When Mithun Chakraborty Schooled Pooja Bhatt About Film Economics
In a revealing episode from her podcast series, actress and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt recently shared a pivotal moment from her early career that fundamentally changed her understanding of cinema's business side. The incident occurred during the overseas shooting of the 1994 film Naaraaz in Malaysia and involved veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty delivering a harsh but valuable lesson about film economics.
The Confrontation That Changed Everything
During a crowded street shoot in Malaysia, tensions were running high as director Mahesh Bhatt grew increasingly uncomfortable with the gathering crowd. After completing a couple of takes, Mahesh Bhatt wanted to wrap the scene, but young Pooja Bhatt felt her performance needed improvement and requested another retake.
Mithun Chakraborty turned to her and asked why she wasn't ready to move on. When Pooja admitted she wanted another shot, the veteran actor responded with a blunt public reprimand that left her stunned. "In the middle of the road, he just said, 'Eh, Aamir Khan ka bhoot tumhare andar se nikalo, kya stock ghar se laa rahi ho?'" Pooja recalled during her conversation with actor Avtar Gill on The Pooja Bhatt Show.
Why Retakes Were a Luxury in Pre-Digital Era
This confrontation served as Pooja Bhatt's crash course in the financial realities of filmmaking during the pre-digital era. Before the industry embraced digital cameras, movies were shot on expensive raw film stock - a limited and costly resource where every extra take directly consumed more material and impacted the production budget.
Actors had to perfect their scenes during rehearsals rather than in front of rolling cameras, and directors typically avoided additional takes unless absolutely necessary. This economic constraint shaped filmmaking practices in ways that today's digital generation, accustomed to virtually unlimited shooting capacity, might struggle to comprehend.
Pooja Bhatt's Evolving Creative Journey
Following her appearance in the 2024 English-language coming-of-age series Big Girls Don't Cry, created by Nitya Mehra and featuring an ensemble cast including Mukul Chadda, Raima Sen, Zoya Hussain, Avantika, Tenzin Lhakyila, Aneet Padda, Dalai, Vidushi, and Afrah Sayed, Pooja Bhatt continues to expand her creative horizons.
She is now preparing for her next feature film, where she plays the mother of Panchayat star Jitendra Kumar. The film promises to explore India's fascinating pigeon-flying culture - a little-seen world that mainstream cinema has rarely ventured into, marking another unique chapter in her diverse career that spans from classics like Zakhm, Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahi, and Sadak to contemporary digital content.
The lesson from Mithun Chakraborty, though initially rattling, ultimately provided Pooja with crucial insight into the delicate balance between artistic perfection and financial practicality that defined Bollywood's earlier era - wisdom she now shares with new generations through her podcast and continued creative work.
