28 Years of Raja Hindustani EXCLUSIVE: "Rajkumar Santoshi and his 10 assistants laughed and MOCKED the film during a trial screening; Aditya Chopra said my film is BEATING Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in the North" - Dharmesh Darshan

The Aamir Khan-Karisma Kapoor starrer Raja Hindustani (1996) completed 28 years on November 11. Directed by Dharmesh Darshan, the film was a huge hit from the first day and enjoys near-universal acclaim. Hence, it’ll be a shock for the viewers to know about the reaction that the film generated during one of its pre-release screenings. Dharmesh Darshan spoke about it exclusively with Bollywood Hungama on the 28th anniversary of Raja Hindustani.Dharmesh Darshan said, “Rajkumar Santoshi was like a friend of mine, though he was a decade older than me. The producers kept a preview of the film. He came with 10 assistants, and they laughed and mocked the film. I went to Aamir Khan’s house at night (and told him about the reaction). He replied, ‘I don’t believe it’.”He added, “Mr Santoshi need not have said anything (if he had not liked the film). He could have kept quiet.” Dharmesh Darshan also revealed, “Later, Mr Santoshi apologized to me a lot of times. But, at that time, could you imagine how much it must have demotivated us?”Dharmesh Darshan continued, “Look at the ways of the Lord. Santoshi’s Ghatak (1996) was released just 3 days before Raja Hindustani. And by his own words, Raja Hindustani killed Ghatak, be it Pan-India or abroad. Ghatak is also a successful film. However, the expectations were huge as it was the coming together of Sunny Deol in an action role and Rajkumar Santoshi after Ghayal (1990). Also, it was a mega-budget film. Raja Hindustani, meanwhile, was mid-sized with no violence, except for in the climax.”The articulate filmmaker also stated, “Nevertheless, I wish him all the best as he’s trying to make a comeback after so many years. I am sure that he would make a good film. He’s also a very good writer, as I have also been of my cult films.” Rajkumar Santoshi is currently busy with his film Lahore 1947, starring Sunny Deol in the lead and Aamir Khan in a supporting role.Not all from the film industry mocked Raja Hindustani. Dharmesh Darshan said, “Manish Malhotra, Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra and Anil Thadani also saw the film in previews, and they all loved it. Aditya Chopra told me after the release that Raja Hindustani is beating Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) in North India. Internationally, that didn’t happen as Shah Rukh Khan is a very big star and bigger than Aamir Khan. It was so grateful of him to do so. He told me, ‘I liked the film a lot, but I didn’t expect such a response’.”At this point, Dharmesh Darshan also said, “Manish Malhotra got a credit for the first time. His name, before Raja Hindustani, used to appear in the rolling titles at the end. I mentioned him as ‘Costumes and Look – Manish Malhotra’ in the opening titles. I started this trend in our cinema (smiles).”Also Read: 28 years of Raja Hindustani: Pratibha Sinha on being the ‘Pardesi girl’, “It feels as though we were filming the song yesterday”