Renowned for not mincing words while discussing cinema, the functioning of the film industry, or aspects of his personal life, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt recently took a trip down memory lane and shared a distressing incident from his childhood when four young adults tried to assault him and verbally abused his mother. The son of renowned filmmaker Nanabhai Bhatt and his partner, Shirin Mohammad Ali, Mahesh grew up in Mumbai with his mother and siblings. Recalling that the incident happened as he was walking home one evening, Mahesh said, "Suddenly, four elderly boys waylaid me. They grabbed me violently and pushed me against the wall. I panicked, and from the depths of my heart rose a cry asking the Gods to rescue me. But the Gods were indifferent; they remained silent. It took me years to understand that liberators do not exist; one has to liberate oneself. 'Let me go home,' I begged, trying to break out of the menacing circle these brutes had formed around me," he recalled during a recent appearance on The Pooja Bhatt Show, hosted by his daughter and actor-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt. Mentioning that the situation escalated rapidly, Mahesh Bhatt stated that they began harassing him even more intensely. "I was hoping against hope that some passerby would intervene and rescue me from these bullies. But ordinary life floated by, unconcerned about my anguish. 'Pull down his pants,' said one of them. Even before the boy could lurch forward and go for my trousers, I began to plead and push the boy's hands back. I screamed, 'Why are you doing this to me?' They said, 'We want to see if you are one of us. Isn't your mother your father's mistress?! She is a Muslim who**, and she used to dance in cheap movies. So, why is your name Mahesh?' I was overwhelmed. Owing to profound grief, I began crying bitterly." When he warned them that he would report the incident to his father, Mahesh said the miscreants laughed and asked him, "Tell us, where is he now? Where does he stay? In your house? Tell us the truth and we will let you go." Mentioning that this question "dug into the festering wound his family had been concealing for years," Mahesh added, "I stammered and weakly said, 'I swear he lives with us. He has gone for outdoor shooting.' But my words lacked conviction. And then something snapped in me. Looking them in the eye, I audaciously said, 'My father does not live with us. He lives with his wife and my other mother in Andheri.' Strangely, the air changed, and the bearded boy eased his grip over me and signalled me to go." Stating that despite the incident leaving a permanent scar on his mind, Mahesh Bhatt expressed his wonderment at what finally made them let him go. He also shared that this incident changed his relationship with his mother forever, as she, as well as his siblings, felt he betrayed them by exposing their familial secret. "She emotionally locked me out of her life," he added. Nanabhai Bhatt, a Nagar Brahmin, and Shirin Mohammad Ali, a Shia Muslim, had six children, including Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt. Nanabhai later married a woman named Hemlata Bhatt, with whom he had three children, including screenwriter Robin Bhatt. Much like his father, Mahesh Bhatt has also had multiple partners over the years. While being married to Lorraine Bright, he got into a relationship with actor Parveen Babi. However, that did not last long. Soon, he began an affair with British actor-director Soni Razdan, and they eventually tied the knot. He has two children from each of his marriages. Pooja is his daughter from his marriage to Lorraine, while National Award-winning actor Alia Bhatt is his daughter from his relationship with Soni Razdan.
