Pooja Bhatt

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nstead she dreamt of becoming an astronaut or an architect. As she grew she mingled with serious actors like Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Kulbhushan Kharbanda who used to throng her house and discuss films with his father Mahesh Bhatt. At a young age Pooja realized that films are serious business and she was not meant for it.

Mahesh Bhatt black-mailed Pooja to do Daddy When Pooja was just 17 years old, Mahesh Bhatt wrote a sensitive and semi-autobiographical script of Daddy (1989), portraying his relation with his daughter. When Mahesh Bhatt was struggling with his failures he had taken to alcohol but it was Pooja who played a lion’s share in quitting his alcohol. Mahesh Bhatt brilliantly weaved his life changing experience in to a poignant script of Dadday. He roped in his favorite actor Amupam Kher in the lead role of Daddy and Pooja to play the caring daughter. But Pooja was not interested in films. She was going along with a boy friend since the age of 12 and her boyfriend had taken a pledge from her that if she wishes to marry him then she should not act in films. But Mahesh Bhatt emotionally blackmailed her and threatened that if she declines the role he would give the lucrative role to Twinkle Khanna. This envied Pooja and she did the role in anger! The film was not only super-hit but fetched Pooja Bhatt wide acclaim as a sensitive actress and also won the prestigious Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year. Pooja Bhatt had declined Aashiqui After the huge success of Daddy, Mahesh Bhatt started work on a love story Aashiqui. Naturally Pooja Bhatt was the original choice but she declined the film because her boyfriend was angry at her for doing Daddy. He gave her ultimatum to continue her career in film or settle with him and get married. Pooja decided to marry. But as luck would be, her relation with her boyfriend soured and she dumped the relationship. Meanwhile Mahesh Bhatt made Aashiqui with a new girl Anu Agarwal and the movie broke all box-office records. Pooja realized her folly and also the magic of her father Mahesh Bhatt and like a obedient student did two consecutive films Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991) with Aamir Khan and Sadak (1991) with Sanjay (Dutt). Both the films were blockbusters making Pooja Bhatt a highest paid star! After this she gave a series of hit films like Sir, Border, Phir Teri Kahaani Yaad Aayee etc. Disappointed by poor response to her art cinema, Pooja Bhatt made commercial films Despite making two hard-hitting quality films like Tamanna and Zakhm, Pooja Bhatt won just critical acclaim but lost financially as both films failed at box-office. Hence she switched gears and made Jism staring John Abraham, Bipasha Basu. Jism was the first in the series of many more erotic-suspense thrillers that Mahesh Bhatt later made like Murder, Jism 2 etc. Pooja Bhatt confessed in an interview that Jism was a box office bonanza and made more money that she did not collectively get from her so-called critically acclaimed films Zakhm, Tamanna, Dushman and Sur. Thus she stopped making art films that are seen by just a handful of 10% and focused on commercial cinema and made Paap, Rog, Holiday, Jism 2 and her latest film Cabaret will release soon.