Why Mahesh Bhatt traded sex for love?

Aashiqui 2 producer reveals new plan inspired by audience demanding family-oriented films.Mahesh Bhatt says that their production house will have two streams. One will be clean, while the other will be erotic.

Producer-director Mahesh Bhatt has established the USP of his production company through films with risqué dialogue and a fair bit of skin show. But now, the National Award-winning director has decided to return to milder family dramas. The decision, he says, was taken around the same time as announcing the romantic film, Aashiqui 2 (he is co-producing it with T-series head honcho Bhushan Kumar).

HT Image

When asked about the change, the Murder 2 (2011) producer says, “I’m not ashamed or apologetic about my movies. But I had stopped making films like Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke (1993) and Aashiqui (1990). I wanted to establish my banner and I have done so. We cast newcomers, we didn’t work with known stars and had to lean on the erotic thriller genre to be established.”

Reactions from industry folks and fans alike persuaded Bhatt to rethink his choice of films. “It’s time we revisited the kind of cinema that I had excelled in years ago. I gave it serious thought and told Bhushan that we should make Aashiqui 2 different from the others films we currently make,” Bhatt adds.

He says, “Our production house will have two streams of cinema. One will have clean, family films while the other will focus on erotic thrillers. This will create a balance, and we will oscillate between the two genres.”

Fittingly, Aashiqui 2, with Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor, is scheduled for a Valentine’s Day release next year.