‘Raj Kapoor was reduced to dust as he made ‘Mera Naam Joker’..but when he made ‘Bobby…’, says Mahesh Bhatt: ‘The certainty of failure’ |

Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, known for delivering some of Hindi cinema’s most memorable films like ‘Arth’, ‘Aashiqui’ among many more, is also known for his deep, philosophical views. This side of him is evident every time he speaks and also the depth in his movies. In a recent interview, he shared his perspective on the unpredictable nature of the film industry. With over five decades of experience behind him, Bhatt believes that failure is far more certain than success in showbiz. Bhatt used the example of legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor to drive home his point. He recalled how Kapoor went bankrupt after producing Mera Naam Joker in 1970 — a film that is now considered iconic, but had flopped at the box office upon release. Speaking on The Himanshu Mehta Show, he said, “Raj Kapoor was reduced to dust when he made Mera Naam Joker, but the same Raj Kapoor when he made Bobby, the whole nation came to make him successful because they in a way felt guilty for seeing such a great filmmaker spiral into economic debt,” Bhatt said. “Those were very trying times for him, and that is the same time I joined films. I have seen him in those vulnerable times. Failure is very difficult to take in our business.” Bhatt further shared a conversation he once had with the late Yash Chopra about the importance of discussing failure, especially with newcomers. “I was talking to Yash Chopra about what we need to talk to a junior about — the certainty of failure. If you want to be in this business, you have to be certain that you will fail more often than succeed. Success is a fluke, failure is guaranteed, and yet you have to keep on going.” Earlier veteran actor Raza Murad had also spoken about how Raj Kapoor faced debts post ‘Mera Naam Joker’. In an earlier interview with Filmy Charcha, Murad said, “After Mera Naam Joker, he was in tremendous debt. Things got so bad that distributors refused to buy Bobby without seeing it first. These were the same people who were once desperate to secure the rights to his movies. But after Mera Naam Joker, everything changed. He refused to show them the movie, but he agreed to show them the songs.”