'Stars get credit for hits, directors get blamed for flops':Vikram Bhatt speaks on Bollywood's double standards

‘If a film is a hit, the applause goes to the stars, but as soon as it flops, the director is the first to stand in the dock.’ Vikram Bhatt considers this the biggest and oldest truth of the film industry. He says, "We are paid to pick up the corpses of flop films." This is the experience of his four-decade-long career. Vikram Bhatt, who gave a new identity to horror films in Hindi cinema, saw both superhit films and periods of flops. He worked with big stars, launched new artists, faced personal controversies, and even went to jail. Despite this, he believes that to survive in the industry, it's not success, but staying true to one's principles that is most important. That's why he spoke candidly about the star system, film credits, the reason for not working with Aamir Khan again, his struggles, and controversies. In today's success story, let's learn about Vikram Bhatt's career and personal life. From early opportunities to establishing a distinct identity Vikram Bhatt grew up in a film environment and became involved in filmmaking at a young age. In his early days, he learned the nuances of direction and created a distinct identity through his films. After romantic and thriller films, he experimented with the horror genre, which earned him a unique position in the industry. Films like 'Raaz', '1920', 'Shaapit', and 'Haunted 3D' made him a prominent face in horror cinema. His films proved that horror can also be successful at the box office with a strong story and treatment. The difference of working with new and big stars as a director In his long career, Vikram Bhatt has worked with big stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Suniel Shetty, as well as new artists. According to him, both have their own merits. He explained the difference between working with new and big stars as a director. Vikram Bhatt says that new artists are not as trained or seasoned as experienced artists. But they have a desire to learn, which stars often lack. Stars prefer to work in their established style, while a director sometimes wants to do something different. Therefore, both have their own advantages. Working with stars gives the film a good opening and an experienced actor. On the other hand, with new artists, you get an enthusiastic person with a passion to prove themselves. Therefore, both have their own advantages. The responsibility of a film always lies with the director. Vikram Bhatt believes that whether there is a star or not, the ultimate responsibility of a film lies with the director. However, the unfortunate truth is that when a star's film becomes a hit, the director doesn't get as much credit. He does the same amount of work, but the film is called a star's hit. He says he is happy that in the case of the film 'Dhurandhar', its director Aditya Dhar is also being mentioned. Not just the artists, but the director is also being discussed. Otherwise, people often say that this is so-and-so star's hit film. This is the biggest problem. According to him, everyone works equally hard. But when a star's film doesn't work, the director's name is the first to come up, saying that they made a flop film even with such a big star. That's why he jokingly says that directors are paid to pick up the corpse of a flop film. Hits belong to everyone, but flops are attributed only to the director. Credit for a hit goes to the star, blame for a flop falls on the director Vikram Bhatt says that this is not new, but has always been the case. Stars do many films simultaneously. If three out of their four films become hits and your film flops, people assume that the fault must have been with the director. He says that people don't understand that it's not just the star who makes a film successful. A writer writes the story, someone gives good dialogues, someone creates excellent scenes, good songs are made, and there is proper publicity. Only then does a star emerge. But when the film is a hit, people assume that only the star did everything. According to him, this is a truth that has been going on for years and cannot be changed. This is the reality of the industry, so there is no point in fighting it. I always got my credit Vikram Bhatt says that fortunately, it never happened to him that his credit went to someone else. Even while working with Aamir Khan, people used to say that Aamir always got the credit, but 'Ghulam' gave him full respect too. He says that no one ever said that Aamir Khan directed the film. He received as much credit as he deserved. He also received full credit for 'Awara Paagal Deewana'. Therefore, he believes that he was lucky in this regard. Why didn't he work with Aamir Khan again? Vikram Bhatt explains that at the time of 'Ghulam', Mukesh Bhatt and Aamir Khan's relationship was not good. Aamir probably didn't want to work with him further. It wasn't a personal enmity, but their temperaments didn't match. He says that he used to work for Mukesh Bhatt and 'Ghulam' was also given to him by Mukesh Bhatt. In such a situation, he felt that if he left Mukesh Bhatt and went with Aamir Khan, it would be disloyalty. Later, such an opportunity never came again. He went in one direction and Aamir Khan on another path. A person who trusts God cannot be disloyal However, this rarely happens in the film industry. Usually, people are seen standing with big stars. But Vikram Bhatt always stood by Mukesh Bhatt. When Vikram Bhatt was asked where he got the strength and courage not to betray anyone? Vikram Bhatt says he doesn't think it requires any special courage or strength. He believes that a person who truly trusts God cannot do such things. He states that he made 'Ghulam' for Mukesh Bhatt, which starred Aamir Khan. Before that, Mukesh Bhatt himself had given him his first film like 'Jaanam' and his first hit film like 'Fareb'. Leaving such a person just because he was getting work elsewhere didn't seem right to him. He says that a person who changes relationships just by looking at opportunities is like a rolling stone (someone without a firm base), and such people cannot last long in this industry. If you don't have your own principles, you cannot go very far. My career saw both highs and big lows Vikram Bhatt says that his career has seen both highs and big lows. Sometimes six-seven films were continuously hit, and sometimes six-seven films were continuously flop. Then came a phase of hit films again, followed by a phase of flop films. He compares his career to the pace of a camel, which sometimes goes up, sometimes down. He says that perhaps now the upward phase has come again. How long it will last, only God knows. His only prayer is that this phase continues as long as possible. If a film is made on my life, its name would be 'Struggle' Vikram Bhatt says that if a film were made on his life, its name should be 'Struggle'. He has struggled for everything - in his personal life, film career, and even in his spiritual journey. According to him, struggle has been his biggest identity. My films are liked not at the time of release, but after some time has passed Vikram Bhatt says that strange things happen with his films. When a film is released, people don't like it, but a few years later, the same film becomes a cult classic. He gives an example that when 'Raaz' was released, some gave it zero stars, some one star, and some one and a half stars. But a few years later, the same film started being called a classic. Similarly, when 'Haunted' was released, people criticised it a lot, but today those same people call it a classic. He says that the film which is a classic today, was not a classic at the time of its release. And the new film of today, if it succeeds, will also be called a classic four years later. He explains this point with an English line - "Durability is acceptability." Meaning, what stands the test of time is accepted. What cannot endure, perishes with time. Spent 70 days in Udaipur jail on fraud charges Vikram Bhatt's career didn't just see cinematic ups and downs. His personal life also remained controversial many times. The most discussion happened when he and his wife were arrested in a case of alleged fraud. Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt were arrested in a ?30 crore fraud and deception case related to Dr. Ajay Murdia, founder of Udaipur's 'Indira IVF' group. It was alleged that they took crores of rupees from investors in the name of making a biopic on Murdia's late wife and the project was stopped midway. This arrest attracted media attention. When Vikram Bhatt was asked if he was targeted because he was a celebrity, he answered the question in this way. The matter became big because of being a celebrity Vikram Bhatt says he doesn't know if he was targeted because he was a celebrity or not. But it is certainly true that because of being a celebrity, everything gets more attention. It becomes newspaper headlines and a much bigger issue than necessary. He says that if the same incident had happened to a less known person, it probably would not have taken such a big form. But now he cannot change his identity or his status, so he has to accept what it is.