Mahesh Bhatt is an acclaimed and popular film director, producer and screenwriter. In addition to the landmark films Arth (1982), Saaransh (1984), Janam (1985), Daddy (1989), Awaargi (1990) and Zakhm (1998), his work as director and screenwriter includes commercial hits such as Aashiqui (1990), Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991) and Sadak (1991).
After he retired as director in 1999, he has written and produced several successful films, among them, Raaz (2002), Jism (2003) and Murder (2004). Mahesh Bhatt is also the author of two books: U.G. Krishnamurti: A Life and A Taste of Life: The Last Days of U.G. Krishnamurti.
Interviews
Interview with Mahesh Bhatt: Stories of His Life
By R. M. Vijayakar, Special to India-West Jul 1, 2012
Forty years ago, he began shooting his debut film, “Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain,” after assisting Raj Khosla. The film went through several censorship hiccups before finally releasing in 1974 to both critical acclaim and public rejection.
It’s been a long haul since. But today, Mahesh Bhatt is in a far happier place, churning out hit movies from his production company Vishesh Films. He’s busy discovering new talent, tackling issues as an activist and — as always — working and living life on his own terms. As for the word “candid,”… well, it was probably invented for the director of classics “Arth,” “Saaransh” and “Naam.”
Bhatt saab, as he is known, lounges on a sofa in the swanky Vishesh office and exhales candid copy. Excerpts from an interview:
Q: How did your controversial debut film happen?
A: In 1972, (friend) Johny Bakshi offered me a bold subject about two criminals on the run, and their encounter with a prostitute. Kabir Bedi, Gulshan Arora and Prema Narayan played the trio. But in those days … my “strange” film that jolted the propagated and postured values of those times was banned. It was said to have subverted the institution of marriage. From this, at that early point in my career itself, I learnt that life is a lonely journey where even industry associates support the powers-that-be, and that while we may be told we are free, we were actually not so. And I failed to understand this odd preoccupation with sex. How can something morally wrong suddenly become right after marriage?
Q: Your next three films, “Vishwasghaat,” “Naya Daur” and “Lahu Ke Do Rang,” had big stars, but they bombed too.
A: Yes, the redeeming point was that I charmed the actors. They liked me because I could draw good performances from them. With “Lahu,” I actually began to learn a bit by stumbling, fumbling, failing and faltering about making cinema. I learned on the job.
Q: Would you agree that your cathartic phase, however, helped establish you in the ‘80s?
A: I was kind of getting a grip on cinema at last. “Arth” was born out of my relationship with Parveen Babi. Around that time I came to know my spiritual guru, U.G. Krishnamurthi, whose son, a young copywriter, had died of cancer in front of his eyes, and also a Maharashtrian couple whose only son who had been murdered in New York. It was the finality of death and how human beings cope with loss that interested me. The result was “Saaransh.” The Bhatt brand soared to the skies, but I never deluded myself that I was not a product of mainstream cinema, because I was — my father had made small-budget commercial films.
Q: This phase is still considered your best phase as a filmmaker.
A: Yes, I was a “successful” poor man struggling to make ends meet while maintaining what was thought of as purity of cinema. I made “Janam,” a tele-film on illegitimacy that was a critics’ delight, and then I made “Naam,” which made me the box-office wunderkind, with Sanjay Dutt recognized as a good actor. We had a landmark song in “Chitthi Aayi Hai,” and Kumar Gaurav, who was reeling under a series of flops, got a temporary respite. I was suddenly up there. But “Kaash,” my expensive “art” film and many more films brought my flop status back. I then learnt some key lessons again: India was changing, and it was necessary to dumb down the content and make simpler films.
Q: Which began with “Kabzaa,” the first film of your production company with brother Mukesh. Vishesh Films was launched in 1987, right?
A: Yes, but the good times began with “Aashiqui” in 1990, followed by “Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin” and “Sadak.” My other films, “Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke,” “Sir,” “Gumrah” and “Naajayaz” also did well, the last film making Ajay Devgn get recognized as an intense actor. But something had withered within me. I had lost the ability to reinvent myself. I hated the parties thrown to celebrate the success of my films. I asked myself, “Do I want to see a replay of this again and over again? Did I just want to keep making films and attending parties for the hits?” I was like a conveyor-belt in fast motion. I was so disinterested that I would not even go on the sets, letting my assistants do the job instead, and even directing to them on the phone. I would be doing four or five films at a time, giving my name to them all, but not my heart and mind. I was lambasted by my producers for my indifference, and that was right. The only silver lining was that my assistants, like Vikram Bhatt and Milan Luthria, became better and got quick and extensive experience.
Q: At that stage, the media lambasted the commercialization of Bhatt.
A Well, I could not keep pandering to the movers and shakers and the czars. The highbrow, purist lobby will always look down on people’s tastes and will always run down the box-office hits. I did not want to pander to this worthless constituency and become a sacrificial lamb on the altar of art. I wanted to make films on my own terms and not be caged. For me, an “Aashiqui”or “Naam” were as deserving … as “Arth” or “Saaransh.”
Q: Is that why you quit directing?
A: My guru UGK asked me why I was continuing something when my heart was not in it, so I decided to call it a day. Though “Kartoos” (1999) was my last release, my last film as a director was actually “Zakham “(1998), produced by his daughter Pooja, which wrote a dignified finis to my directorial career. And I had problems with the censors in my last film, just as I had with my first one!
Q: Ironically, your best phase began after this as the backstreet driver of Vishesh Films.
A: By its very limitations of form, cinema has to pander to popular tastes and narrate fairytales, and you can only make money by telling lies like truth triumphs (that) love endures and that God is in his Heaven and all is right with the world. In 2000, Mukesh and I took a crucial decision: Make films that aim only at box-office success, and make them without stars. The last 12 to 14 years have been stimulating. We have optimized production and have followed the model of table-profit, which means that we recover the investments and make a slim profit even before the film opens in the theatres. Now there is no flip-flop in either my fortunes or mindset. I have matured.
Q: “Raaz,” “Murder” and “Jannat” have already had sequels. “Raz 3,” “Aashiqui 2” and “Jism 2” are on the way. Vishesh is heavily into sequels. Why?
A: Well, sequels have an in-built safety net.
Q: Today, Mahesh Bhatt is not known only as a filmmaker.
A: Yes, I have broadened my horizons in the last decade, been a journalist, forayed into making appreciated documentaries like “The Last Salute,” tackling issues from Naxalism to droughts in Rajasthan. I have written a book on U.G. Krishnamurthi, and am writing another one on him. Stepping out of the studios has given me a greater touch with the real world.
Q: Tell us something about your knack for mentoring talent.
A: After 40 years in the business, what you have in terms of fame and money is not important, but how much I have contributed to cinema and how many lives I have touched is. We have created stars like John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Mallika Sherawat, Kangana Ranaut and my nephew Emraan Hashmi; directors like Mohit Suri, Anurag Basu and Kunal Deshmukh; and so many technicians and musicians. Thanks to the Internet, I have been able to harness musical talents from Pakistan … There must be some genius within me to spot potential, but we only flaunt our successes. Sanity needs to have failure too, and there have been so many newcomers who did not make the grade.
