Mahesh Bhatt reveals why he has Stopped Directing Films

Mahesh Bhatt revealed why he wants to stop directing movies. The veteran filmmaker last helmed Sadak 2 (2020).

Divulging his reasons behind not returning to the director’s chair, Mahesh said:

“This is a new age, a new vibrant dawn.

“Nothing can be more gratifying than creating people.

“Vikram [Bhatt] is a true protegee, who has provided me with a space under the metaphorical Banayan tree where I sit down and for my fulfilment and give people who come to me the courage to look inward.

“However, I don’t have the thirst to leave my footprints on the sands of time, which is paramount in the entertainment world.

“Those who make it, have an insatiable thirst to leave their footprints on the sands of time. Vikram has it, Avika [Gor] has it.

“I am outdated, a has-been.”

In 1988, Mahesh Bhatt started his production company Vishesh Films. The studio is famous for giving breaks to numerous film personalities.

These include Emraan Hashmi, Bipasha Basu and the music composer Pritam.

However, after Aashiqui 2 (2013), the films from the company started to fail at the box office.

Reflecting on this, Mahesh continued: “Every film is a by-product of its time.

“India was changing and the consumer’s taste was changing.

“It was Vikram who spearheaded that kind of a space. Even Pooja Bhatt did her bit with Jism, which was an outstanding film.

“It had my angst and her style. There was this low-cost, high-concept, and great music idiom which we stumbled upon.

“We ensured we didn’t work with stars and only good actors. Because we thought that it was the film that worked.

“We wanted to make a movie and not queue up outside a star’s office, beg him to give you dates or some crumbs for you to stay alive.

“There was a phase where we found self-sufficiency, but then the rot set in.

“The so-called ‘non-stars’ become stars and then the market comes to you to get those stars.

“They want access to the stars and you also succumb to that. That is the pitfall.

“But every decade you re-invent. When 1920 became a hit, Vikram told me he saw a hit after 10 years.

“The last hit we made together was in 2013 with Raaz 3 and then there was a phase of indifference.

“I don’t blame him for it – it’s on us. I am the mentor, he did nothing without passing it through my gaze so I failed.

“I told him to create an idiom of his own, which he bravely took off with the web series. I am loving this phase.”

In his long career, Mahesh Bhatt has helmed classics including Saaransh (1984), Naam (1986), and Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991).

He last directed Sadak 2 which marked his comeback to filmmaking after over 20 years.

A sequel to his 1991 blockbuster Sadak, the film starred Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Roy Kapur and Alia Bhatt.

The film’s trailer was released on August 12, 2020, and within a week, it became the second most disliked YouTube video in the world.

This was mainly due to the scandal caused by the death of Sushant Singh Rajput.

Sadak 2 ultimately premiered on Disney+ Hotstar and was a critical and commercial disaster.

Mahesh Bhatt is currently overseeing the premiere of Bloody Ishq which arrived on Disney+ Hotstar on July 26, 2024.