Written and directed by Mahesh Bhatt, the 1998 film Zakhm was based on his own relationship with his mother Shirin Mohammad Ali. Mahesh's daughter Pooja Bhatt essayed the role inspired from the life of her own grandmother in the drama film, and Ajay Devgn played the role inspired by the director himself. It also starred Sonali Bendre, Nagarjuna, Ashutosh Rana, and Kunal Kemmu as a child artiste.
In a recent interview, Ajay recalled how he signed the film while taking a shower. Talking to The Lallantop, the actor said, "It’s lovely to work with Mahesh Bhatt. I was playing him in the film. I remember when I was shooting in Hyderabad, we didn’t have mobile phones then. I was in the shower when the landline in my room rang, the one which used to be placed in the bathroom, close to your shower."
"I just picked it up, so the voice on the other side said, ‘Mahesh sir wants to speak to you!', and passed him the phone. Then I said, ‘Bhatt sahab I am having a shower’, and he said, ‘You just listen to me, I am directing the last film of my life, and I am quitting after this.' He started to narrate the story, but because I was in the shower, I said, 'Bhatt sahab, I am taking a shower, I will do the film.' That’s how Zakhm happened. After that, he never made another film. He stuck to his words", the actor concluded.
Zakhm poster
Mahesh Bhatt had already directed two more films before Zakhm - Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan and Kartoos - that released before after the Ajay Devgn-starrer in 1999. After 21 years, Mahesh Bhatt made his directorial comeback with Sadak 2, a sequel to his own 1991 film and headlined by his daughter Alia Bhatt.
For Zakhm, Ajay Devgn went on to win his first National Film Award for Best Actor. The film also won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. After the Mahesh Bhatt directorial, Ajay won two more National Awards for Best Actor for The Legend of Bhagat Singh and Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior.
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