Vikram Bhatt’s 1998 film Ghulam starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji emerged as a box office success. While it marked his first collaboration with her, this was the third time that Vikram was working with Aamir. It remains one of Aamir’s first hits, however, it was the first and last time that he directed him. In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, the Raaz and 1920 director spills the beans on why he never collaborated with the superstar again.
While he agrees that there were conversations about the two of them coming together again, he adds, “By then, I had also gone a different way. I did Kasoor, Raaz and Awara Paagal Deewana. And after Lagaan, Aamir took a break.” Vikram reveals that he wasn’t in the mind space to give so many years of his life to a film considering Aamir was and is known for devoting many years to projects, sometimes even before starting the shoot. “Also, I don’t think I’m the kind of director who can endlessly wait for an actor’s nod, whoever it is, because I’m very impatient to make a film. So, the opportunity never came up again,” he states.
As for Ghulam, bagging it was no cakewalk for Vikram. He elaborates, “Ghulam is a twisted story. I started working with Aamir during Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin and then Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke. Thereafter, I got offered his brother’s film, Madhosh, which didn’t do well. I had directed it. I was supposed to do Ghulam before (Mahesh) Bhatt saab. It was called something else before. Then my first film Jaanam flopped. Mukesh (Bhatt) ji threw me out of the company and this Aamir Khan film was taken away from me.”
Vikram eventually had to fill Mahesh’s shoes, who stepped down from directing the film. “As luck would have it, I started working with them again and directed Fareb, which was successful. Then came a point in time when Bhatt Saab decided that he wasn’t going to be someone who did nothing but Ghulam. He said that it’s not important for him. And Aamir wanted someone who was very, very dedicated. That’s how Ghulam came to me,” he states.
And once the film released, it opened to scathing reviews. Recalling the time, Vikram says, “Ghulam got one star. I think films become successful or unsuccessful in retrospect. I feel that one should be rating a film for what it is and not for what you think it should be. That’s my personal opinion.”
With the trend of sequels ruling the roost, does he intend on making a sequel to Aamir-Rani starrer? “Whatever I’ve directed in the past is finished. I don’t want to go back. The old Vikram Bhatt is gone, dead. I’ve never ever seen any films of myself once they’ve released. Once it’s done, it’s done and over and the story is out of me. It’s like a joke that once made me laugh won’t make me laugh again,” he says.
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