Mahesh Bhatt’s Janam to be remade

By Subhash K. Jha -

September 20, 2014 - 10:17 AM IST

Bhai, remakes ka zamana hai! Everyone is doing them. Mahesh Bhatt's films also seem to be going through their share of rejuvenation. Recently, his Arth and Daddy went on stage.

Now we hear of Mahesh Bhatt's most fiercely autobiographical film Janam being remade. Released as India's first telefilm in 1985 Janam featured Kumar Gaurav as Mahesh Bhatt.

Mahesh Bhatt's protege Imran Zahid would be doing the needful now. According to Zahid, "Janam was a watershed moment of sorts, as it chronicled the story of an 'illegitimate' son who grows into a filmmaker with just one ambition, to get on top of his father and be acknowledged by him. It had something raw and real about it, as the story was unfolding in the life of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who in his own words was going through it and wrote it as he lived it. But while, his other autobiographical films including the likes of Zakhm and Naam are etched in our memories, the impactful Janam, a 16-mm telefilm made for Doordarshan with Kumar Gaurav and Shernaz Patel in the lead has got lost in time."

Adds Mahesh Bhatt, "What I have made and is now in the public sphere is not mine anymore. It has been so many years but the same feelings and emotions still exist. Janam was telecast in 1985 and the news was delayed for the first time in my memory for 14 minutes till the movie was over. It was an unprecedented thing at that time. The movie received lot of accolades and was included in the Panorama section of the 1986 International Film Festival of India (IFFI)."

Adds Bhatt, "Because the actor who played the lead (Kumar Gaurav) faded into oblivion, the film Janam also got lost. Zahid is on a high after tasting the success of 'Daddy The Play'. Janam is a tough screenplay but Imran has the resolve to hit the bull's eye."

The remake of Janam will be made under careful supervision of Bhatt

"There was never any fear of social stigma within me. I was not afraid to expose my life although my family was outraged and not happy at all when I made Janam. But the film was about fighting in the social space against the existing norms of the society and breaking away from it. The idea of anybody giving birth to himself is very relevant. It is the story of a person who refuses to be defined by references of the world, as he wants to create his own destiny. My family will be quite pleasantly surprised that somebody so many years later is still finding it relevant to be revisited with the passage of time," says Bhatt.

Sanjeev Malhotra's Manween Sanjeev Creations, making their debut in Bollywood with this film, will produce the film. Malhotra had earlier partnered with Bhatt for Daddy's theatrical adaptation and is excited to helm Janam.

"With Janam my production house has also taken a birth of sorts. To venture into Bollywood with the remake of a path breaking film like Janam is an achievement in itself. I am really looking forward to make the best of this opportunity and make a film that holds up to the original," Malhotra said.