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Bhatt Family Discusses Dysfunctionality and Honesty

Bhatt Family Discusses Dysfunctionality and Honesty
Bhatt family dysfunctionality — ‘It’s more functional than most families,’ says Pooja Bhatt · theprint.in

The Bhatt family, including Mahesh Bhatt, his wife Soni Razdan, and daughter Pooja Bhatt, had a panel discussion about their family dynamics.

They talked about how their family is different but strong because they are honest with each other.

Pooja said her family is not broken but is more functional than many others.

Mahesh shared how he told Pooja about his relationship with Soni when she was just eight years old, and Pooja appreciated his honesty.

They also talked about how children learn from their parents' behavior.

After the discussion, they screened Mahesh's old movie Saaransh, which is about an elderly couple dealing with the loss of their son.

The movie was special because it was different from the usual Bollywood films at that time.

Key facts

Event
Panel discussion at Self-Discovery via Rediscovering India Festival
Date
23 January
Location
India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Panelists
Mahesh Bhatt, Soni Razdan, Pooja Bhatt
Moderator
Neville Tuli
Film Screened
Saaransh (1984)
Festival Duration
23 January to 25 February

Quotes

Pooja Bhatt

Actor and daughter of Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan

“It had a quote by Swami Vivekananda, and it went along the lines that you’ve arrived at a time when your father is a struggling individual, and some say your mother brought me love, and some say you will. You are the heartbeat of this unfathomable universe, and you can be whatever you want.”
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“Children can read the silence between parents, and they can know when there is no respect and love in the home. When they are not conceived with great passion, they look at the world with frightened eyes.”
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Mahesh Bhatt

Filmmaker and father of Pooja Bhatt

“I distinctly remember when the show got over, we came out and saw Amrita Pritamji had tears in her eyes. She was quite surprised to see a young man had directed that film. She held my hand and she said, ‘Mahesh ji, meri taraf se, Hindustan ke taraf se, insaniyat ke taraf se, aapka bahut bahut shukriya, aapne aisi film banayi (Mahesh ji, on my behalf, on behalf of India, on behalf of humanity, thank you very much for making such a film).’”
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“I always treated Pooja like an adult. I remember waking her up from sleep and telling her about Soni. She was eight. I told her that I wanted to speak to her before telling her mother. And she looked at me and smiled–she did not judge me.”
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Soni Razdan

Actress, wife of Mahesh Bhatt, and mother of Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt

“It was a very clear-cut kind of cinema and on the other hand it was a polar opposite movement happening in the Hindi film industry where you had the angry young man rising and you had these huge Bollywood blockbusters and multi-caste, multi-star, suddenly out of nowhere in this scheme of things a young man, Mahesh Bhatt, comes up with an idea which is real, raw, serious.”
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“However, I have to say that I am happy to be both these things, and also who I am, and I think I am fiercely who I am.”
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Sources

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