Her father may be the most controversial filmmaker in Bollywood, but Mahesh Bhatt’ daughter Shaheen Bhatt says she would have him no other way. Shaheen, who is making her debut in the industry as the screenplay writer for Jism 2, says, “I admire him the way he is.” The 22-year-old came into news when Bhatt recently wrote about her on his Twitter account. “Partnering with my 20 year old daughter to write Jism 2 is a learning experience. Listen to the young!” he tweeted. “Yeah, he thinks I am 20. My sister Alia is 17 and he thinks she is 14,” says Shaheen about the tweet.
Since her graduation two years ago, Shaheen’s been assisting her dad on films. “I did two scenes for Zeher but haven’t been to a film school. I’m writing a screenplay now and want to become a director,” she says. Bhatt’s daughter from his second marriage, to actress Soni Razdan, Shaheen says she “hangs out” with her half-sister Pooja Bhatt. “Pooja’s producing Jism 2... working with her, I can see so many similarities between her and dad. There are times when they both seem the same to me.”
Razdan had once said in an interview that Shaheen was not happy about Bhatt making Woh Lamhe, a film based on his affair with actress Parveen Babi. But Shaheen clarifies, “It’s not that I didn’t like the film. I just don’t have an opinion on it. My favourite Mahesh Bhatt films are Saaransh and Zakhm.”