Mahesh Bhatt - movies, love and betrayal

Courtesy: IndiaFM
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Cinema. That magical medium that mirrors the human experience in all its shades. Mahesh Bhatt who has used this medium to make sense of his own life&experiences with films that have gone on to become landmarks in Bollywood.

Mahesh Bhatt'- The new age cinema

"When you make films which have the pulse&the beat of your own life, it certainly evokes some kind of response in the viewer, a lived tale is far better than a manufactured tale or a work of imagination."

Between 2002&2004 Mahesh Bhatt in varied roles as writer, producer, and creative guide provoked Indian audiences with films like 'Raaz', 'Jism'&'Murder'. While all found success at the box office, what each one sold, in a word, was sex.

"I must plead guilty for bringing in what I call soft porn into the mainstream of Indian cinema. 'Jism' was undoubtedly a quality film because for the 1st time on the Indian screen you saw the Indian heroine unapologetically say that she uses her body to get what she wants. "

Characteristically, he takes a provocative line of defence for these latest creative offerings.

"My responsibility is to get bums on seats and I do that with great difficulty. Let me be forthright. My ancestors did it by showing women under waterfalls and dancing in the rain to show their saris clinging to their cleavage. We are more decorous, more transparent, and less hypocritical. We say, "Yes, we want to give you titillation because you want it and that's a fair exchange. "

The journey till now...

But no matter how many these films found them in the news, no matter how many "me toos" they spawned&no matter how much money they made him, Mahesh Bhatt's place in Bollywood, and his contribution to it commercially&creatively, are not based on these films. His 31-year film career is made of far more complicated stuff.

"I know for a fact that if I dropped dead tomorrow the world will describe me as a - died controversial filmmaker who was known for making autobiographical films. It happened to me after I made a series of flops. I began at 21&by 30 I was declared 'dead, dead, dead, dead, dead.' - All my films failed to even make a Rupee at the box office and that's when I stumbled on my own idiom, that too accidentally. I had very little budget, somebody asked me to make a film, alternative, middle of the road cinema - and I made 'Arth' which was based on my own extra marital affair. "

Released in 1982, 'Arth' had Shabana Azmi in a national award winning performance as 'Pooja', who's secure married existence crashes about her when her ad filmmaker husband 'Inder' played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda leaves her for his clingy, high strung mistress 'Kavita' played by Smitha Patil.
Narrated entirely from the wife's point of view, the film broke new grounds by addressing taboo issues of infidelity, domestic violence and the hypocrisy of urban lifestyles. Bhatt himself made it clear that the film was based on his affair with 70's screen goddess Parveen Babi, which eventually led to the end of his marriage to Kiran Bhatt.

"Till date I am known by that film - with that I discovered if you make films, which are based on your own life you are bound to strike gold."

So with this sixth film in an 8-year career span so far, Bhatt had found his voice. Two years later he released 'Saaransh'. Starring a 28-year -old unknown actor Anupam Kher playing his debut role as a retired school teacher, this film was another landmark.

Later Bhatt went on to make 'Janam' in 1985. Again it had autobiographical shades in its plot line about a father and son, the latter played by Kumar Gaurav.

The next year, he released the emotionally charged 'Naam,' again a film resonating with shades from his own life. Both films were noticed for their handling&performances and it was becoming increasingly clear that Bhatt's dominant directorial signature was the rawness of his content rather than any smart packaging.

The bad times

"In the early 70's, Kabir&me - Kabir Bedi the actor &I experimented with this wonder drug called LSD. LSD opened my consciousness to bizarre mystical experiences. It was this that hurled me into the supermarket, the spiritual supermarket. I found parallels to my experience in Rajneesh&his writings - I went there for two&a half years, did yoga for almost 5 hours in a day but couldn't get anywhere close to the experience of LSD."

On leaving the God-man&his commune, Bhatt found his truth in the searing autobiographical idiom of 'Arth'&'Janam', as we have seen. But with success came inevitable problems

"That's when I hit the bottle - I had the means to buy a bottle of Scotch whisky. I used to drink it everyday. It sent me spiralling down to the gutters. I woke up one morning on the streets of Juhu - Vile Parle scheme at the crack of dawn. I said, "Oh, Mr. Mahesh Bhatt, you've become an alcoholic!" I went back home, my little girl was just born&when I held her she turned her face, it was the rejection I couldn't deal with - I dropped alcohol&from there on my climb back began. "

Then came the breakthrough...

Out of this phase and 7 largely indifferent films later, came his next big film 'Daddy'. The film dealt with the relationship of an alcoholic father played by Anupam Kher with his daughter played by Bhatt's own daughter Pooja, making her acting debut at the age of 17. This also marked the beginning of a more prolific time in Bhatt's career.

During this phase his films were a mixed bag. The early 90's did see some hits&a range of subjects matters. Films during this time included the popular romantic hit 'Aashiqui' in 1990. In 1991 two contrasting subjects got him box office success - one the harsh world of prostitution in 'Sadak', the other a breezy romance 'Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin' - again both starring his daughter Pooja Bhatt.1993's 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke', the controversial 'Criminal' in 1995 and 'Tamanna' in 1997 which dealt with the fringe community of eunuchs in India, were some of the other films that were noticed. But along with these there were over 15 films that sank without a trace.

Meanwhile, Bhatt was also producing films under his banner Vishesh Films which had been set up in 1987, with younger brother Mukesh taking care of the business end of things.

And so the Bhatt's made their business work. But by and large, the 90's proved an unequal decade creatively. During this time Bhatt had directed 25 films of which only 7 worked&he even ventured into television. Mahesh Bhatt was on overdrive and the industry joke was that he was literally directing films over the telephone. Quality was at an all time low, plotlines were being borrowed and the crusader it seemed was selling out to lucre. But then in 1998 Bhatt redeemed himself when he wrote&directed 'Zakhm'.

A tribute of sorts to his late mother, 'Zakhm' took a controversial view of the Hindu Muslim divide. Bhatt in a sense re told the story of his Muslim mother and the social stigma she suffered when she had a liaison with his Hindu father Nanabhai Bhatt - incidentally a well known film producer of his day - of which he was the result - although illegitimate in society's eyes. Bitterly personal and brave in its indictment of Hindu fundamentalism, and again powered by superb performances that only Mahesh Bhatt seems to be able to extract, the film though controversial with the censors was praised by the critics and won several top awards.

"Since cinema was my core business I decided to step back&take a balcony view and provide a platform for younger people. But we took a policy decision to not make cinema of the kind which people pretend to applaud and like but don't actually pay money to see. 'Zakhm' was a creative high in my career - it got critical applause, it got rave reviews, it got national awards but it did not make money! So that was it. "

Bhatt quits direction

And then came the shocker. With 'Zakhm', 49-year-old Mahesh Bhatt, with 44 films in the bag and 24 years in the film industry, had decided to call it quits.

Bhatt's banner 'Vishesh Films'&his daughter's company 'Fisheye' productions have been making several low budget movies each year, many inspired from successful Hollywood flicks, they cater to exactly what the paying audiences' want and as a result ensure their viability. Some of the older traditions however continue. For one, Bhatt who never relied on stars pulls off hits with new comers&non actors alike, just as he had with Anupam Kher, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff &Kumar Gaurav decades before.

Writing, producing and more...

Bhatt also continues to write several of the film ideas, ensuring that story telling which is his biggest creative strength forms the core around which his young crews provide contemporary gloss&packaging.

"After 98 began, what I would like to believe is my saner phase - where I said that, "I'm going to work less and live more, read more, engage with people more, inhale more life." Because according to me its very simple- you inhale life, you exhale cinema."

And so Mahesh Bhatt continues to be in the thick of Bollywood even though technically he no longer sits in the director's chair. Outspoken, controversial, brash - he is always in your face&always in the news. Contemporaries, audiences, industry watchers and society's moral watchdogs may be divided in their opinions of Mahesh Bhatt - but love him or hate him you can never ignore him. And in a business that demands individuality, that persona is perhaps his greatest ace.

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