Mahesh Bhatt returns to direction with 'Sadak 2' featuring his daughters Alia and Pooja

He had been on a hiatus for nearly two decades but Mahesh Bhatt is all set to don the director's hat once again for 'Sadak 2'. The film's announcement was made on the filmmakers 70th birthday on 20th September. 
Bhatt will direct his daughters Alia and Pooja in the film. While Pooja has worked with Mahesh Bhatt in several films earlier, it will be Alia's first film with her father. A sequel of 1990's hit 'Sadak', the film will also have Sanjay Dutt and Aditya Roy Kapur in it. 

While speaking to DNA, the veteran filmmaker said, "As I step into the sunset years of my life, the last act, there’s something that has happened to me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I will ever hear the words — a Mahesh Bhatt film — mentioned around me again. Alia used to say, ‘Papa, make a film’. And I would tell her that I am like an extinct volcano. But then, suddenly one day, the volcano was rumbling. You know, they say that autumn is another spring, so as I go into my autumn years, it’s the process of what is called decomposition or decay, that too is a way of life.”

The filmmaker is excited to collaborate with Sanjay Dutt again. The duo had last worked together in 'Gumraah' in 1993. "Don’t forget that the two years he spent in jail haven’t been tapped into by anyone. And I know that buried in there is that unspoken anguish, which I had tuned in to during the making of Naam (1986). I think life has brought us a full circle. If there ever was an actor who has trusted me and went on to become a star purely because of his ability to surrender, it’s Sanju. He is like that lion, who perhaps can only be tamed by the language of love.”

Talks of Vishesh Films making 'Sadak 2' has been doing the rounds for some time and it is believed that Sanjay was most keen on making a sequel. "After an event in Delhi, he came to me and said, ‘Why isn’t 'Sadak 2' happening?’ I was wondering how could we do it. I told him, ‘It’s not even mine, it’s Mukesh Bhatt’s property’. But Sanju insisted that I must talk to my father and uncle. I conveyed his thoughts and asked them to meet him. And now, here we are. He is the man who started it all," said Pooja Bhatt. The oirginal film featured Pooja Bhatt and Sanjay Dutt in the lead. 

Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt took to Instagram to wish her father on his 70th birthday and expressed excitement at working with him. "Dear Daddy, On your 70th Birthday, you have given me the greatest present I could ask and dream for. You are directing me! 'Sadak 2' is a dream come true.. What I thought will never be possible you have made possible. Thank you daddy from the bottom of my heart, soul and bones.This will be a journey of discovery.. Of life, movies, feeling and most of all.. Of a father and daughter. I love you my not-so-old man! Happy Birthday.(sic)"

Alia also shared the teaser of the film on Twitter. 

This will be Alia's first film under her home banner. Aditya Roy Kapur returns to Vishesh Films after the stupendous success of 'Aashiqui 2' with this film. The film will release in March 2020.