Split wide open

Yes, the Bhatts have fallen out with one another

Krishnan M

For those who tuned in late, for nearly 30 years, the Bhatt brothers—Mahesh and Mukesh—were like Ram and Lakshman. The sons of the illustrious yesteryear Hindi and Gujarati filmmaker Nanabhai Bhatt, these two partially balding men were suave, smooth filmmakers who enjoyed a fantastic relationship with Bollywood actors. They were the insiders, always in demand. The media loved both because they were frank and always believed in delighting the fourth estate with quotable quotes.

Mukesh, like the rest of the world, hung on to every word uttered by his astute and articulate brother, filmmaker Mahesh, who was fully celebrated in film circles, thanks to his artistic bent of mind. Mahesh’s films Arth (1982), Naam (1986), Saaransh (1984), Zakhm (1998), just to name a few, have recall value. And even today, Mahesh is considered the messiah of films made on a modest budget. Mukesh remained the money man and never spoke beyond budgets.

When Sadak 2 (2020), with Sanjay Dutt and Alia Bhatt, released and was declared an OTT disaster and embarrassment, the film industry knew that “Bhatt saab” had reached the nadir of his creativity.

Mahesh himself, who is perceptive and sensitive, understood that it was time for him to hang up his directorial boots. He slipped into the role of mentoring younger minds who were gearing up to direct for Vishesh Films, their home banner. But by May 2021, the brothers—Mahesh and Mukesh—who had been together for 30 years professionally, split up. The war that followed was ugly.

It was rumoured that Mukesh tried to gyp his elder brother of the monies that came in from selling their titles for OTT and satellite. Mukesh reportedly told Mahesh that, since he had always served in a creative capacity, he had no “claim” on the commercials. Anyway, by this time, Mahesh was wearing an ace up his sleeve. He was the father of the rising star, Alia Bhatt, and as such, he was a man more in demand than Mukesh. Pooja Bhatt, his eldest actress-daughter, also stuck by her father. A source said, “Some kind of financial settlement was reached between the two brothers.” But matters had gotten ugly. The world saw that the battle lines were clearly drawn when Alia and Ranbir made sure Mukesh didn’t attend their April wedding in 2022. All conversations stopped with “chachu (Mukesh)” post that.

Around three years ago, Mahesh started frequenting the Andheri office of his relative, filmmaker Vikram Bhatt. Mahesh and Vikram enjoyed a mentor-protégé bond for decades. And Vikram suddenly turned spokesman for his 77-year-old “Guru”. He told all those who would listen that he was unhappy with the way Mukesh had treated his elder brother, Mahesh.

Vikram Bhatt was also very welcoming of the media in his Andheri office. And it was always a pleasure to interact with him there. The bonus was also a quick meeting with Mahesh, who spent his afternoons at this office.

In December 2025, the honeymoon between Vikram and Mahesh also came to an end. Vikram, the maker of successful horror franchises Haunted (2011), Raaz (2002) and some others, was accused of fraud by one of his investors, Dr Ajay Murdia. The silver-haired filmmaker was reportedly accused of embezzling a sum of around Rs 30 crore and sent to jail along with his wife, Shwetambari. He spent around two and a half months in an Udaipur prison. Talk is that when the news of this financial fraud first came up, Mahesh, in his role of mentor to Vikram, reportedly asked him to resolve the issue amicably. However, that didn’t happen because Vikram refuted all allegations of manipulating finances. Post this, Mahesh distanced himself from the “horror franchise” filmmaker. 

Now Mahesh is on the outside, and he recently announced that he would present the film “Naam—To Live Is Far” with youngster Veer Pahariya. The two other Bhatts—Mukesh and Vikram—have no presence in this new venture. And, as far as the Bhatt saga goes, it’s split wide open.