Mahesh Bhatt says theatre has the 'audacity' that mainstream cinema lacks: ‘They are not cautious’ | Interview

Mahesh Bhatt is presenting the play, Wo Subah Hum Hi Se Aayegi, for which Anu Malik is composing the score. The filmmaker talks to HT about the collab and more.

Mahesh Bhatt and Anu Malik have crossed paths and collaborated on several films, including Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayi and Sir. The duo are joining hands again, but this time in the world of theatre. Mahesh Bhatt is presenting the play, Wo Subah Hum Hi Se Aayegi, for which Anu Malik is composing the score. The filmmaker talks to HT about the collab, theatre and more. Excerpts:

Mahesh Bhatt talks about cinema, theatre, and balancing art with commerce.

HT: You are reuniting with Anu Malik. You both have worked together in films a lot and now this is in a play that you are presenting. How did this all come about?

Mahesh Bhatt: I think it comes from the generosity of Anu Malik that he has made this move. He's been very generous. He scores movies, and recently he gave a score for a play. But that was for professional theatre. This is amateur. This aims to bring out unique subjects you might not think of these days for cinema halls, television, or streaming content. There are certain subjects that dare to enter areas that may not be lucrative. They are very important for the moral compass of the times that we are living in. So Anu Malik was inspired by the intent of Imran Zahid, the producer and actor. In my opinion, if you have talent, it should also be used to empower people. It can’t only be to further your own career graph or to amass more money. How much more will you make? How many more claps will you earn? I think talent needs to be used to help other talent.

Mahesh Bhatt with Imran Zahid and Anu Malik.

HT: Your association with him goes beyond work.

Mahesh Bhatt: My association with him is very intimate. We just work very easily like we breathe. And the word work doesn't come into play. I was a great admirer of his father, Sardar Malik sahab. I think he didn't get his due because he didn’t have an aggressive gene. And because he (Anu) saw his father not pushing his interest in the competitive marketplace, he learned the hard way. Right. He went through abject poverty. So, he's pathological about work, and once he gets his mind to work, he still has the passion and the madness to gear it all in changing times.

HT: You are presenting this play, Wo Subah Hum Hi Se Aayegi. How do you decide when you present something? How do you decide that this is something I want to lend my name to?

Mahesh Bhatt: When you're dealing with a well-meaning, driven group which has a fierce thirst to make a mark, you want to. Amateur theatre is something you can't make a living from. It doesn't pay you anything; you do it because you love it. Great theatre personality Peter Brook said that it's not the critic in London who ultimately decides whether the play is working, but if tribals from the jungles of Africa like it, then there's something real. Because the communication is being done not through cultivated taste but through the simplest tool available to you. So I look for that. And, whenever I find something, I get associated. If my name helps them sell tickets to pay the theatre's rent, right, I am happy to help.

HT: What do you think amateur theatre, particularly this sort of performing arts, is doing differently in India right now that something like mainstream cinema is not?

Mahesh Bhatt: Audacity! They have more audacity. They're not cautious because you have nothing to lose. The moment you have something to lose, you're trying to keep your eye on that. And the rest is to either enlarge the pie that you have got or to at least retain what you have got. That's the kind of game you get caught in. A newcomer reminds you of yourself as you were when you began your journey. There was audacity and the ability to take more risks because one had nothing to lose, and you took the road less travelled upon. What I normally see in amateurs is your desire to be seen, your desire is to act. Because if you are going to use this as a springboard to enter television and movies, you'll have a different chemistry. But if theatre is an end in itself because you love theatre, then there's a different vibe there.

Wo Subah Hum Hi Se Aayegi, directed by Tariquee Hameed, written by Dinesh Gautam and featuring Imran Zahid and Namitaa Sachdeva, is premiering in Mumbai on 5 July.