E-Paper
Pardes
One of the few films that minted money only overseas - probably because of its star power it carried in the name of Shah Rukh Khan.
1997
Director: Subhash Ghai
Producer: Subhash Ghai
Story, Screenplay: Subhash Ghai
Music: Nadeem Shravan
Main Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Amrish Puri, Mahima Chaudhry, Apoorva Agnihotri
Running Time: France:165 min (Cannes Film Festival)/UK:182 min
Pardes is a love story with a twist related to the new generation Indians living abroad. It also largely dwells on tradition and culture.
The story goes that Kishori Lal (Amrish Puri) is an Indian who goes to US and becomes a millionaire there. He wants an Indian bride for his son, Rajiv (Apoorva Agnihotri). He picks the daughter of his childhood friend (Alok Nath), Ganga (Mahima Chowdhary). Kishori Lal gives relative-turned-foster son Arjun (Shah Rukh Khan) the task of making Rajiv marry the Indian girl.
Rajiv manages to miff the maiden when would-be Cupid, Arjun, is struck by his own arrow. Finally Ganga and Arjun express their love for each other. The elders of the house are enraged to realise the love between the two and from there starts the usual arguments, casting the fate of the protagonists in the hands of the elders who go for the popular choice. But cutting through all struggles Arjun finally manages to get their approval and marry his beloved Ganga.
Director: Subhash Ghai
He is one of the most successful directors of the Indian film industry. He has directed 13 movies in 22 years with each of them being silver and golden jubilee hits. Subhash Ghai has also introduced some of the brightest film stars in Bollywood. Meenakshi Sheshadri, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Manisha Koirala, Vivek Mushran, Apurva Agnihotri and Mahima Chaudhary were all this starmaker's choice for his superhit films.
Born in Nagpur and brought up in Delhi, he made his directorial debut with Kalicharan in 1976 and hasn't looked back since. He loves the mainstream cinema and is passionate about his work which obviously shows in every movie that he makes. Some of his nicest creations include: Kalicharan (1976), Vishwanath (1978), Karz (1980), Vidhaata (1982), Hero (1983), Meri Jung (1985), Karma (1986), Ram Lakhan (1989), Saudagar (1991), Khalnayak (1993), Pardes (1997) and Taal (1999).
Box-office Results
Gross - INR 160,000,000 (India)
