Pooja Bhatt Recalls Being Told Her Career Was Over at 24: 'The Industry Said, Ye Khatam Ho Chuki...'

Actress and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt made her acting debut in Bollywood in the 1989 Mahesh Bhatt directorial film Daddy when she was only 17 years old. She then went on to headline successful films like Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi and Sadak, winning over the nation’s hearts and becoming a superstar at 19 years of age. However, the actress recently revealed that by the age of 24, she was told that her career in Bollywood was over.

In a YouTube interview with Siddharth Kannan, Pooja said, “At 19 I was a superstar, by 24 the industry said, ‘Yeh toh khatam ho chuki hai (she is over). So I said that this is the only industry in the world where at 24, when most people are just starting out, you have reached the height of stardom, they have already brought you down to the pits saying you are finished.”

Pooja then ventured into filmmaking, taking up a role behind the camera instead. She said, “At the age of 25, I started my production (house), made Tammanna. I won my first National Award, I got a sense of self-gratification, and I got my self-esteem back for making a film like that.”

“I traveled throughout the country, met people, that film raised money for charity, and I got my National Award. Then I made Dushman with Kajol, then I made Zakhm, and the rest is history,” she said.

Pooja added, “Soon after, I was producing and directing films. For 21 years I didn’t face the camera, I was behind the camera. I had accepted that the stardom phase is over and now you are in a new phase in your life when you’re making films. I made Jism 2 last, and launched Sunny Leone.”

Pooja was recently seen in the popular reality TV show, Bigg Boss OTT 2 where her candor and no-nonsense attitude made her a very popular contestant among the audiences. She even emerged as one of the top five finalists on the show.