When Mahesh Bhatt’s “I’d marry Pooja” remark left India stunned: Revisiting Bollywood’s darkest controversy

The Bhatt family has never been strangers to controversy. From unconventional films to candid confessions, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has built a career on pushing boundaries, both on screen and off. But nothing quite prepared the Indian public for the storm that erupted in the 1990s when his statements about his eldest daughter, Pooja Bhatt, crossed lines that many felt should never have been approached.

The Magazine Cover That Stopped India

It was a photograph that made people do a double-take at newsstands across the country. Mahesh Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt appeared on the cover of a film magazine, locked in what appeared to be an intimate kiss. Father and daughter. The image was deliberately provocative, and it achieved exactly what it set out to do: spark conversation, outrage, and endless debate.

The cover became the talk of drawing rooms and chai stalls alike. Was this artistic expression? A publicity stunt? Or something that simply shouldn't have been put on display? Opinions were divided, but the discomfort was universal.

"If Pooja Wasn't My Daughter, I Would Have Married Her"

If the photograph raised eyebrows, Mahesh Bhatt's subsequent statements sent shockwaves through the industry. In interviews during that period, the filmmaker made a confession that would define and haunt his public image for decades: he declared that if Pooja hadn't been his daughter, he would have married her.

The statement was met with a mixture of horror and bewilderment. Here was a celebrated filmmaker, known for sensitive portrayals of human relationships in films like Arth and Saaransh, making proclamations that defied every conventional understanding of the father-daughter bond.

Bhatt, characteristically unapologetic, defended his words as an expression of profound admiration for Pooja as a woman—her beauty, her strength, her spirit. He framed it as the ultimate compliment, a testament to how remarkable he found her. Critics, however, saw it differently. To them, it was an uncomfortable blurring of boundaries that no amount of artistic justification could excuse.

The Bhatt Family Dynamic

To understand this controversy, one must understand the complicated tapestry of the Bhatt household. Mahesh Bhatt's life has been marked by unconventional choices. His relationship with Parveen Babi, his marriage to Lorraine Bright (Pooja's mother), his subsequent relationship with Soni Razdan while still married, these chapters of his life read like scripts from his own films.

Pooja Bhatt, born in 1972, grew up in this environment of creative chaos and emotional complexity. She made her acting debut under her father's direction in Daddy (1989), a film that ironically explored a complicated father-daughter relationship marked by alcoholism and dysfunction. The lines between reel and real seemed perpetually blurred in the Bhatt universe.

By the early 1990s, Pooja had established herself as one of Bollywood's leading actresses. Films like Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin and Sadak had cemented her star status. She was bold, outspoken, and unafraid of controversy, traits clearly inherited from her father.

A Pattern of Provocation

The kiss and the comments didn't exist in isolation. Mahesh Bhatt has consistently courted controversy through provocative statements. He has spoken openly about his atheism, his struggles with depression, his extramarital relationships, and his unconventional views on family structures. For him, shocking the bourgeoisie has always been part of the artistic mission.

Some defended him as a misunderstood artist, a man so evolved that conventional morality couldn't contain him. Others saw a pattern of attention-seeking behaviour that sometimes sacrificed dignity at the altar of publicity. Through much of the controversy, Pooja Bhatt maintained a complex stance. She neither outright condemned her father's words nor entirely endorsed them. In later interviews, she acknowledged the unconventional nature of their relationship while maintaining that their bond, however it appeared to outsiders, was rooted in deep mutual respect.

The Legacy of Discomfort

Decades later, these incidents continue to surface in discussions about the Bhatt family. In an era of heightened awareness about boundaries and appropriate conduct, the old magazine covers and interview clips feel even more jarring than they did originally.

The Mahesh Bhatt-Pooja Bhatt controversy remains one of Bollywood's most uncomfortable chapters, a reminder that the line between bold artistic expression and simple impropriety is one that, once crossed, can never truly be uncrossed.