Filmworld
Don't want to be a pigeonholed filmmaker: Mahesh Bhatt
New Delhi, April 8
In his four-decade career,
Mahesh Bhatt has never shied away from showing the elements of his real
life in films like "Woh Lamhe". The veteran filmmaker says there is
"nothing personal about any human being".
From his linkup to late
Bollywood star Parveen Babi to his inebriated past, Bhatt has never
hesitated in sourcing ideas for films from his real life. The
66-year-old says he has no problems in showcasing his real life onscreen
as what one goes through is "pathetically close to somebody else".
"There
are two streams in me. One is the stream which makes films out of the
real material called life and make inspiring tales out of that. There is
a particular section of society which loves that kind of cinema,"
Bhatt, who was in the capital to promote his forthcoming production
venture "Mr. X", told IANS in an interview.
"Then, there is
another section which loves my other kind of cinema like 'Sadak', 'Dil
Hai ki Manta Nahin' or 'Raaz' and 'Mr. X' also fits into that type. So I
have no problem in oscillating between the two. I have no problem in
shifting from one genre to the other.
"I do not want myself to be
restricted to a pigeonholed kind of filmmaker. I choose to speak in the
language the person is comfortable with. There is nothing personal
about any human being. Whatever one goes through is pathetically close
to somebody else," he added.
Talking about "Mr. X", which stars
his nephew and actor Emraan Hashmi, Bhatt says that "It's the first 3D
family film with those state of the art special effects which are
indigenously created in our own country."
"It's a film which is
made within the attention span that young people have or viewers have
for films nowadays... 'Mr. X' has the kind of pulse of the time we live
in because it's getting progressively difficult to bring people to
cinema halls. They have tremendous variety available to them. So 'Mr. X'
is unique, distinct and special in terms of its visual texture. It will
appeal to the large section of people which wants to have a good time".
Although
Bhatt admitted that the invisible concept is not new to the film
industry, he said: "There is a child in every man and that's why larger
than life stories which have a fairly tale component will work."
"People
love miracles; they love stories which break through adversities.
That's what 'Mr. X' gives to them. There is nothing real about Spiderman
or Superman. Filmmaking is unreal business. It's all about
storytelling," he said.
"With larger than life films you are
lifted from your mundane ordinary life because you empathise with the
hero and people see themselves in him. That's why stories with
characters like Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Krrish or Mr. X work in a
very big way universally," he added.
So what he'll do if he get's a chance to be "Mr. X"?
Bhatt
said: "I would unmask all those self proclaimed saints and good people
who pretend to the world through their media manipulation that they are
spotless and reveal their real face."
"I would love to unmask
them to the real world to let people know that these people pretend to
them what they are, but actually they are not because they are
innumerable. Such people are a curse to mankind."
Directed by Vikram Bhatt, "Mr. X" also stars Amyra Dastur and Arunoday Singh and is set to release on April 17.
(Sandeep Sharma can be contacted at [email protected])