I failed more times than I succeeded, says Mahesh Bhatt

Mumbai, Jan 29 (IANS) Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said that he failed more times than he succeeded in his professional as well as personal life.

Bhatt, who made memorable films like 'Saaransh', 'Naam', 'Sadak' and 'Zakhm', was addressing the students of Khalsa College here on Tuesday.

When asked if he ever feared of anything in his life, he said: "Fear is a reality which you have to understand. The way you can't run away from your shadow, similarly, fear will always be part of you."

All living beings have fear but courage lies in having fear and still doing things, he added.

Bhatt's personal and professional life has been full of ups and downs.

"There is no full stop and there is no horizon. I don't want to burden you with my non-existent greatness. I am an ordinary, simple person. I have fallen down and I have stood up. I learnt through trial and error. I failed more times than I succeeded. So, I just want to tell you that you shouldn't be frightened by failure. If a mediocre and ordinary person like me can make it, I am sure that each child here can do it, too."

Bhatt's acclaimed 1991 film 'Sadak' dealt with depression, and there are reports about the film's sequel, 'Sadak 2', being based on the same theme.

Talking about how necessary it is to come out of depression, Bhatt said: "I was very happy when my daughter Shaheen Bhatt wrote a book on depression. She wrote that book based on her own experiences dealing with depression."

He recounted how he asked Shaheen on a public forum whether she could have created awareness about depression through her book if she had never faced depression in her life.

"She answered, 'No...the dark night which I experienced was very important'. So, I just want to tell you that don't be scared of darkness and don't be scared of your days of suffering. The light which comes on through that dark phase gives you more glory than the light that you see without going through darkness," he said.