Never wanted to start my journey with sequels, says Vishesh Bhatt

Mumbai: Vishesh Bhatt, the son of filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, says he never set out to make his debut behind the camera with sequels.

`Murder` (2004) erotic thriller film was directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Mahesh Bhatt. The film starring Emraan Hashmi, Mallika Sherawat and Ashmit Patel managed to become a hit at the box office. Then it was Mohit Suri who helmed `Murder 2` (2011), with Emraan and Jacqueline Fernandez in the lead, which again did well. With `Murder 3` (released on February 15 this year) Vishesh made his directorial debut which starred Randeep Hooda, Aditi Rao Hydari and Pakistani actress Sara Loren. "I never wanted to start my journey as a director with sequels. I believe in innovation. And I brought that (innovation) in my story. It is just that the makers felt that the title of the film should be kept `Murder 3`. I did not think that my first film will be a sequel or will be `Murder 3`. It was not easy to make a film," Vishesh told reporters. "I did not deliberately set out to make `Murder 3`. I had an idea that came to me first then the name of the franchise - `Murder` was added. The idea of calling it or to title the film as `Murder 3` came from the makers," he said. "To have the title of the film as `Murder 3` was something that was debated. Eventually it was decided that it went well with the subject of the film. I did not pre-plan to make `Murder 3` as my directorial debut. The makers wanted to re-invent the `Murder` franchise," the director added. Direction was something Vishesh always wanted to try his hands on. "I always wanted to direct a film. I had made up my mind that I would be directing movies. It was the creative space that attracted me towards direction. I had been on movie sets of my uncle Mahesh Bhatt when he was making films like 'Sadak', 'Junoon' and others. The idea of making films attracted me," he said. Considering he comes from a filmy family, when asked if his journey was easy, Vishesh says, "I doubt if that is the case. The biggest thing was I did not receive support from anyone, the budget given to me was less, I had no A-stars in my film. I had to fight tooth and nail for what I wanted to do. There were challenges." "There were no special benefits for me as a director. I just banked on my story and gave my best," he said. PTI