Archive · 20 Sep 2026
Mahesh Bhatt and Rahul Bhatt Revisit a Painful Father-Son Relationship
Mahesh Bhatt and his son Rahul have had a difficult relationship.
Mahesh separated from Rahul’s mother, Kiran, when Rahul was about three years old.
Rahul mostly grew up with his mother while Mahesh was away for work and other reasons.
Rahul felt that Mahesh provided financial support but was not present enough as a father.
He said this made him feel abandoned and angry.
He also said people teased him and his mother because Mahesh had left the family.
Mahesh admitted that Rahul’s complaint was fair.
Mahesh had also grown up without his own father living consistently with his family.
The two men have tried to reconnect and make up for lost time.
Rahul Bhatt said Mahesh Bhatt was largely absent after separating from Kiran when Rahul was about three.
Rahul called himself a “super bastard child” because he felt Mahesh had not fulfilled his paternal responsibilities.
Mahesh acknowledged that Rahul felt abandoned and said he had left the family for another woman.
Both father and son connected their experiences to growing up without consistently present fathers.
Mahesh and Rahul have since tried to repair their relationship and reconnect after years of distance.
- Who
- Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and his son Rahul Bhatt.
- What
- They have discussed Mahesh’s absence during Rahul’s childhood, Rahul’s resulting hurt, and their efforts to rebuild their relationship.
- When
- Mahesh separated from Kiran when Rahul was about three; their experiences were later discussed in interviews and S. Hussain Zaidi’s book Headley and I.
- Where
- The family story concerns their lives in India and was discussed in Indian and Hindi-language media.
- Why
- Rahul felt abandoned because Mahesh was not consistently present, while Mahesh acknowledged that his own fatherless upbringing influenced his understanding of fatherhood.
Rahul’s Perspective
Mahesh’s Perspective
Parental presence
Rahul’s Perspective
Rahul felt Mahesh was rarely around, appeared less often as his career grew, and did not do enough to build a father-son relationship.
Mahesh’s Perspective
Mahesh acknowledged leaving home when Rahul was around three and accepted that Rahul’s sense of abandonment was justified.
Family patterns
Rahul’s Perspective
Rahul connected his anger to Mahesh’s absence, relationships with other women, alcoholism, and the humiliation he experienced because of the family situation.
Mahesh’s Perspective
Mahesh said his own father had not lived with his family, leaving him without a clear model of a father’s role.
Relationship repair
Rahul’s Perspective
Rahul’s account emphasizes long-term hurt and his feeling that he tried to love Mahesh while wanting his father to try as well.
Mahesh’s Perspective
Mahesh and Rahul have made efforts to reconnect and compensate for years of emotional distance.
- Mahesh Bhatt’s profession
- Filmmaker who began working in movies in the 1970s.
- Rahul’s mother
- Kiran, Mahesh’s first wife.
- Age at separation
- Rahul was about three when Mahesh separated from Kiran.
- Rahul’s description
- He called himself a “super bastard child” because he felt Mahesh had not fulfilled his paternal responsibilities.
- Mahesh’s acknowledgment
- He said Rahul’s feeling that he had abandoned the family for another woman was a grievance he could not deny.
- Reported bullying
- Rahul said people made fun of him and his mother and said his father had left her.
- Current relationship
- Mahesh and Rahul have tried to make up for lost time and have reconnected.
