The critically-acclaimed filmmaker, Madhur Bhandarkar is one of the biggest filmmakers of his time and is also often lauded for the kind of films he has given to the Indian cinema. He has always made films on topics that were labelled as 'risky' by most directors, but Madhur Bhandarkar has always been quite confident in his ideas and vision. Some of his most famous films are Chandni Bar (2001), Page 3 (2005), Traffic Signal (2007), and Fashion (2008).
With these films, Madhur Bhandarkar has engraved his status in Hindi cinema as the filmmaker, who always shows the cruel side of society on the big screen with a touch of his own masterclass. Now, in a recent interview with a news portal, the director opened up about his struggle story, and it is worth reading to.
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In a heart-to-heart interview with Pinkvilla, Madhur Bhandarkar opened up about his struggle story and recalled the odd jobs he had done before becoming a critically-acclaimed filmmaker in Bollywood. The director shared that he had to quit school in order to support his family financially, and had started selling video cassettes. At that time, in 1983-84, video cassettes were trending in the market, and there was a huge buzz and demand for the same in Mumbai too. Thus, his decision to get into the cassette business turned out to be fruitful. After working under someone for a while, Madhur had managed to start his own business. He said:
"Some circumstances came in our (lower middle-class) family that we went far below the poverty line. I couldn't afford to go to school also, and I failed too. So I started doing odd jobs at a young age. At that time, in 1983-84, video cassettes just came into trend, and I felt it can be a business. So I would buy cassettes for Rs. 10 at one place and sell them at Rs. 30 to others. I first started as a delivery boy in 1982. For three to four months, I would deliver cassettes for others before I started my own business. Money started coming in, I would deliver cassettes to all houses."
Going further in the interview, Madhur Bhandarkar also talked about his video cassette-selling days and shared that he used to deliver the cassettes on a bicycle. From delivering cassettes to sex workers to the underworld, Madhur Bhandarkar had delivered them to almost every section of the society in Mumbai. Recalling his journey, the filmmaker shared:
"I started on a bicycle and later I got a scooter. For three years, I delivered cassettes to all sorts of people-- sex workers, girls from beer bars, the underworld, at skyscrapers and bungalows as well as jhuggi jhopris, and to Bollywood people, to police."
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At the end of the interview, Madhur Bhandarkar admitted that the business of video cassettes helped him maintain his financial security. However, his business had allowed him to meet some of the biggest personalities of Indian cinema. The filmmaker shared that he had delivered video cassettes to iconic directors, Subhash Ghai, Raj Sippi, and one of the biggest actors of that era, Mithun Chakraborty. Madhur also lauded Mithun's wife, Yogeeta Bali, for always helping him financially. He revealed:
"I delivered cassettes to Subash Ghai, Raj Sippi, and Mithun Chakraborty's houses. Mithun Da is so proud of me and says he can't believe I am the same kid who delivered cassettes to me. His wife was a very gracious lady, and whenever I needed money, she gave me advance payments. I got a lot of love from that home."
On the professional front, Madhur Bhandarkar's last film was Babli Bouncer with Tamannaah Bhatia.
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