barjatya had  written the age difference into the script,  like Ayan Mukerji had in Wake Up Sid.

Odder  still was  the  picky Tabu  cast in  a walk-on part(“I did it for Soorajji”)  opposite Mohnish Behl who incidentally had the  most important role  among the leading men.  And we applaud  Barjatya’s  democratic spirit.  Mohnish plays  Rama  while Salman  plays Mohnish’s faithful  Lakshman . Reema  Lagoo was Kaikayee-redux  while  Alok Nath  fitted  Dashrath  like  a  glove.

The  film  has  aged rather badly with  all its fatal  flaws—garish  unidimensional sets, over-the-top  theatrical dialogues, an absurdly abundant number  of  characters constantly  singing eating dancing and celebrating  life as  if there were  no bills  to pay, no Covid to  combat—seeming more conspicuous  twenty-five years  later  than  they did on  release.

The film features an unparalleled starcast of  thirty  important  characters  who come  and go unannounced  in  the  Chaturvedi home at will.Locks  and  knocks  are  unheard  of in this   arcadian world. If  there is  a watchman  guarding the Chaturvedi   mansion then he  must have been briefed  to let anyone  in.

Reminds  me of Salman’s real life house  where guests  of the three brothers and their parents would saunter  in and leave, sometimes strangers  would  walk in  have  a meal and leave, with all the Khans  presuming the stranger to be someone’s guest.That  was  before  blackbuck  incident  during the shooting. Salman’s home is  no more an open house. But  Sooraj’s world is devoid of life’s  obstacles.

Is this how Sooraj  Barjatya  lives? I asked his cousin once and she laughed, “No no not at all. That is Soorajji’s idea  of  Ayodhya in modern  times.  But  yes, the  respect shown  for elders  is a part  of our DNA. There is nothing fake about that.”

 What  brings  the celebratory mood down   in Hum Saath Saath Hain is  the music. Ram Laxman who whipped  up a creamy lather of  peppy songs in  Hum…Aapke  Hain  Koun came up with a droopy soggy  slew of  chorus songs.Sooraj Barjatya  admitted  the music was  a feeble followup. “You see, we couldn’t ask Lataji to sing in Hum Saath Saath Hai as all the songs were chorus songs requiring several singers together. Lataji made Hum…Aapke Hain Koun very special. We had  to make do without her in  Hum Saath Saath Hain.”