Birthday Throwback: Did you know that Mahesh Bhatt was 'astounded' when he saw daughter Alia Bhatt in THIS movie?

Mahesh Bhatt is known to direct some prolific movies like Sadak, Aashiqui, Zakhm, Arth and many others. His daughters Pooja Bhatt and Alia Bhatt too, made a foray into movies and have proved their mettle through some powerful performances. Today, as the filmmaker turns a year older, we take a look at the time when he was astounded by daughter Alia Bhatt's THIS performance.

Earlier this year, in an interview with India Today, Mahesh Bhatt was asked about his favorite performance of Alia, and he added, "I must say that I was devastated by Udta Punjab. I didn’t understand when did this girl, this Juhu girl exposed to our home, where we live like a normal family....how did this Juhu girl get the accent right of an adivasi from Chhattisgarh. It was amazing. I was astounded by that."

"Her raw power, and her ability to get into such a vulnerable space, and bare her heart. Highway and Udta Punjab...It was a departure from that girl who was just a mannequin in Student of the Year. You see the evolution in your child also," he added.

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While on Mahesh, the filmmaker, who has had disagreements with actor Aamir Khan in the 1990s, recently discussed a proposed film project involving both Aamir and veteran actress Mumtaz. Bhatt revealed that while Aamir initially showed disinterest in the project, he did visit Bhatt’s home for a memorable meeting. The two would eventually collaborate on Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke before their professional relationship deteriorated over Ghulam, that came out in 1998.

When asked to narrate the story behind the failed project, Mahesh told Radio Nasha, “No, I had narrated an idea to Aamir once. Woh aaya tha, bahut ice cream kha gaya mere ghar pe aake (He came over to my house and ate a lot of ice cream). He’d come over with his first wife, and the power went off. He ate all the ice cream.”

He continued, “A week later, he told me that he didn’t like the story. I said, ‘Then we won’t make it’. Those were the days when news would spread even if two person met casually. It was a story about a mother and son. It led to me finding a book about the greatest scripts ever made, which had the screenplay for It Happened One Night in it. I showed the book to Aamir, and he said that we could make something out of it. That’s how Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahin came to be.”