Anurag Kashyap told Mahesh Bhatt he’d rather be a carpenter than work with him

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's journey into Bollywood introduced him to all sorts of people. While he had some salty experiences, he also found genuinely caring people in the showbiz.

In a recent interview to Mid-Day, Anurag talked about different episodes from his life. One particular incident with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt is quite interesting. "Oh, one of my favourite stories is about Mahesh Bhatt. He happened to me, right before Ram Gopal Varma. He got me to write films. And Mukesh Bhatt (his brother, and producer) was very miserly with money. I was struggling for rent. Pooja Bhatt was the nicest and kindest; I would tell her to talk to her dad."

"Then I just walked up to (Mahesh) Bhatt saab once and said that I'd rather be a carpenter than work in his office. With his brother (Mukesh) around, he didn't say a word. When I was leaving, he came down, said, 'Don't ever change'. And he put Rs 10,000 in my hand. That was big money in 1994-1995," he said.

Kashyap was once narrating this story at a film festival when he heard someone speak up from audience. "'Aur Mahesh Bhatt ne paise diye the. Woh bhool gaye (And what about the money Mahesh Bhatt gave you?You forgot that)?' Bhatt saab was sitting in the crowd. I got so emotional. I have had funny incidents like these," he said.

When Pooja saw what Anurag had said about her, she tweeted, "We have shared some wonderful times indeed, thank you for the memories and especially your words! You flooded my heart with warmth and love." Anurag replied, "You were always the nicest to me in those days."

Anurag's latest film, Choked was released on Netflix last week. The film is exploration of a marriage in a middle class household and how it is shaped by financial concerns. It revolves around a bank cashier, Sarita, and her unemployed husband, Sushant, played by Mirziya star Saiyami Kher and Moothon actor Roshan Mathew.