Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, known for iconic films like Aashiqui, Saaransh, and Sadak, recently opened up about a bizarre and unsettling experience from his early filmmaking days, during a conversation with his daughter Pooja Bhatt on her podcast.
Struggling filmmaker seeks investors
Bhatt revealed that in his twenties, he struggled to secure funding for his films. Together with his friend Arun Desai, who was also facing challenges, he planned a trip to Gaya, Bihar, to meet a potential financier.
Before heading there, they stopped at Varanasi to visit a spiritual guru, a young tantrik, who was holding a bottle of rum and dancing for visitors. Bhatt recalled that the tantrik immediately sensed their skepticism about his practices.
Tantrik gives shocking advice
The tantrik promised a solution and instructed them to feed human flesh to the potential investor. Bhatt recounted, “He pulled out a piece and made a pudiya out of it, saying it was human flesh taken from the ghats. ‘Take this and feed it to your potential investor and he will give you money,’ he said.”
Feeling hopeful, Bhatt and Desai considered this “key to the kingdom of money” and set off for Gaya.
Meeting the investor
On reaching Gaya, Bhatt described meeting a zamindar sitting behind a mosquito net, guarded by armed security men. Unsure how to present the pudiya, they devised a plan to wrap it in a paan and offer it to the investor.
Bhatt recalled, “Slowly, he brought it close to his mouth, started chewing it. We felt we hit the bull’s eye.”
No financing after all
Despite their elaborate efforts, Bhatt later learned from his friend that they had not secured any funding. Reflecting on the incident, Bhatt shared it as a reminder of the ups and downs of pursuing a career in filmmaking, highlighting the persistence and risks involved in the early days of his career