Ayushmann Khurrana on 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun': How Salman Khan film sparked a lifelong love
Synopsis
Ayushmann Khurrana has revealed that Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit's 1994 family epic Hum Aapke Hain Koun was the film that made him fall in love with Hindi cinema — and now, three decades later, he is a Rajshri hero himself. His account of director Sooraj Barjatya quietly removing his shoes before entering his vanity van is the kind of behind-the-scenes detail that says more about Bollywood's generational continuity than any press release could.
Key Takeaways
Ayushmann Khurrana credited Hum Aapke Hain Koun ( 1994 ), starring Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit , as the film that made him fall in love with Hindi cinema.
He made the revelation at the song launch of Yeh Prem Mol Liya , his first film with Rajshri Productions .
Khurrana co-stars with actress Sharvari Wagh in the film, directed by Sooraj Barjatya .
He shared that Barjatya would remove his shoes before entering his vanity van on set — a gesture Khurrana described as deeply moving.
Yeh Prem Mol Liya is set for release on 27 November .
Actor Ayushmann Khurrana on 21 September 2026 revealed that it was the iconic 1994 family drama Hum Aapke Hain Koun, starring Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit, that first made him fall in love with Hindi cinema — a sentiment he says still feels almost unreal as he prepares to join the banner that produced that very film.
Khurrana made the revelation at the song launch of his upcoming Rajshri Productions film Yeh Prem Mol Liya, scheduled to release on 27 November, co-starring actress Sharvari Wagh.
The Childhood Memory That Changed Everything
Speaking candidly at the event, Khurrana described the communal experience of watching Hum Aapke Hain Koun as a child with his entire extended family — and how it reshaped his relationship with storytelling.
'I remember that I had seen Hum Aapke Hain Koun with my entire extended family. And after seeing that, I fell in love with 'Prem', I fell in love with Hindi cinema, I fell in love with the strength of our families,' he said.
The actor admitted that becoming a Rajshri hero himself still defies belief. 'I feel that it's not just a childhood dream. I think it's too good to be true,' he said, adding a call for applause for the banner's legacy.
What Rajshri Means to Him
Khurrana was emphatic that his association with Rajshri Productions carries a weight far beyond personal achievement. 'This relationship that I have with Rajshri, it's not just mine, it's of the whole of India, it's of all the families. The responsibility of bringing all the families together, which he has taken up through films, I think it's so beautiful,' he said.
The sentiment underscores Rajshri Productions' decades-long identity as a purveyor of wholesome, family-centred cinema — a niche that has proved surprisingly durable in an era of OTT disruption and edgy content.
The Sooraj Barjatya Moment He Cannot Forget
Khurrana also shared a striking personal anecdote about veteran director Sooraj Barjatya, recalling how the filmmaker would quietly remove his footwear before entering the actor's vanity van on set — a gesture of humility that left Khurrana visibly moved.
'I used to say, 'Sir, please don't remove your shoes, please come to Vanity.' But he never used to listen. He used to remove his shoes and come, and I used to do 'Charan Sparsh', and he used to say 'Ayushmaan Bhava'. And then he used to explain the scenes,' Khurrana recalled.
The anecdote offers a rare window into Barjatya's on-set culture — a director known for his restrained, values-driven approach to filmmaking whose manner, it appears, matches his films.
Yeh Prem Mol Liya: What to Expect
Yeh Prem Mol Liya marks Khurrana's first collaboration with Rajshri Productions and pairs him with actress Sharvari Wagh. The film is positioned as a return to the kind of large-hearted family drama that defined Rajshri's golden run in the 1990s.
When asked what his 15-year-old self would have made of becoming a national hero, Khurrana was characteristically self-deprecating: 'I wouldn't have believed it at that time. I still can't believe it,' he said.
With Yeh Prem Mol Liya hitting screens on 27 November, all eyes will be on whether Rajshri's family-film formula can find the same resonance with today's multiplex and streaming audiences that Hum Aapke Hain Koun did three decades ago.
Point of View
Urban stories; his pivot to a Barjatya family drama is a calculated bet that the feel-good genre still commands a paying audience beyond the nostalgia circuit. The Sooraj Barjatya anecdote also quietly counters the notion that Bollywood's older guard are out of touch — it is precisely this kind of interpersonal humility that tends to build lasting institutional loyalty. Whether Yeh Prem Mol Liya can replicate even a fraction of the cultural footprint of Hum Aapke Hain Koun will be the real measure of whether the Rajshri formula has generational legs.
NationPress
21 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Which film made Ayushmann Khurrana fall in love with Hindi cinema?
Ayushmann Khurrana has said it was Hum Aapke Hain Koun, the 1994 family drama starring Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit, that made him fall in love with Hindi cinema. He recalled watching it with his entire extended family as a child.
What is Yeh Prem Mol Liya and when does it release?
Yeh Prem Mol Liya is an upcoming Rajshri Productions film directed by Sooraj Barjatya, starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Sharvari Wagh. It is scheduled for release on 27 November.
What did Ayushmann Khurrana say about Sooraj Barjatya on set?
Khurrana recalled that director Sooraj Barjatya would remove his shoes before entering his vanity van on set, a gesture of humility that deeply moved him. In response, Khurrana would perform 'Charan Sparsh', and Barjatya would bless him saying 'Ayushmaan Bhava' before explaining scenes.
Is Yeh Prem Mol Liya Ayushmann Khurrana's first film with Rajshri Productions?
Yes, Yeh Prem Mol Liya marks Ayushmann Khurrana's first collaboration with Rajshri Productions. He has said he still finds it hard to believe he has become a 'Rajshri hero'.
Who stars alongside Ayushmann Khurrana in Yeh Prem Mol Liya?
Actress Sharvari Wagh co-stars with Ayushmann Khurrana in Yeh Prem Mol Liya, the Rajshri Productions film directed by Sooraj Barjatya releasing on 27 November.
