My Mother Would Give Me 60 Paise For My Birthday And I Would Eat A Dosa: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has turned 54 years old. Although the filmmaker has never been big on birthday celebrations, he has fond memories of “getting 60 paisa from his mother on his birthday” every year.

“With that 60 paisa, which was a lot of money back then, I’d treat myself to a masala dosa from Khan Market. That memory remains close to my heart,” shares Mehra, who has made films such as Rang De Basanti (2003) and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013).

The director recently finished shooting for his upcoming film, Mere Pyare Prime Minister, and wants to go on a trip with family this time around. “I was never a birthday celebration wala guy. But, this year, we just wrapped up the shooting, and it was quite taxing. So maybe, we’ll go for a short trip... to Goa maybe, and spend time with family and friends. It’ll be a nice way to celebrate my birthday,” he adds.

Mehra’s last film, Mirzya (2016) — starring newbies Harshvardhan Kapoor (actor Anil Kapoor’s son) and Saiyami Kher — bombed at the box-office. The filmmaker feels disappointed that the audience couldn’t connect with the film, but he doesn’t let failure or success get to him.

“They are two sides of the same coin, and I am not affected by it. What I enjoy is the process of filmmaking, and telling a story to the audience. All you can do is hope that they connect with it,” he says.