Mahesh Bhatt reveals why he chooses to mentor fresh talent, and not actively make films

Mumbai: Filmmaker-producer Mahesh Bhatt, who is gearing up for the release of his upcoming production ‘Tu Meri Poori Kahani’, has spoken up on why he chose to nurture fresh talent, and serve as their mentor.

The veteran filmmaker-producer spoke with IANS during the promotional campaign of ‘Tu Meri Poori Kahani’, and shared that there came a time when he became disinterested as a filmmaker but he loves the medium of cinema, and wanted to give back something to the medium.

He told IANS, “There comes a time when you realise that you have been an expression of a time frame. The decade in which you made films, you are a by-product of that. Because you have lived those experiences and you have metabolized those responses which you convert into your story. But then like everything else, even the sun gets eclipsed. So you realise that now that fire that is there in you is waning. And the thirst that was there in you is vanishing. There is no intensity, there is no energy. And then you find young talent, who have an enormous thirst to keep on making films”.

He further mentioned that it is far more gratifying to make people than to make films, as he said, “How much more hunger can you have for validation? You have proved that you are a good filmmaker. And with the kind of body of work you have done, you have made all kinds of films. You have made so-called middle of the road art films. ‘Janam’, ‘Naam’, ‘Zakhm’, ‘Aashiqui’, ‘Sadak’, you have made all kinds of films. So, what more do you want? So, a kind of monotony kicks in, then you start getting disinterested. So, that phase had come into my life and that’s when I decided to be a mentor to people”.

He went on, “Mentoring is not an easy job, mentoring means hands off. If my fingerprints are showing on the job of a fresh talent, then it’s not their work, it’s me. I take utmost care that I give the space to young talent to learn from my experience but I leave the decision-making to them. In this process, if they fall, I let them fall, and make mistakes because what they will learn after falling, and committing mistakes, is something I won’t be able to teach them ever”.

“I got into that phase, and let me tell you that it has been the most gratifying phase. I started this with Vikram Bhatt when he made ‘Raaz’. Then Anurag Basu came, Kunal Deshmukh and Mohit Suri. Even my elder daughter Pooja started her career as a producer with me when she made ‘Jism’”, he added.

‘Tu Meri Poori Kahani’ is set to release on September 26, 2025.

IANS