Did you know Mahesh Bhatt’s 1990 film Aashiqui was initially meant for a TV release? Here’s what Gulshan Kumar did to make it a hit

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As a passionate admirer of Bollywood and its intricate behind-the-scenes stories, I find the tale of Aashiqui utterly captivating. The film’s humble beginnings, initially intended for TV, transformed into an iconic saga thanks to the visionary work of Gulshan Kumar. It’s fascinating to imagine such a monumental success starting from a budget as modest as Rs 40 lakh!

The 1990 movie Aashiqui, helmed by Mahesh Bhatt, is still revered for its emotionally resonant music and poignant love tale. In the leading roles were Rahul Roy, Anu Aggarwal, and Deepak Tijori, with this being the beginning of the Aashiqui franchise. However, here’s an interesting tidbit: the film was initially planned for television broadcast and had a relatively small budget of only Rs 40 lakh. It was Gulshan Kumar who played a crucial part in transforming it into a massive hit.

Indeed, you’ve got that right! In an interview with Manju Ramanan, actor Deepak Tijori shared that during the making of Aashiqui, they believed it would cost around 40 lakh rupees and assumed it would air on television. Initially, their approach was similar to how Gulshan Kumar had handled Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka (1988), viewing it as a small-scale project.

He reminisced about working on the movie “Aashiqui” with such a mindset, oblivious to the massive impact it would eventually have. The actor associated with Aashiqui revealed that Gulshan Kumar, the founder of T-Series, played a crucial role in the film’s success. His approach was to focus on the music’s success before proceeding with the film’s production.

Deepak shared that Gulshan Kumar followed an interesting strategy for his films – he would first ensure the songs became popular hits before starting the movie production. For instance, he focused on making the songs from “Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka” successful before creating the actual film. He employed this same method while working on “Aashiqui”. In simpler terms, Gulshan would make sure the songs gained popularity first, and only then did he instruct Mahesh Bhatt to start filming.

The melodies crafted by Nadeem-Shravan for Aashiqui quickly captured everyone’s hearts, paving the way for the movie’s creation. As Deepak Tijori put it, the public adored these tunes so much that once they became popular, Kumar proposed to Mahesh Bhatt, “Let’s make a film based on these songs.” Inspired by the music, Bhatt brought the film to life, adding more iconic tracks, and since then, history has been etched with its tale.

Later on, Deepak Tijori launched his acting career in significant movies such as Aashiqui, Afsana Pyar Ka, and Kaun Kare Kurbanie. Subsequently, he expanded his horizons by directing films, first with the release of Oops!.

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2024-11-28 11:37