Mahesh Bhatt is a loving filmmaker, a respected movie personality and now, a father of a young Bollywood actress, Alia Bhatt, who's both famous and talented. It's known about Bhatt that he's expressive and loves to articulate his feelings in the most elaborate way possible. He is indeed good at it too. At least that's what his latest interview with a leading daily proves.
In a no-holds-barred interview, the director talked to national-award-winning lyricist and scriiptwriter, Kausar Munir. From his family, career, parents, to being a father to four kids and all the admiration that his daughter, Alia, gets... Bhatt spoke in length about everything personal. Here are a few interesting statements he made:
On his father:
"I don’t know what a father really is. I never really had one. I have no worthwhile memories of my father, therefore no idea of what a father’s role should be. I am the bastard-child of a single Muslim mother, of Shirin Mohammed Ali".
On his relationship with son, Rahul Bhatt:
"The father-son bond even though in tatters was never fully broken, so when the David Headley crisis happened, the family came together. Sunny (Rahul Bhatt) realised that the father he thought wasn’t there, had never really left. Slowly we began rebuilding our relationship and I urged him to use his anger against me to fuel his goals. And he managed to do that. He is now a fitness guru. He trains all kinds of important people, but not once has he used my name or connections to promote himself. Nor has he ever tried to use my guilt to his advantage. He’s an entirely self-made man and I’m very proud of that".
On daughter Shaheen Bhatt:
"At the age of 15, she was the mother I never had. I mean in terms of emotional wisdom. My mother loved me unconditionally, but Shaheen understands me unconditionally. Her journey into the dark wilderness of depression has given her an amazing depth of understanding. It’s evident in her writing. She has the capacity to process complex emotions and the courage to cope with them. I pose to her a difficult question and she is the only one who can give me a clear pointed answer".
On Alia's stardom:
"I’ve already had the experience of being a star-father when Pooja came into the movies. But, Alia’s success is phenomenal and it’s totally her own doing. She ventured all by herself into this very tough business and has surprised me with her own toughness".
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