Bhushan Patel: I believe in ghosts, so I believe in God

Bhushan Patel, 48, is extremely emotional, driven and impulsive. He is impatient and has a bad temper, but will do anything for his work. He may have got into horror by default, but the three films he has directed so far have been horror films, be it 1920: Evil Returns, Ragini MMS 2 or the upcoming romantic story Alone, which he believes is twice as scary as his earlier two films put together.
Over a cup of coffee, he talks to Bombay Times about his mentor and best friend Vikram Bhatt, the extremely honest Bipasha Basu and why his father is still alive in his head. Excerpts:
READ: ​Creating the 2 faces of Bipasha Basu
How come you have come into the industry so late?
I have not come into the industry late. I am a Gujarati and my dad was a cameraman, who worked for a German TV channel based in Delhi, till he moved to Mumbai in 1975. I joined Jamnabai Narsee School and lived at Ville Parle next to Vikram Bhatt, who was three years younger to me. We were not only neighbours, but are also best friends from then. We would go to school together on a cycle, with me sitting at the back. I always had cameras at home and was always interested in photography. And after completing my graduation, I started assisting Vikram’s father, Pravin uncle (Pravin Bhatt) at 20. Pravin uncle was one of the most celebrated cameramen, who had done films likeUmrao Jaan and many of Bhatt sahab’s films, apart from Agneepath and Hum. Bhatt sahab saw me and said, ‘Mr, you should be in front of camera and not behind it. So I did small roles in four films, two of Bhatt sahab’s and two of Vikram’s. In the meantime, I got married to Simkie, my childhood friend from Class VIII in school. She was the daughter of my music teacher. But when I was 23, he fell seriously ill and wanted his daughter married before he died. So I didn’t have too much time to struggle as an actor. Also, Vikram sat me down and told me how he felt I was a better cameraman than an actor and I then did my first film as a DOP, Gunehgar, with him. I then shot seven films as a cinematographer with Bhatt sahab and Vikram. But then after Kartoos, Bhatt sahab took a sabbatical and Vikram started working with his father, so I went on to becoming a cameraman on TV and subsequently, directed TV serials. I always say that while films gave me my fan, television gave me my AC. One of my path-breaking shows on TV was called Amber Dhara that, coincidentally, was also about conjoined twins. TV burns you out and there were many times when I felt disheartened, as while I was doing TV, I always wanted to get back to films. But like they say, you don’t get anything before it is destined. Then Vikram became a producer and I can’t forget the time when I was driving back home after meeting him and he called me to ask me if I would want to direct 1920: The Evil Returns.
Talk about working with Mahesh Bhatt?
Everything I have learnt is from either Bhatt sahab or Vikram. The core thing I learnt from him is man management. How to keep the unit on your side, how to deal with people, how to direct an actor, what to talk to an actor. Direction is all abut talking to people and talking to the right person to make your vision come alive. So it’s what you say to each person to get your point across. I learnt how to let go and how to let people be and how not to direct people. Bhatt sahab always says, ‘Main acting daal nahi sakta, main acting nikaal sakta hoon.’ I learnt that as a director that I can’t put acting into an actor, but I need to get it out of him. Just like he has a UG Krishnamurti in his life, I always say that he is my UG. I went abroad on my first outdoor with him in London and even though I was just a camera assistant, I have shared the room with him, as he was probably fond of me and wanted me to be around. I used to stick to him like a leech and I love him from the bottom of my heart. And I still am very close to him, even though I don't speak to him so often. Whatever he has said to me is all inside my head.
Both Bipasha and Karan talked about how close they felt to you.
The three of us really came very close and I can call Bipasha a close friend now. She would tell me that I reminded her of Vikram. She is also very close to him and she feels he is one of the main reasons why she is still in the industry. Many people say Vicky (Vikram) and me are very alike, be it the way I speak or direct or even the way I say ‘action’ or ‘cut’. We worked together with Bhatt sahab, where he was his assistant and I, his DOP. Vicky is a very close friend and is a man with a heart of gold. He is very understanding and caring. He is an anchor and even though he is younger to me, I call him my friend, philosopher and guide. He is my mentor and he gave me my first film, inspite of me having had so many other friends in the industry. He is always there for me and is less than a phone call away. Bipasha is a pleasure to work with. She is what she is on her face. What she will tell you on your face is what she will tell someone else about you in your absence. There are no two sides to Bipasha Basu. She means what she says. She lets you know how she feels. If she is angry with you, she is like a soda bottle whose fizz comes out there and then. I too am like that. I was in TV and I always felt that Karan had a star-like quality in him. I would secretly always grudge a person, who would launch him in the future. I guess I wanted him bad enough. He is a wonderful actor and is a star waiting to explode.
You have worked with two of the hottest women in India, Bipasha Basu and Sunny Leone.
Even after shooting the same number of days with the both of them, I can confidently say that I know Bipasha, but I don’t know Sunny at all. Sunny is very professional and even though she was a pleasure to work with, there is this constant double wall around her.
Who do you love the most in the world?
My father. I always looked upto him and always wanted to be like him, ever since I was a child. I lost him ten years back to Alzheimer’s, but I honestly can’t get over the fact that he is no longer alive. I was always a papa’s boy and still am. He wanted to always work with me and that is one of my biggest regrets that I could not make him work with me. I didn’t have the opportunity then. I wish he was alive now, he could have shot all my films. He saw me as a DOP, but never as a director. He was the only one who was so sure that I would do something in my life, even though I never studied and was the black sheep in my family. I regret not being able to spend enough time with him. There is a time in your life when you grow up and you are prepared for one of your parents to die and I, strangely, thought that my father would outlive my mother. Honest to God, I still feel that he lives in Delhi. I had gone to Delhi to promote the film and I still felt that if I went to Sunder Nagar, where my dad’s office was, he would be there. I still have not allowed myself to cry. I still talk to him and still do meet my father in my head.
Do you believe in God?
Yes. I believe in ghosts, so I believe in God.
What makes you believe in ghosts?
If you are making a romantic story, you need to know the emotion of love. I have felt fear. I can feel fear. As a child, I would wake up in the middle of the night crying and my mom would give me some lohe ka thing to calm me down. I have not had any paranormal experiences myself, but I had a friend in college, who was possessed and would speak like a girl. Once, when I was four years old, I fell very ill. It was on the night of my fourth birthday party. I started throwing up, had loose motions and in the middle of the night, my mother had to take me to AIIMS, as I had 109 degrees temperature and the doctors told her that she could see me for the last time. My dad was travelling. I still remember some people dressed as nurses and doctors came to get me and after that, I was made to sleep naked on a slab of ice. My father returned the next morning and miraculously, I became okay within three days. My father had got me a crazy ball and I remember playing with it. Due to the high fever, the doctors said that I would either lose my sight or something would impact me. But when I went back to AIIMS after 15 days, I was totally fine and the doctors found it to be a miracle. I had touched death that time and come back. I still get scared remembering that. I feel that a brave person is not someone who does not get scared, but someone who overcomes his fears. I learnt to control my fear. I can experience the supernatural and therefore, I can show it on screen. I would love to see ghosts and while I have gone to graveyards looking for them, I have not seen one, so far.
Success has come to you late. Did that impact you?
Yes, because I got things late in life, I used to be a very negative person at one point in time. I would call a glass half empty than full. It also led to being bad- tempered and angry. I am breathing better now. My favourite line was Roald Dahl’s negative line — My room is full of things I don’t have. But today, I am positive. I wake up every morning with the thought that something good is going to happen. I changed from the time Vikram gave me my first film. I now know that my good time has started.
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