Why Salman and Shah Rukh's Karan Arjun continues to be a cult classic

Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan's iconic blockbuster Karan Arjun turns 26 today, January 13. Directed by Rakesh Roshan, this was the first time these two superstars of Bollywood came together for a big-screen outing. It also starred Rakhee as the mother of the lead duo, and Kajol and Mamta Kulkarni as their love interests, respectively.

Reincarnation, revenge, romance, and redemption have all been major ingredients of many Bollywood films. And perhaps every generation has a cult classic that successfully plants these elements of intrigue in the hearts and minds of the audience. In the 90s, Karan Arjun did the honours.

Having shown his true mettle as a director with hits like Khudgarz and Khoon Bhari Maang in the past, Rakesh Roshan went on to commence his most ambitious project yet: one that would cement his place as a star commercial director.

Watch the trailer of Karan Arjun here:

Released in the January of 1995, Karan Arjun shattered box-office records and gave the industry a game-changing blockbuster in a month that was traditionally considered to be a curse, referred to as the 'dump month' for the ticket counters. Whether it was the dialogues or the songs or the actors' performances, the Rakesh Roshan directorial venture became an all-time blockbuster for reasons one too many.

Even before Shah Rukh and Salman Khan signed Karan Arjun, they were already-established names in the industry but were still aiming to find their footing as two bonafide leads who could drive a film on their own.

Prior to the release of the film, Salman was thriving on his image of being the new lover boy in town with hugely successful romantic films like Maine Pyar Kiya, Baaghi, Saajan, Sanam Bewafa and Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! to his credit, while Shah Rukh was putting his acting prowess on display by ably portraying the anti-hero in hits like Darr and Baazigar.

To claim that Karan Arjun, was, in fact, the first major film that saw glimpses of Shah Rukh Khan as a romantic sensation and Salman as an action superstar would not be a hyperbole. If Shah Rukh was his usual bubbly self in the movie, Salman underplayed to great effect as the no-nonsense guy.

Rakhee lived her role as a widow and both Kajol and Mamta Kulkarni put up a great performance each. They were skillfully supported by actors like Johnny Lever and Ashok Saraf who were at their comic best.

The release of Karan Arjun led to the changing of the guard within the Hindi film industry as Salman and Shah Rukh became the face of commercial cinema post its release. The film stormed the box office by breaking opening-day and weekend records, catapulting the two Khans into the A-league, and putting a stamp on their respective on-screen images that would be associated with their real-life personas for years to come. And post-1995, both the Khans were more than ready to welcome these changes. If Shah Rukh consolidated on his epithet of being the new romantic icon, Salman banked on his image of being the golden-hearted muscle man who could set the box office ablaze without a shirt on his body.

However, besides propelling its lead stars to the topmost rung of superstars, what adds to Karan Arjun's historical significance is that it is a complete masala entertainer in all respect from an exciting plot to chartbuster music to breathtaking drama and action. Needless to mention, no list of the best Bollywood dialogues could ever be complete without the inclusion of "Mere Karan Arjun Aayenge" in it.

For years in Bollywood, a mother's character has played a significant part in ensuring that the emotional Indian viewer takes to the film's story and backs the protagonist's journey right through to the very end. Rakesh Roshan made justifiable use of this traditional cinematic trope by including a veteran like Rakhee Gulzar to play the mother of the superstar duo, Salman and Shah Rukh. In addition, the late Amrish Puri's impactful presence as the dreaded Thakur Durjan Singh, who is responsible for killing Karan and Arjun, not only gave Hindi cinema one of its most cherished villains of all time but also cast light on the predominant power structure in the rural areas of the country.

That being said, very few know that Shah Rukh Khan had rejected the film after the first narration. Over the years, both Rakesh Roshan and SRK have acknowledged that the latter was keen to play the part of Karan but had backed out of the project when the former refused to budge. Also, it was another action star, Ajay Devgn, who was first offered to play the role of Karan but had originally wanted to play Arjun. However, when the director refused to switch the roles, both Shah Rukh and Ajay had dropped out of the film following which the other two Khans, Salman and Aamir, were approached for the titular roles. While Aamir couldn't give his nod as he was busy shooting for another project, Salman happily came on-board, which also, ultimately, paved the way for Shah Rukh's return to the project.

With all the successful cinematic elements that Karan Arjun is draped in, there is no denying the fact that the film was always supposed to work. However, none of the people associated with the reincarnation drama had thought that their labour of love would go on to redefine the genre of masala films itself. Right from its star cast to iconic songs and punchlines, the fans couldn't get enough of the film and it managed to become a smash-hit across the nation.

While the idea of making a romantic reincarnation drama was not new to Bollywood, one that centred around the story of two reincarnated brothers was sure to leave fans of both superstars asking for more. It is worth mentioning that the box office rivalry between Salman and Shah Rukh Khan in the subsequent years, and the media attention that their rift managed to attract, has only consolidated Karan Arjun's cult status as a genre-defining classic, making it all the more synonymous with the two superstars and their real-life endeavours.

Besides the aforementioned factors, Karan Arjun also continues to remain incomparable because of the love that it received at the box office and due to its sustained television ratings over the years. Add to that the fact that its lead stars continue to remain popular with the paisa paying public. But more so because no other two-hero release has, since then, managed to push its main leads to the cusp of superstardom in the way that Karan Arjun did.

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