Madhur Bhandarkar recalls odd jobs after leaving school: ‘I sold video cassettes to all, from sex workers to underworld’

Madhur Bhandarkar, known for films like Chandni Bar, Page 3, Fashion, and Heroine among others, had humble beginnings in his life. The filmmaker had to quit school and start doing odd jobs in his childhood after his family landed in a tough financial situation. He struggled for several more years before he directed his first film. Also Read| Madhur Bhandarkar: Indian cinema is slowly making a mark globally

One of the odd jobs Madhur Bhandarkar took up was delivering video cassettes, which he later turned into a business. The filmmaker recalled that he delivered these cassettes to almost everyone in Mumbai, from sex workers and the underworld to popular Bollywood celebrities.

Madhur told Pinkvilla, “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 ₹10 at one place and sell them at ₹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 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.”

However, after a few years, video cassettes became so common that Madhur’s business flopped. He did odd jobs like attaching zips to jeans before he moved to Muscat where his sister was living. He worked at different kinds of factories there, and then in Dubai, before he returned to Mumbai and started working as an assistant or a ‘runner’ on Bollywood sets.

Madhur Bhandarkar then started assisting Ram Gopal Varma, and played a small role in his 1995 film Rangeela, before making his debut as a director in the 1999 film Trishakti. While his first film failed, he gained success and recognition with his 2001 directorial Chandni Bar, which also earned a National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues. His latest release was the Disney Plus Hotstar film Babli Bouncer, starring Tamannaah in the lead role.