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ShareThe idea to interview Mahesh Bhatt is not met without some
scepticism. There's nothing under the sun the man has not already spoken about, or at least that's the general perception. "I know people say that Mahesh Bhatt has an opinion on everything. But if you thrust a mike under my face, I will talk," says Bhatt, after speaking to another journalist on the phone, who wants his view on the impact of films on real life. Naturally, he obliges.
A tete-a-tete with Bhatt is not without more interruptions. Kunal Deshmukh, who directed Vishesh Films' big hit last year, Jannat, is vying for his attention. Later, a model-turned-actor is waiting to meet Bhatt after several attempts to get through to him. That's apart from the calls from the media.
Bhatt doesn't mind the easily-accessible-to-the-media tag. If anything, he loves it. "It all started about ten years back," he says, settling in a couch at his tastefully done up Juhu flat. "I had given up directing films and startedmaking documentaries. This took me to the inner confines of a country rapidly changing, and I was drawn to its issues. That's when I became some sort of an activist. And I started using the media to get my opinions known."
The tryst with documentaries continues. Between film-making and social causes, he manages to find the time for it. "I just vanish. My office has no clue of where I am, or what I'm doing. I work on a documentary and am back to my engagements in the city."
In between all this, Bhatt has found time to write a book, A Taste Of Life, about his spiritual guru, UG Krishnamurti. It recounts the last three days of UG's life that Bhatt spent with him. The book has been the most gruelling and, at the same time, satisfying work of Bhatt's life.
"When UG died, I died somewhere too. The book helped me deal with the pain of loss. I have always done my best work when there's something deep within me waiting to explode -- an outlet for pent-up emotions. It's almost a fight for survival."
A flashback into Bhatt's directorial career makes the point clearer. In the early 80s, fresh from four flops -- "I had no clue where my
career was headed" -- Bhatt decided to revisit a chapter from his own life. Arth, a 1982 film on extramarital affairs that finally put Bhatt in the reckoning, was nothing but the story of his own marriage, rocked by an affair with one of his heroines.
"It was cathartic. I shot scenes from the film in my own house -- at exactly the same places where similar events had occurred
between my first wife and me. I did the same in Zakhm (also autobiographical), where I recreated the same house I grew up in."
The success of Arth made him realise that facing his demons in his films helped him deal with them, and he finally started making films that he really wanted to. "I had not been true to myself before that, making films only to earn money. But after Arth, I made a conscious effort to stick to what I believed in." Saaransh ('84), Janam ('85), Naam ('86) and Daddy ('89) followed and Bhatt established himself as a sensitive story-teller.
But today, Bhatt is associated with films that are very different. He hung up his directorial boots ten years back. This was after a talk with UG, who told him to quit direction if he wasn't enjoying it any more. On returning home, he broke the news to his brother, Mukesh, who was worried about how the decision would impact the fate of Vishesh Films.
"I had directed most of the films the banner produced since its inception in the late eighties, so he was worried. Exactly a decade back, I made my last film, Zakhm, which won me a national award and which made people realise that Mahesh Bhatt, the director, still had it in him to deliver the goods. But we were entering the 21st century and I wasn't sure if I wanted to deal with the changes that come with making films in a different time."
The banner, recollects Bhatt, was not going through the best of times then. The Vikram Bhatt-directed Ghulam, which made money for its distributors, had left the Bhatts in financial doldrums. They decided to start afresh, with Mahesh deciding to let the youngsters direct this time. "We adopted a simple format. We would make films with high concepts, but on a tight budget and no stars, sell them at a small profit margin, and then let the quality of the film decide its eventual fate. This ensured that everyone associated with the films made a profit."
Initial films like Dushman ('98) and Sangharsh ('99) were not big hits, but helped the Bhatts make some money. Then, in 2002, they struck gold with Raaz. The music of the film was a rage, as had been the case with most Bhatt films, be it Aashiqui ('90),Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahi ('91)or even Arth. The 'soft porn' genre followed.
"I faced a lot of brickbats for making erotic thrillers like Jism (2003, produced by daughter Pooja) and Murder ('04). But it was a calculated move. Times were changing. Star World was being aired in villages and people had access to a lot more progressive images. In such a milieu, we took a deliberate call to make films which had a fair dose of erotica and a crime angle. But we never made claims like 'it was the need of the story.' I was clear that we wanted to titillate people."
And it worked too. The films made money, and when the formula got overdone by other filmmakers, the Bhatts got back to making emotional thrillers like Gangster ('06) and Jannat ('08). In this period of resurrection, so to speak, they introduced a number of newcomers, like Kangna Ranaut, Mallika Sherawat, directors Anurag Basu, Mohit Suri and Deshmukh and of course, Emraan Hashmi."In the last decade, we have made around 15 films, out of which 7-8 were hits. Others, like Kasoor ('01) and Zeher ('05), made us profit too. Today, we are in a much better position than we were a decade back."
A four-film deal with Sony Pictures is testimony to that. The budgets are going up, like in the case of their next, Tum Mile, set against the July 26 deluge, which has ample special effects. "Mukesh continues to look after the sales and monetary aspects of Vishesh Films, whereas I am the brain behind the concepts and marketing."
Mahesh, of course, refuses to confine himself to playing the visionary for his banner.
"I can't help it. At 60, I have this inexplicable energy that I need to keep utilising doing different things; it makes me a menace to people around me, my wife (Soni Razdan) especially. She has a hard time settling me in one place."
Or keeping him away from DVDs of the American soap, 24. "I am completely hooked by the series. I never really watch films and spend most of my time reading, but I can't stop watching 24. I am an addict," he grins.
