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35 years of Daddy: Not Pooja Bhatt but THIS actress was the first choice for Mahesh Bhatt’s directorial
In a recent interview, Mahesh Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt shared interesting anecdotes as they revisited cherished memories on 35 years of Daddy.
Actress Pooja Bhatt is one of the most celebrated figures in Bollywood. She stepped into the world of acting in 1989 with the movie Daddy, directed by her father Mahesh Bhatt. The film was a poetic tribute to the ace filmmaker’s real life incidents. However, many of you might be surprised to know that she was actually not the first choice for the role.
Pooja Bhatt wasn't the first choice for her role in Mahesh Bhatt's Daddy
During a recent interview with Indian Express, Mahesh Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt poured their hearts out as they reminisced about their cherished memories from 35 years ago when the movie Daddy was released. The film tells the story of a 17-year-old girl who reconnects with her estranged father (portrayed by Anupam Kher), a former singing sensation who has now become a forgotten alcoholic. Determined to restore her father's greatness, the daughter takes it upon herself to make him sing again and help him overcome his addiction.
Recounting her memories of the film, Pooja Bhatt recalled how her father Mahesh Bhatt approached her for the role, as she divulged that Twinkle Khanna was the first choice for the role.
She said, “You (Mahesh Bhatt) told me, ‘I am not interested in launching you, but there is a role of a 17-year-old and you might fit the bill. So are you open?’ I didn’t get back after the deadline of 24 hours, and then you said, ‘OK fine, I will take Dimple Kapadia’s daughter!’ I said no no, let’s wait. You told me, ‘You don’t want me to act in movies, but you don’t want anyone else to do that role!”
She continued recollecting her memories of the day before the shoot while her father made her go through the script at home. She reminisced about her father telling her, “‘I am not going to give anyone else the privilege of telling you that you are not good. If you can’t act, I will throw you out because I’d be doing a disservice to you if I lied to you that you can act when you can’t.’”
When Anupam Kher gave her the key takeaway during Daddy
Furthermore, Pooja went on to share the memory of her first day of the shoot where she had to walk into a police station and say, ‘Ye badkismati se mera baap hai (unfortunately, he is my father)’ while Anupam Kher saw the shot and suggested removing the words ‘badkismati se (unfortunately)’.
The remark by the veteran actor left Bhatt confused, as she had memorized it. In fact, Bhatt also told Kher the same thing. However, he replied, ‘So what Bhatt saab? She has to get used to it on the set last moment, that’s what she has to learn to do.’ That was a key takeaway,” remarked Pooja.
What led Mahesh Bhatt to change the climax scene of Daddy overnight
After the birth of his daughter Shaheen Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt fought against his intense alcohol addiction and decided to embrace a sober lifestyle. He also opened up about a significant moment that changed his life. He recalled a time when Pooja, his daughter, had gone to sleep early at night because she had an early morning shoot the next day, and there was no one else around.
While he was about to pick up the alcohol bottle thinking how tired he was shooting back-to-back and it would be great to have a drink or two, a voice echoed in his head, ‘You can con the world, your daughter, your wife, but how can you con yourself, Mahesh?’ That just burnt the thirst which was rising within me,’ he said.
After that, he rewrote the climax scene once more. At first, Pooja's character arrives and forcefully removes the glass from Anupam's character's hand right before his performance. She also urges his father to concentrate on singing. However, the director soon realized that it should be a natural 'inner flowering' that emerges from within, rather than being imposed by someone else.
“That was pulled right off my life. Not only was the movie autobiographical but also its vulnerability was exactly taken from life,” he was quoted as saying.
ALSO READ: Did you know Mahesh Bhatt left drinking after his daughter Shaheen Bhatt’s birth? Here’s why
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