New Delhi:
Mukesh Chhabra wears many hats – actor, filmmaker and casting director. He is always open about his views on Bollywood. Appearing on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, Mukesh discussed how Bollywood has moved towards more “to gya [knowledge]“and less entertainment. When asked about Bollywood’s gradual comeback, he said:Hoga yarr. Entertainment value ko kam karke zaada gyaan Dene me Chale Gaye hai. Stir ho sakta hai yaar. [It will happen. But we have moved towards giving more knowledge and less entertainment. It can be a mix.]”
Mukesh Chhabra continued:Matlab aap dekhlo 3 Idiots dekho 12th Fail dekhlo, kya hai vo Matlab uske andar. I also felt that Bajrangi Bhijaan ithe whole commercial picture. But there is a very interesting message in that movie – insaan to insaan hi hota hai. Aur itne Bade level pe commercial movie bnaai hai, aur uska message choti si ek line ka hai. [I mean, just look at 3 Idiots or 12th Fail and see what they convey. I also felt that Bajrangi Bhaijaan is a fully commercial film, but it carries a very interesting message — ‘a human is just a human.’ They have made a big-level commercial film with a message that can be summed up in a single line.]”
During the same podcast, Mukesh Chhabra talked about the time when his mother Kamal Chhabra suffered from heart problems. He said that Akshay Kumar helped him during that time. The actor recalled how filmmaker Anand L Rai told him that the doctor he should contact knew Akshay Kumar. He continued, “So, I sent Akshay Kumar a message and he immediately called. He arranged everything in that hospital, he called me almost every day, continuously for 15 days. He asked, ‘How is your mother? How are you?’ He also talked to the doctor constantly. He doesn’t talk about it; I never talked about it either.”
“Despite being so busy, he asked every morning:Mom da ki haal hai? [How is mummy now?]’ I can’t forget it at all. He even met my mother. We don’t even have regular contact because you take that step to help someone when you know them on a personal level, yet he did. We started talking after that but I can’t forget that moment,” added Mukesh Chhabra. His mother passed away in April 2023.
Mukesh Chhabra has done casting direction for films like Rockstar, Dangal, Jawan and Dunk.
