Mahesh Bhatt may have retired from direction now, but he has a rich and diverse filmography spanning more than five decades. And across that extensive filmography, there are only a few constant faces, including actor Mushtaq Khan. However, it’s a lesser known fact that Mushtaq had to do his fair share of waiting before he even landed an opportunity to speak to the seasoned filmmaker.

Mushtaq Khan’s first meeting with Mahesh Bhatt

Mahesh Bhatt was at the peak of his directorial career when Mushtaq Khan wanted to work with him. The director had just delivered seminal films like Shabana Azmi-starrer Arth (1982) and Anupam Kher-starrer Saaransh (1984). “At that time, it was very difficult to meet him even for two minutes. You couldn’t even imagine it. And he used to talk a lot in English, while I was a village guy. So, I kept wondering how to make it happen,” recalled Mushtaq on the Savita Aseem Podcast.

The actor finally got his break through veteran screenwriter Salim Khan, who had just written his first solo script for Mahesh, fresh off his split from Javed Akhtar. Salim told Mushtaq that he’d recommended him for a role in the 1986 crime thriller Naam, starring Sanjay Dutt in the lead role. So, he asked Mushtaq to meet Mahesh at a studio the latter was shooting at.

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“I finally met Mahesh Bhatt with great difficulty and after summoning up a lot of courage,” recounted Mushtaq Khan. Mahesh Bhatt did acknowledge that Salim Khan recommended his name, but also clarified that he didn’t have a suitable role for him in Naam. He then redirected the actor to his brothers — producer Mukesh Bhatt and screenwriter Robin Bhatt — who assured they’d reach out to Mushtaq when they have a role for him.

When Mushtaq Khan finally got a Mahesh Bhatt film

The issue with the Bhatt brothers reaching out to Mushtaq was that he didn’t have a phone back then, not even a landline connection. “I’d pay Rs 1 per message to a grocer nearby to tell me if I got any calls. After struggling the entire day, I’d go to the grocer every evening to ask if I got any calls. But he’d say no. After 15 days, he finally told me I got a call from Mahesh Bhatt,” recalled the actor.

That call finally got Mushtaq Khan his first film with Mahesh Bhatt — 1988 action crime drama Kabzaa, starring Raj Babbar, Sanjay Dutt, Dimple Kapadia, and Amrita Singh — in which he played Tiwari, an associate of Paresh Rawal’s Veljibhai Soda. “I did a scene in that film, which Bhatt sahab liked a lot. So, he gave me a good, bigger role in Swayam, a telefilm he made with Waheeda Rehman and Akarsh Khurana,” said Mushtaq.

The actor lauded Mahesh Bhatt for the piercing vision he had. “Even if an actor just had to walk in a shot and not even say a word, he’d call cut within two seconds. ‘I can see in your body language that you’re not in character,’ he’d say. So, after that, Bhatt sahab didn’t let go of me at all,” added Mushtaq. He went on to do over a dozen films helmed by Mahesh over the next decade.

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These ranged from 1990 musical romance Aashiqui, 1991 romantic comedy Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin, 1991 crime drama Saathi, 1991 romantic action thriller Sadak, 1992 horror fantasy Junoon, 1993 crime drama Gunaah, 1993 crime drama Sir, 1993 rom-com Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, 1993 action crime drama Gumrah, 1994 action drama Naaraaz, and 1996 romantic action thriller Chaahat, before Mahesh Bhatt took a backseat from direction after Zakhm (1998).