One of the most popular filmmakers of all times, Mahesh Bhatt celebrates his 70th birthday today. Turning a year older, Mahesh Bhatt officially announced one of the most awaited films, Sadak 2 today, Starring Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Pooja Bhatt and Sanjay Dutt, Sadak 2 will be releasing on March 25, 2020. Not just Sadak, but Mahesh has given us many other movies like Arth, Saaransh, Aashiqui and Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahi which are and will always be special to all the movie buffs.
Most of his films have been a portrayal of his real life. For example, Mahesh Bhatt's Arth was based on the relationship of Mahesh Bhatt and Parveen Babi. On his birthday today, we tell you some lesser known facts about Mahesh Bhatt. Just like Arth, Aashiqui too was based on real-life incident from Mahesh Bhatt's life. Saaransh, directed by him, was India's official submission for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film back 1985. Soni Razdan, who is his wife now, was also a part of the film.
Bhatt started his career in 1974 as a director of Manzilein Aur Bhi Hai, however, it was his debut as a writer with Arth, which got him the much-deserved attention. The film won two National awards, with one of them including an award for the best dialogues. As a writer, Bhatt worked on films such as Tamanna (1997), Dushman (1998) and Footpath (2003). The filmmaker is also a co-owner of a production house along with his brother Mukesh Bhatt, which has produced films such as Aashiqui (1990), Sangharsh (1999) and Raaz (2002) among others.
Not just his personal life, Mahesh Bhatt has also borrowed liberally from many Hollywood films like some of these- Kabzaa was based on On the Waterfront, Dil Hai ke Manta Nahin on It Happened One Night, Sadak on Taxi Driver, Criminal on The Fugitive and many more. He was also accused of plagiarism for some of them.
Mahesh Bhatt also made several forays into television. He directed the TV series Swabhimaan and Kabhie Kabhie and also co-directed A Mouthful of Sky, the first English TV series to be produced in India. It was written by the celebrated author, Ashok Banker. The filmmaker made his debut as playback singer in the Emraan Hashmi starrer Mr X, for which he sang the title song.
Bhatt’s daughters, Pooja and Alia, have also been part of blockbuster films and have taken their father’s legacy forward in Bollywood.