‘Delivered Cassettes To Sex Workers, Underworld’: Madhur Bhandarkar Recalls Doing Odd Jobs During Financial Crisis!

Ace filmmaker, Madhur Bhandarkar is known for giving a realistic touch to his movies. His films are relatable because he makes them keeping in mind the audience perspective. Bhandarkar comes from a humble background and this is what reflects in his projects. In a recent interview, he opened up various struggles he went through to get where he is today.

Madhur revealed that during childhood, his family suffered tough financial crisis as a result of which he had to quit school. To fulfill their needs, he used to do odd jobs in Mumbai like delivering video cassettes. He said that he had delivered these cassettes to everyone, from Bollywood people, to sex workers, underworld and Police too. And it was only after years of hard work that he got to direct his first film, Trishakti.

Sharing his ordeal back then, Madhur stated, “Some circumstances came in our (lower middle-class) family that we went far below the poverty line. I couldn’t afford to go to school also, and I failed too. So, I started doing odd jobs at a young age. At that time, in 1983-84, video cassettes just came into trend, and I felt it can be a business. So, I would buy cassettes for Rs. 10 at one place and sell them at Rs. 30 to others. I first started as a delivery boy in 1982. For three to four months, I would deliver cassettes for others before I started my own business. Money started coming in, I would deliver cassettes to all houses.”

He further added, “I started on a bicycle and later I got a scooter. For three years, I delivered cassettes to all sorts of people– sex workers, girls from beer bars, the underworld, at skyscrapers and bungalows as well as jhuggi jhopris, and to Bollywood people, to police. I delivered cassettes to Subash Ghai, Raj Sippi, and Mithun Chakraborty’s houses. Mithun Da is so proud of me and says he can’t believe I am the same kid who delivered cassettes to me. His wife was a very gracious lady, and whenever I needed money, she gave me advance payments. I got a lot of love from that home.”

For the unknown, Madhur Bhandarkar got famous from critically-acclaimed films like Chandni Bar, Satta, Page 3, and Fashion. His last outing as a filmmaker was the recently released film Babli Bouncer.