Consistently through the years, Mukesh and Mahesh Bhatt‘s Vishesh Films has been introducing new people to the industry – performers that don’t only succeed in their launch movies, but often go on to become big stars in their own right. If you’re wondering, yes, it’s a conscious decision – the two brothers met up for breakfast one day and decided that they wouldn’t make a film if it did not include a newcomer. On The Front Row with Anupama Chopra this week, Mukesh speaks about this very decision. Here’s what he says!
Anupama Chopra: Mukesh, you decided many years ago, that you are not going to work with stars, why?
Mukesh Bhatt: When the year 2000 came, 1st of Jan we meet; me and my brother. That’s a ritual. Other days, we may or may not but 1st Jan, we have breakfast together. And I told him ‘Let’s make stars’. I don’t have problems with working with the stars. They are all very respectful, very duty bound and everything. So, no complaints that way. But I felt that the economy was getting a little haywire. So, I took a call. And I think, that was the best decision I made in my life. Today I am sitting at 2013 and I would be very happy to tell you that every single year, from the year 2001 till today, I have given hits without stars. In fact I made stars whether it’s a John Abraham or a Bipasha Basu or a Kangna Ranaut or a Emraan Hashmi. Not only actors but directors. Anurag Basu, Mohit Suri, Kunal Deshmukh, music directors, singers. So we had decided we will not make a movie if it doesn’t have a debutant. Somebody has to debut in every single film of ours. Till then we are like, “Wait, we can’t make it.” They would say, “Why?” I would say, “No, there is no debutant.” I think that really has made us both the brothers feel younger and stronger. It keeps us on our toes.
Watch “The Front Row with Anupama Chopra” tonight at 8:30 pm on Star World for the full conversation with Mukesh Bhatt, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Guneet Monga, Ashvini Yardi and Ashi Dua. For more details on the show, log on to our website, follow us on Tumblr, Twitter and on Facebook.