Journalist-turned-director MAHESH BHATT talks to SHAlINI SAKSENA about his unique movie on deaf & mute children, titled The Silent Heroes
Don’t people mistake you for veteran director Mahesh BhattIJ
All the time! While it is disconcerting, my aim is to make films that will create awareness about the importance of environment and social issues. I have never given it much thought. That I share my name with veteran director Mahesh Bhatt is coincidental.
What made you make a full-length filmIJ
In the last 20 years, the kind of digital documentaries that I was making were not having the impact that I wanted them to create. Also, I was unable to reach a larger section of the society. Through this movie, I want to tell people that differently-able people don’t need to be pitied. They too have dreams and aspirations; all they need is a platform, which is being denied to them.
What were the challenges you facedIJ
The first was to select the issue on which I wanted to make the film. This is because a full-length movie involves crores of rupees. The second, I wanted to cast real differently-abled children to show to the society that they can be part of the mainstream. Third, was to get these children to act. Since they can’t hear, placement of the camera etc had to be different. Finally, what I had to do to release this movie commercially.
How difficult is it to recover the cost of such moviesIJ
When an independent director makes these kind of films, he has to see how he can recover the cost. Today, there are several ways that this can be done. There’s YouTube, Hotstar and other platforms where one can release the film and make money.
What are the children doing todayIJ
All the children are from the Bajaj Institute of learning (right to education for the deaf), Dehra Dun, and consider themselves to be stars. In fact, a couple of children have developed airs and don’t want to talk because they consider themselves to be heroes. In some ways they are. They have proved against all odds — not just to their parents, but the world at large — that given an opportunity, they too can excel.