To dad, with love Pooja Bhatt

To dad, with love

Pooja Bhatt returns a 27-year-old audio cassette of Parveen Babi addressed to her then lover Mahesh Bhatt

This must be the oddest gift Mahesh Bhatt has ever received. Last week, daughter Pooja Bhatt gave a 27-year-old audio tape of Parveen Babi to her father Mahesh Bhatt. The tape was send by Parveen to Mahesh in 1979, when he was shooting for Lahu Ke Do Rang in Darjeeling. Mahesh's wife Kiran had hidden the tape then, and later handed it over to Pooja. Pooja kept it with herself for many years and even forgot about it later.

Recently while she was spring cleaning her house, she discovered the cassette and played it, out of curiosity. "Pooja told me about the tape which her mother had given to her 27 years ago," says Mahesh Bhatt. "Frankly speaking I didn't even know about its existence. It was like breaking news to me, to know about something which a person had recorded 27 years ago for me."

This 45-minute tape has Parveen talking to Mahesh Bhatt. "I was overwhelmed on hearing her voice," says Bhatt. "At that time she was going through serious manic depression. The tape keeps the emotional quotient at the right level and provides a concrete vision of her life, rathjer than an emotionally-charged, abstract one. In those pre-cellphone days of constantly breaking down landlines, a cassette seemed to be the best way to communicate at length, to a loved one. Parveen always recorded her messages and feelings for me, gave me cassettes," says Bhatt. "In this tape she's talking to me. It's very interactive, even though it's a monologue. One part of the tape goes: 'Misha (that's what she called Mahesh), I want to get out of this f*#ing system, I can't keep up with the demands.' Her voice sounds really weird and strained, she had just come back from one of her premieres," recollects Mahesh.

"We had to transfer the tape into a CD and then play it. Listening to it was like a trip down memory lane. Parveen's voice and even her silences echo her traumatic life. I immediately played the tape for my co-writer Shagufta and director Mohit Suri, because they are making a film based on my relationship with Parveen. This tape is like a goldmine for any creative person, especially for people like Mohit Suri, for whom Parveen is just a historical reference. Only after listening to the tape, to the passion and pain in her voice, could he begin to understand what Parveen babi was all about." Titled Woh Lamhe, Shiney Ahuja plays the role of Mahesh Bhatt in the film while newcomer Kangana plays the role of Parveen Babi. "This is not a biographical film, but yes, the major portion of the film will be a true representation of my relationship with Parveen," he says.

Was it difficult for a daughter to hand over a tape which her mother had given her? "I guess it was not easy for Pooja," replies Bhatt. "But when she realised that we are making a film on this subject, she thought that this tape could make a lot of difference. And she was right."

* Misha (that's what she called Mahesh), I want to get out of this f*#ing system, I can't keep up with the demands – Babi