''Raja Hindustani/Prema Bandham''(/ప్రేమ బంధం) is a 1996 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

-language

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

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.

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

and

Karisma Kapoor Karisma Kapoor (born 25 June 1974) is an Indian actress, who works in Hindi films. A member of the Kapoor family, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Award and four Filmfare Awards. Kapoor made her acting d ...

play the lead roles. Released on 15 November 1996, the film's plot was inspired from the 1965 film ''

Jab Jab Phool Khile ''Jab Jab Phool Khile'' () is a 1965 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film. It stars Shashi Kapoor and Nanda. The story is of a poor boy who is a boatman in Kashmir and falls in love with a rich tourist. The film became a "blockbuster" at t ...

'', starring

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Nation ...

and

Nanda Nanda may refer to: Indian history and religion * Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE ** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire ** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...

. The film's music was composed by Nadeem-Shravan, with lyrics by Sameer. It went on to win five

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

, including the awards for

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and Best Actors, and seven

Screen Awards The Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony held in India honouring professional excellence in Bollywood. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professionals from the industry. The awards were introduced by t ...

. ''Raja Hindustani'' was the third most commercially successful Hindi film of the 1990s in terms of net gross. Made on a budget of 5.75 crore, the film went on to gross 76.34 crore worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year, and the fourth highest-grossing film in India of the 1990s behind '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'', ''

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (), also known by the initialism ''DDLJ'', is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra. Released ...

'' and ''

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' () also known as ''KKHH'' or ''K2H2'', is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced under Dharma Productions. It stars the popular on-screen pair of Shah Rukh Kha ...

.'' The film's music became popular and was successful, especially in the central and eastern states of India. Karisma Kapoor was complimented for her looks and performance as Aarti: a rich, beautiful, sensitive, young woman full of dreams and desires. 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. She won the

Filmfare Best Actress Award The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise the female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1954 ...

for her role. The chemistry between the lead pair of Aamir Khan and Karisma Kapoor was praised and there was a much talked-about kissing scene. The film was remade in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

as ''

Naanu Naane ''Naanu Naane'' () is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language film directed by D. Rajendra Babu starring Upendra and Sakshi Shivanand. It is a remake of the Hindi film ''Raja Hindustani''. Cast * Upendra * Sakshi Shivanand * Ananthnag * Pavitra Lokes ...

'' in 2002, starring

Upendra Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born subs ...

and

Sakshi Shivanand Sakshi Shivanand is an Indian actress, who has appeared in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films. Her most notable work is ''Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai'' which was directed by Anubhav Sinha and co-starred Priyanshu Chatterj ...

in lead roles and in

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

as ''Priya Mo Priya'' in 2005 and was later dubbed in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

Prema Bandham Kasinadhuni Viswanath (born 19 February 1930) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema. He is recipient of five National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, ten Filmfare Awards South, ...

''.''

Plot

Aarti Sehgal is a beautiful young girl. Her evil stepmother Shalini wants to gain her father Bakshrath's wealth. Aarti arrives in Palankhet for a vacation to discover memories of her late mother and hires the services of available driver, Raja Hindustani. Ultimately, they bond and fall in love after an accidental passionate romantic kiss. Bakshrath arrives to take Aarti back to Mumbai and rejects Raja as his son-in-law, but they disobey him and marry. He later accepts their love, bringing them to Mumbai. To gain total control of Bakshrath's assets, Shalini sets a trap that causes Raja and Aarti to get separated. Upon knowing her pregnancy, Aarti decides to inform and reunite with Raja. The doctor advises her not to travel. Shalini is asked to reach Palankhet to inform and convince Raja to come back to Mumbai. However, she misleads him that Aarti wants to divorce him, and then Aarti that Raja now hates her. Thus they get stuck in misunderstandings and separate.

6 months later

Aarti gives birth to a son, whom she dearly loves. Raja later gets to know that she has his child and is under the impression she intends to keep him away from it. Fearing he can never see his son, Raja kidnaps him. The lies and deception of Shalini come out. Distraught, Aarti reveals the truth to Raja, and they unite.

Cast

as Raja Hindustani *

as Aarti Sehgal *

Suresh Oberoi Suresh Oberoi (born 17 December 1946) is an Indian actor and politician who appeared in Hindi films. He is a recipient of the 1987 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He started his career in radio shows, modelling and later moving ...

as Bakshrath Sehgal *

Archana Puran Singh Archana Puran Singh (born 26 September 1962) is an Indian actress and television personality. She is known for her comedy roles in several Bollywood movies and as a judge in the comedy shows ''The Kapil Sharma Show'' and ''Comedy Circus''. She ...

as Shalini "Shalu" Mitra *

Tiku Talsania Tiku Talsania (born 7 June 1954) is an Indian actor, who works in the Bollywood industry. Apart from acting in films and television serials, he also performs as a freelance theatre artist, working for Gujarati theatre. Career Television Tiku h ...

as Sanjeev Sharma *

Farida Jalal Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...

as Suhasini Sharma *

Johnny Lever Johnny Lever (born John Prakash Rao Janumala; 14 August 1957) is an Indian actor and popular comedian who is known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is one of the first stand-up comedians in India. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, in ...

as Balwant Singh *

Pramod Moutho Pramod Moutho (born 7 May 1955) is an Indian film and television actor. He has appeared as a villain in number of noted Bollywood films, like ''Khalnayak'' (1993), '' Dilwale'' (1994), ''Raja Hindustani'' (1996), ''Mehndi'' (1998), Gadar'' (2 ...

as Swaraj Mitra *

Mohnish Behl Mohnish Bahl (born 14 August 1961) is an Indian actor working in the Indian film industry and on Indian television. Career Mohnish Bahl debuted with the film ''Bekarar'' in a supporting role opposite Padmini Kolhapure and co Starring Sanjay D ...

as Jay Mitra *

Navneet Nishan Navneet Nishan (also known as Navnit Nishan, Navnit or Navnit Singh) (born 25 October 1965) is an Indian actress. She is best known for her role as Tara in the soap opera '' Tara'', and '' Kasautii Zindagii Kay''. She has also worked in the TV ...

as Kamal "Kammo" Singh * Veeru Krishnan as Gulaab Singh * Master Kunal Khemu as Rajnikant * Razak Khan as Taxi Driver *

Kalpana Iyer Kalpana Iyer (born 26 July 1956) is a former Indian actress, singer, and model, who is best known for her works in Hindi cinema throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She appeared in over 100 films, and is accredited for her performances in many popula ...

in song "Pardesi Pardesi" *

Pratibha Sinha Pratibha Sinha is a former Indian actress working in Bollywood movies and the daughter of Mala Sinha, a former Bollywood actress herself and Mala Sinha was one of the highest paid and most popular actress back in late 50s 60s and 70s. She mad ...

in song "Pardesi Pardesi"

Production

Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, film producer and entrepreneur. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and v ...

was first offered the lead actress role, but she refused.

Pooja Bhatt Pooja Bhatt (born 24 February 1972) is an Indian film director, actress, voice over artist and film maker. Born into the Bhatt family, she is the daughter of Indian filmmaker, Mahesh Bhatt. Bhatt played her first leading role in Mahesh Bhatt's ...

and

Aishwarya Rai Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebriti ...

were also among those actresses who were considered for the role. Palankhet was a fictional location created for the film, and is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsPalampur and Ranikhet.

Reception

Critical response

Film critic

Anupama Chopra Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...

, while reviewing ''Raja Hindustani'' for ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new on ...

'' wrote, "the film is disappointingly dated, but Darshan scores with his music-catchy 'Pardesi, Pardesi'— and with his leading lady, Karisma." 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."

Box office

''Raja Hindustani'' earned 76.34 crore worldwide, including a domestic gross of 73.84crore. Its domestic

nett Nett also written as Net, is one of the administrative divisions of Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia. Description Nett is one of the six municipalities located in the main island of Pohnpei. It corresponds to the north-central sec ...

was 43.15crore, and its adjusted worldwide gross is equivalent to 394crore. ''

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website. Its traffic ranking in India is 83,665 . A new Box Office India website went live on 20 January 2014. About Box Office India was launched on 10 June 2003. Its uses Whois privacy to anonymize its ow ...

'' declared it an "All-Time Blockbuster". Domestically, it was the fourth highest-grossing film of the 1990s, after ''

Hum Aapke Hain Koun ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' () also known by the initialism ''HAHK'', is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya and produced by Rajshri Productions. The film stars Madhuri Dixit and Sal ...

'' (1994) (116 crore), ''

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (), also known by the initialism ''DDLJ'', is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra. Released on ...

'' (1995) (86.49 crore) and ''

'' (1998) (80.12 crore). Adjusted for inflation, ''Raja Hindustani'' is the fifth highest-grossing film of India since the 1990s.

Soundtrack

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. It consisted of tracks like "Kitna Pyara Tujhe Rab Ne" (which is uncredited and unofficial translation of the

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

song "Kinna Sohna Tenu Rab Ne Banaya" by

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes ...

), "Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein", which had become an immensely popular wedding song, and

Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: * Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer *Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent *Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch *Udit Patel (born 198 ...

and

Alka Yagnik Alka, AlkA or ALKA may refer to: People * Alka Ajith (born c. 1997), Indian multilingual playback singer * Alka Amin (active from 2011), Indian television actress * Alka Balram Kshatriya, Indian politician, Member of the Parliament of India repr ...

's "Pardesi Pardesi", which was a major chartbuster at the time and which also led to the film's success.

won his 3rd Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for this song. The album became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year by a wide margin. 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." The soundtrack album sold 11 million copies and is one of the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack albums of all time. It was the third best selling album of the 1990s after ''

Aashiqui Aashiqui () is a 1990 Indian Hindi musical romantic drama film and first installment of Aashiqui series directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Rahul Roy, Anu Aggarwal and Deepak Tijori in pivotal roles. The film was known for its music, by com ...

'' (1990) and ''

Dil To Pagal Hai ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get en ...

'' (1997). 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 used by

Himesh Reshammiya Himesh Reshammiya (born 23 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, songwriter, film & music producer and actor in Hindi cinema. He started his career as music director in the film '' Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya'' in 1998 and made ...

in the "Tujhe Apna Dil Dene Ka Hai Mazaa" part of the song "Pyaar Kar" from the film '' Humraaz'' (2002). One of the riffs used in the background score of the film was later on used by Nadeem-Shravan in the chorus of the song "Tum Dil Ki Dhadkan Mein", from the film '' Dhadkan'' (2000). ''Dhadkan'' was also directed by Dharmesh Darshan, with the movie's soundtrack composed by Nadeem-Shravan, and lyrics written by Sameer. The song, "Saala Main To Sahab Ban Gaya"'','' from the 1974 film ''

Sagina ''Sagina'' (like '' Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") is a genus of 20–30 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. These are flowering herbs native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere extending south to tropical ...

,'' was briefly used in the movie. The song was picturised on Aamir Khan. In ''Sagina,'' the song was filmed on

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...

and sung by

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

. In this film, Kishore Kumar's original vocals were retained.

Track list

Awards

References

External links

* {{ScreenAwardBestFilm 1990s Hindi-language films 1996 films Films scored by Nadeem–Shravan Films shot in Ooty 1996 romantic drama films Hindi films remade in other languages Indian romantic drama films Films with screenplays by Robin Bhatt Films scored by Surinder Sodhi Films directed by Dharmesh Darshan