Dharmesh Darshan: I'm a complete misfit

On Dharmesh Darshan's 42nd birthday on May 16, 2014, Ratan Jain, who'd produced his 2000 romance drama 'Dhadkan', featuring Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Shilpa Shetty, asked him to announce a sequel.
According to Dharmesh, he agreed to come on board as a 'director making a comeback' out of sheer respect for his longtime association with his producer friend. Also, he figured he could give the second installment a modern spin, mounting it on a much bigger budget than the original.However, two-and-a-half years since the film's inception, Dharmesh has walked out of the project citing differences in negotiations. While he has seceded all association with the development of 'Dhadkan 2', the producers are now bringing on-board a newer, much younger director, Prem Soni whose last directorial was Preity Zinta's debut production, 'Ishkq In Paris' three years ago.

"Even though I had said 'yes' in principle, I wasn't too sure after the negotiations that followed. There was a lot of back-and-forth and we worked on the terms of agreement for six months. I had absolutely no need to prove myself -over the years, 'Dhadkan' has become a cult film as well as has made profits via satellite rights. I did not want to make a sequel just for the heck of it," Dharmesh cleared the air to Mirror, further adding that he went on a sabbatical six years ago after 18 successful years in the film industry.
"I was at the top of my game. My directorial debut, 'Lootere', released when I was 24 and was a super-hit. Four years later, 'Raja Hindustani' made me a leading director at 28. My contemporaries, Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, and Sooraj Barjatya decided to turn producers and my parents wanted me to follow suit but I didn't want to chase money," Dharmesh recalls, noting that he chose to make only seven films, including 'Mela' and 'Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya', when he could have directed 70. 'Aap Ki Khatir', the 2006 romantic comedy featuring Akshaye Khanna and Priyanka Chopra, would go on to become Dharmesh's last directorial.On May 9, 2009, his mother, Sheila Darshan, daughter of Nanabhai Bhatt and the older sister of filmmakers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt, passed away at 69, making the director retreat into mourning.
"My world changed overnight. Two-and-a-half years later, my father (Darshan Sabharwal) passed away on December 31, 2011. In 2007, I had two big-budget films lined up, one whose script I had already completed and was on the verge of taking to the floors. But I returned my signing amount and chose to go a sabbatical in 2010, and have been on a break for the past six years," he explains, quick to add that there is much more to do besides making films, like teach, and travel and that he has no regrets since he has already broken all box office records of his time and made films like 'Raja Hindustani' and 'Bewafaa' that were 'way ahead of their times'."
And there's another reason for his time-off from the film circuit. "In a time of money-hungry producers, everyone courts controversy and everything is about a person's visibility and validity, I call myself a complete misfit. Fame, name and moolah came to me early on in life, and while they're importan to me as well, I'm not a businessman. Maybe I'm foolish or an artist with integrity," he asserts.
While he continues to receive offers to remake films or direct sequels, he does not want to touch any of the classics because he believes it is 'impossible to redo a soulful film'.
Today, he lives alone, without a partner or any children to cater to. "All artists live through the noise of a film set and the loneliness when in a crowd. While filmmakers manage to work through all kinds of emotions and situations, I cannot exhibit my grief and vulnerability on set. Neither do I crave for the attention anymore, nor do I mind the loneliness,' he says matter-of-factly.
Isn't the lure of making a couple of crores a tad tempting or worthy of prompting a comeback soon?
"Demonetisation has proved that anything can happen to your wealth overnight. We'll never know whether the filmmaker who chased it all was the right one or the one who gave it all up," he signs off.