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Between real and virtual
He is a film-maker who dares to be a dreamer. Yet his feet is firmly rooted on the ground. As Mahesh Bhatt goes from one experiment to another,he tells K. KANNAN what makes him tick with the younger lot....
There are two kinds of film-makers in the world today -- those who escape from reality as they advance into the prime of their life and those who get rooted in reality with every project of theirs. Indeed film director-turned producer, Mahesh Bhatt, who has always drawn inspiration from life around him to tell his dream tales on celluloid, belongs to the latter category.
``An artist has to be firmly rooted in society and while he should dare to dream, he needs to have his feet firmly on the ground,'' says Mahesh Bhatt, adding he was opposed to ``escapist entertainment'' per se. ``You have to be fully aware and alive to the happenings around you in order to dream,'' he quips.
Straddling the ``virtual'' world and the real world with equal ease, Mahesh Bhatt says his experience as a documentary film-maker these past two years has enriched him more than his stint as a film-director. ``During my recent visit to Nagaland, a child presented a painting that had an image of a man who stands defiant even as he sees his village burning. Now, that is life and art, isn't it?'' he asks.
The sensitive film director has therefore taken care that his company, Vishesh Entertainment, maintains a balance between the world of make-believe and the real, harsh world where life is not a Harry Potter Book. ``I have made documentaries on the Orissa super-cyclone, drought in Rajasthan and the situation in Nagaland. The heart-rending stories of poverty and exploitation are real and cannot be wished away.''
His next film venture ``Raaz'' has Dino Morea and Bipasha Basu in the lead roles. Being directed by Vikram Bhatt, it is a story that revolves around the effect of the super-natural in our lives. ``Though I am a rationalist, there have been moments in my life when loved ones have gone after the super-natural,'' he says, particularly recalling the period in which he was ``involved with an actress''.
Determined to make films which are low in cost but which do not tread the beaten path -- something which has been his trade-mark as a director as well -- Mahesh Bhatt says his company will also serve more as a platform for sourcing new talent. ``At the moment, I am working on another film titled `Kalyug' which deals with the multi-crore drug racket in urban India,'' he informs.
Among his forthcoming projects is ``Sur'', being produced by daughter Pooja Bhatt. Being directed by Tanuja Chandra, it has Lucky Ali in the lead role. ``And then there is this as yet untitled film which I am making with Anil Kapoor in the lead role. The Marathi writer Anmol Shidge is doing a film under my banner with Aftab Shivdasani and Bipasha Basu in the lead roles.''
Interestingly, many of these films including ``Raaz'' and ``Sur'' are based on scripts written by Mahesh Bhatt. ``I have written scripts for most of the films which I directed,'' Bhatt says, adding : ``Now I am writing scripts for these youngsters. It is a different ballgame altogether when I write for them. As I do not like to be dictated by anybody, they too would like to work independently. In such cases, therefore, I write under their vision and supervision. It is their film not mine''.
While Mahesh Bhatt vows to get closer to life and become the very salt of the earth with advancing age, he does not have a one-shot solution for developing one's sensitivity and sensibilities as a film-maker. ``Sensitivity cannot be packaged and sold like instant coffee. Each film-maker has to discover it within oneself,'' he says.
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