Karan Arjun
Karan Arjun was theatrically released in India on 13 January 1995. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed ₹450 million ($20 million), emerging as an "all-time blockbuster" and the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1995 after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. It was the 6th highest-grossing film of the decade.
At the 41st Filmfare Awards, Karan Arjun received 10 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Roshan), Best Actor (Salman) and Best Supporting Actress (Raakhee), and won 2 awards – Best Editing and Best Action.
The film will be re-released worldwide on November 22, 2024.
Plot
In a village in Rajasthan, Durga Singh, a poor woman raises her two beloved sons Karan and Arjun. When Munshiji of Thakur Sangram Singh, comes to talk to Durga, she tells her husband was the Thakur's son who married her against his father's wishes. Durjan Singh, a relative of Thakur killed Durga's husband to prevent him or his family from inheriting Thakur's estate.
After learning that Thakur plans to sign over the estate to Karan and Arjun, Durjan kills Thakur, before brutally murdering Karan and Arjun with his brothers-in-law Nahar and Shamsher. Durga worships Goddess Kali to bring her sons back. Miraculously, Durga's prayers are heard and the two are reincarnated but are separated and grown into different families unaware of their past lives. Durga is unaware of this miracle, but she still believes that her sons will return.
20 years later, Arjun is reincarnated as Vijay, where he falls in love with the wealthy Sonia Saxena; she also loves him but her wedding is fixed to Durjan's son Suraj. Karan is also reborn as Ajay, who is chased upon by tomboyish girlfriend Bindiya, and soon works for Govind—Sonia's father and Durjan's partner in his illegal arms trading business. Knowing that Sonia loves Vijay, Suraj attempts to kill him, but Vijay attacks him. Ajay is sent to kill Vijay; they start to fight, which is suddenly interrupted after a bolt of lightning strikes between them.
Govind tries to shoot Vijay, but Ajay stops him whilst shouting for Vijay to run, which leads to something that Ajay said to Vijay in their past when he was attacked. Ajay is imprisoned, while Vijay escapes. Sonia is forcibly taken to Durjan's house to marry Suraj. Vijay and his friend Linghaiyya travel to save Sonia, where everybody is stunned and calls him Arjun. He finally remembers his past life and reunites with Durga, where he gets to know about his brother Karan, who is now Ajay. Vijay saves Ajay and explains the whole situation, stating that they were brothers named Karan and Arjun.
Meanwhile, Bindiya joins them, and Durjan hears about Karan and Arjun's return but refuses to believe it. Nahar and Shamsher attempt to bring them before him but instead get killed by Ajay and Vijay in a similar way as they killed the two brothers. Karan (Ajay) and Arjun (Vijay) frighten Durjan by convincing him that they're back. Govind and Durjan have a falling out, and Govind tells Sonia to run away with Vijay, but it's actually a trap.
Ajay succeeds in creating chaos, letting Vijay and Sonia escape from the trap. Vijay shoots Suraj to death, and Durjan kills Govind in a fit of rage. He attempts to shoot Ajay and Vijay but instead, they beat him up. He begs forgiveness from Durga, but Ajay and Vijay take their revenge by killing him on her order. Later, Vijay marries Sonia, Ajay marries Bindiya, and the whole family is united.
Cast
- Salman Khan as Karan Singh / Ajay (dual role)
- Shah Rukh Khan as Arjun Singh / Vijay (dual role)
- Raakhee as Durga Singh
- Kajol as Sonia Saxena
- Mamta Kulkarni as Bindiya
- Amrish Puri as Thakur Durjan Singh, the main antagonist
- Johnny Lever as Linghaiyya Tripuri, Vijay's best friend
- Ranjeet as Mr. Govind Saxena, Sonia's father and Durjan's crime partner
- Aasif Sheikh as Suraj Singh, Sonia's former fiancé and Durjan's son
- Ashok Saraf as Badal Munshi a.k.a. Munshiji
- Jack Gaud as Shamsher Singh, Durjan's brother-in-law
- Arjun as Nahar Singh, Durjan's brother-in-law
- Gavin Packard as Surakwal Rishmore, the fighter with red pants
- Ila Arun in "Gup Chup" song as Sunehrika Kalwani, Rajasthani Dancer
- Kishore Bhanushali as Zakir Sahmed, Bindiya's lover
- Suresh Chatwal as Girdhari Singhania, Ajay's alcoholic father
- Salim Khan Ding-Dong as Fight Organiser
- John Gabriel as Peter
- Dinesh Hingoo as Peston
- Raj Kishore as Jugal
- Anil Nagrath as Fight Organiser
- Ghanshyam Rohera as Ashu Bakshi
- Babbanlal Yadav as Deepak Shukla
- Vasanthi (special appearance)
Production
Casting
Rakesh Roshan originally wanted to make the film with Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan as the titular characters. However, both wanted to play different roles from the ones offered to them; Khan wanted to play Karan, while Devgn wanted to play Arjun. Roshan did not agree, and, as a result, both backed out of the film.
Roshan's next choices for the leads were Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. While Salman agreed to do the film, Aamir could not do it. Shah Rukh then told Roshan that he wanted to return to the project. Thus, the casting of the film brought together Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan for the first time onscreen, two prominent actors of that time.
Hrithik Roshan assisted his father during this film, having assisted him in his previous movies.
Filming
The whole film was shot in Rajasthan. More specifically, the village which is portrayed in the film is one of the villages of Alwar District of Rajasthan, named Bhangarh. The Durga temple where Karan Arjun pray in the song is located at Pushkar near Ajmer. Sariska Palace was used as Thakur Durjan Singh's house.
Box office
Karan Arjun was the second-highest-grossing Indian film of 1995, only surpassed by Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, which also starred Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Amrish Puri. Worldwide, Karan Arjun grossed ₹450 million. Overseas, the film grossed $500,000 (₹15.8 million).
Home Media
The film has also been released on VHD, VCD, and DVD formats for home media. It has not seen a release on Blu-ray Disc or subsequent media formats, apart from YouTube.
Awards
| Category | Nominee | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Best Editing | Sanjay Varma | Won |
| Best Action | Bhiku Varma | |
| Best Film | Rakesh Roshan | Nominated |
| Best Director | ||
| Best Actor | Salman Khan | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Raakhee | |
| Best Music Director | Rajesh Roshan | |
| Best Comedian | Ashok Saraf | |
| Johnny Lever | ||
| Best Villain | Amrish Puri |
1996 Screen Awards:
| Category | Nominee | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Best Actor | Salman Khan | Won |
| Best Music Director | Rajesh Roshan |
Music
The music and background score were composed by Rajesh Roshan and lyrics for all the songs were penned by Indeevar. The music rights were originally bought by Time Magnetics (now Tips Music). The song "Bhangra Paale" was remade for the 2020 film Bhangra Paa Le.
| Title | Singer(s) | Featuring | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Yeh Bandhan Toh" | Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu & Alka Yagnik | Rakhee Gulzar, Salman Khan & Shah Rukh Khan | 05:40 |
| "Yeh Bandhan Toh" (2) | Udit Narayan | Rakhee Gulzar, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan & Mamta Kulkarni | 01:38 |
| "Bhangra Paale" | Mohammed Aziz, Sudesh Bhosle & Sadhana Sargam | Rakhee Gulzar, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Mamta Kulkarni & Johnny Lever | 07:07 |
| "Ek Munda" | Lata Mangeshkar | Salman Khan & Mamta Kulkarni | 07:38 |
| "Jai Maa Kaali" | Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik & Amrish Puri | Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Mamta Kulkarni, Kajol & Amrish Puri | 07:07 |
| "Gup Chup Gup Chup" | Alka Yagnik & Ila Arun | Mamta Kulkarni & Sheela R. | 06:02 |
| "Jaati Hoon Main" | Kumar Sanu & Alka Yagnik | Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol | 06:24 |
Notes
- ^ None of the three Khans are related.
References
- ^ "Karan Arjun – Movie". Box Office India.
- ^ "Box Office 1995". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "32.418074 INR per USD in 1995". Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "BREAKING: Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun to re-release on November 22; Salman Khan – Shah Rukh Khan starrer creates history by becoming the FIRST film to re-release WORLDWIDE". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ "Calling Agent Tina: Vasanthi on her journey from dance assistant to Vikram's ferocious spy". 7 June 2022.
- ^ Tipsheet (29 August 2004). "Essential Bollywood Musicals". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Seta, Fenil (13 January 2020). "25 Years of Karan Arjun EXCLUSIVE: "Shah Rukh came back to me when he found out that Salman and Aamir Khan have shown interest" – Rakesh Roshan". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ "Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan & Hrithik Roshan on the sets of Karan Arjun in 1995". One Shot One Place. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012.
- ^ "Bollywood Movie Karan Arjun Shooting Location". bollylocations.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
- ^ "TOP OVERSEAS GROSSERS 1995". Box Office India. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
External links
- Karan Arjun at IMDb