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Mahesh Bhatt: Without any help from me, Alia Bhatt has created a place for herself
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Mahesh Bhatt
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In conversation with KT, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt talks about his films, daughters and his dreams.
Noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt is like an open book. As a filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt showed no hesitation from taking inspiration from his own life and delivered films like Arth, Zakhm and WohLamhe. Mahesh Bhatt was in Kanpur on Tuesday to promote his TV serial, Udaan.
Making films for young India
Talking about the films being made these days, Bhatt, a veteran in the industry, said that with changing times the content onscreen also changes. "The content of the films have to change according to the era. Agar aaj bhi main Arth, Saaransh ya Daddy jaisi films bana raha hota, toh shayad yahan naa baitha hota. My question is that don't the ghazals of Mehdi Hassan sound good even today? They are definitely good, but in today's world buyers of Mehdi Hassan's ghazals are very less in number. Today, the audience loves the music of Aashiqui 2 and they are ready to shell out money for it. We are living in a young country and being a producer, I have to cater to the demand of the young audience. A 25-year-old will not watch Saaransh now, and keeping this in mind, I have to produce films like Jism, Murder and Aashiqui 2."
I am happy with Alia's success
A doting father, Bhatt has always taken pride in his daughters Pooja and Alia's success. Proud of their achievements, Bhatt said, "There is almost 20-21 years difference between Pooja and Alia. I have spent more time with Pooja because when she was young, I did not have much work. I used to drop and pick her up from school. But this all didn't happen with Alia because by the time she was born, I got quite busy with my work. At times I feel that Pooja is lucky that she did films like Daddy and Zakhm as she got to work with me. But at the same time I also feel happy and surprised at Alia's achievements.
What really makes me happy is that without any help from me Alia has created a place for herself in the industry. I was really surprised because I don't know how and when Alia learned acting! Javed (Akhtar) and Shabana (Azmi) praised her acting in Highway. I was surprised to see her playing the role of a South Indian with complete finesse in 2 States and again, seeing her play a pure Punjabi girl in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania was a treat. She is a girl with an independent attitude but as a father I always keep an eye on her, as I know I have to play the role of a safety net as a father," said Bhatt.
Busy Bee
With his mind always at work, Bhatt is not one to sit idle. With a lot up his sleeve, the filmmaker tells us what all he is working on these days. "Presently I am busy giving the conceptual support to the makers of this TV serial. Also I am working on Hamari Adhuri Kahani, which will be an emotional love story. It will star Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan. I also want to make a film based on the 1984 riots. With the latest controversy on Punjabi movie Kaum De Heere, which shows the assassination of Indira Gandhi, making a film on the 1984 riots will not be an easy task. The entire issue is very sensitive and until and unless all the conflicts related to this sensitive issue do not get resolved, making a detailed film will be a tough thing," said the filmmaker.
Dream Come True
He may be a celebrated filmmaker now, but there were times when even Mahesh Bhatt faced problems in making films. "Many years ago I had read an article in a magazine which talked about bonded labour. I was deeply affected by it and I decided to make Girvi, in which I had cast Pooja (Bhatt) and Ajay Devgn as the lead.
But unfortunately, the producer decided not to produce the film as he thought that a film with such a serious storyline would not do well at the box-office. So, when a few months ago, the producers of this TV serial contacted me for making a show on the same story, I immediately agreed to do it. It feels as if a dream has come true for me. Whatever happens , happens for good, because today, television is a very strong medium and with this serial my story will reach a larger audience. Had I made Girvi 25 years back, it wouldn't have reached this big an audience," said Bhatt.
Noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt is like an open book. As a filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt showed no hesitation from taking inspiration from his own life and delivered films like Arth, Zakhm and WohLamhe. Mahesh Bhatt was in Kanpur on Tuesday to promote his TV serial, Udaan.
Making films for young India
Talking about the films being made these days, Bhatt, a veteran in the industry, said that with changing times the content onscreen also changes. "The content of the films have to change according to the era. Agar aaj bhi main Arth, Saaransh ya Daddy jaisi films bana raha hota, toh shayad yahan naa baitha hota. My question is that don't the ghazals of Mehdi Hassan sound good even today? They are definitely good, but in today's world buyers of Mehdi Hassan's ghazals are very less in number. Today, the audience loves the music of Aashiqui 2 and they are ready to shell out money for it. We are living in a young country and being a producer, I have to cater to the demand of the young audience. A 25-year-old will not watch Saaransh now, and keeping this in mind, I have to produce films like Jism, Murder and Aashiqui 2."
I am happy with Alia's success
A doting father, Bhatt has always taken pride in his daughters Pooja and Alia's success. Proud of their achievements, Bhatt said, "There is almost 20-21 years difference between Pooja and Alia. I have spent more time with Pooja because when she was young, I did not have much work. I used to drop and pick her up from school. But this all didn't happen with Alia because by the time she was born, I got quite busy with my work. At times I feel that Pooja is lucky that she did films like Daddy and Zakhm as she got to work with me. But at the same time I also feel happy and surprised at Alia's achievements.
What really makes me happy is that without any help from me Alia has created a place for herself in the industry. I was really surprised because I don't know how and when Alia learned acting! Javed (Akhtar) and Shabana (Azmi) praised her acting in Highway. I was surprised to see her playing the role of a South Indian with complete finesse in 2 States and again, seeing her play a pure Punjabi girl in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania was a treat. She is a girl with an independent attitude but as a father I always keep an eye on her, as I know I have to play the role of a safety net as a father," said Bhatt.
Busy Bee
With his mind always at work, Bhatt is not one to sit idle. With a lot up his sleeve, the filmmaker tells us what all he is working on these days. "Presently I am busy giving the conceptual support to the makers of this TV serial. Also I am working on Hamari Adhuri Kahani, which will be an emotional love story. It will star Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan. I also want to make a film based on the 1984 riots. With the latest controversy on Punjabi movie Kaum De Heere, which shows the assassination of Indira Gandhi, making a film on the 1984 riots will not be an easy task. The entire issue is very sensitive and until and unless all the conflicts related to this sensitive issue do not get resolved, making a detailed film will be a tough thing," said the filmmaker.
Dream Come True
He may be a celebrated filmmaker now, but there were times when even Mahesh Bhatt faced problems in making films. "Many years ago I had read an article in a magazine which talked about bonded labour. I was deeply affected by it and I decided to make Girvi, in which I had cast Pooja (Bhatt) and Ajay Devgn as the lead.
But unfortunately, the producer decided not to produce the film as he thought that a film with such a serious storyline would not do well at the box-office. So, when a few months ago, the producers of this TV serial contacted me for making a show on the same story, I immediately agreed to do it. It feels as if a dream has come true for me. Whatever happens , happens for good, because today, television is a very strong medium and with this serial my story will reach a larger audience. Had I made Girvi 25 years back, it wouldn't have reached this big an audience," said Bhatt.
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