Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt reflected on the incredible distinction of being the only person to direct Shah Rukh Khan in not one but two box office bomb films. He said that many film stars become indifferent and distant towards those directors who are not able to give hit films with them, but Shahrukh did not change his attitude towards him at all. Mahesh Bhatt directed Shahrukh in the films Chahat and Duplicate, which were released in 1996 and 1998 respectively.
In an interview with Radio Nasha, he described himself as ‘the only person’ who made two flops with Shahrukh Khan. He said, “It takes a king and a gentleman to treat someone who has produced no success… Our business thrives on relationships of convenience. This is a business relationship. It’s give and take. When a director gives a flop film with a star, the star’s attitude often changes. It takes a different kind of temperament to not lose the respect you have for a person despite failure”.
The filmmaker added, “It shows what kind of stuff he’s made of.” Mahesh Bhatt said that bad films are also made with the same dedication and passion as good films. This is not the first time that the filmmaker has appreciated Shahrukh’s generosity. “Don’t make people like this,” she recently told Pinkvilla. The actor inside him is obviously the vehicle on which his personality stands but I hear his heartbeat. There is a very big man in it. Very generous, courageous, great human being.”
Farida Jalal, who worked in the film Duplicate, remembered Shahrukh’s energy on the sets. “Shah Rukh was very happy. I played her mother in Duplicate and the film’s director Mahesh Bhatt used to get stressed while working with her because he wanted to do each scene in multiple ways,” she said. Shahrukh has also worked with Mahesh Bhatt’s daughter Alia Bhatt in the film Dear Zindagi and as a co-producer in the film Darlings.
Mahesh Bhatt told he is ‘the only person who has made two flops with Shah Rukh Khan’, praises Shah Rukh for not changing later
