Mukesh Bhatt: Everybody started taking ownership of Aashiqui, which was alarming

Vishesh Films recently issued a public notice that the banner is the “producer and joint rightful owner of the intellectual property rights associated with the Aashiqui franchise”, adding that any communication related to the franchise without the production house’s involvement is “unauthorised” and “fraudulent”. Now, filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt has come out to reveal what pushed the team to take this step.

Talking to us exclusively, Mukesh, co-owner of Vishesh Films, says, “Many people were trying to use Aashiqui for whatever reasons. Different people started talking things like ‘we are writing...we are composing the songs’. A lot of things started circulating on social media about Aashiqui 3’s music. Then someone said that so and so has been roped in for the project”.

“Everybody started taking ownership of Aashiqui, which was alarming. They were talking on their own. That’s when I thought it was very important for me to put a red flag and put it across that nothing can be finalised or nothing can be announced without the approval of the banner because we are the IP (Intellectual property) holders of the franchise. As the creative team of the Aashiqui franchise, the approvals need to come from us,” he adds.

It was in 1990 when Aashiqui starring Rahul Roy, Anu Aggarwal and Deepak Tijori embarked on its journey through the story of two star-crossed lovers. The franchise was revived with a sequel -- Aashiqui 2 -- in 2013, with Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor driving the story.

Ask him if there are also creative differences with T-Series’s owned by Bhushan Kumar, and he is quick to deny the same.

“There are no creative differences because creative is my domain. It was never his domain. He is a studio and a music company. That’s the kind of confusion people were creating in the market and that’s why it was important for me to come out and speak about it. Also, Aashiqui is a joint thing. Bhushan Kumar was there in one and two, so how can he not be a part of the third film. Just like Aashiqui is incomplete without me, it cannot be made without them,” he adds.

The producer further shares that an official announcement will be made when things are finalised, “A the moment, the script is in the process of being written. I don’t want to comment on when the film will go on floor because it’s too premature. It may go tomorrow or after five years. I can’t say anything . But whenever happens, you will get an official announcement of Aashiqui 3,” he ends