Mahesh Bhatt hurled abuses at Madhur Bhandarkar when he was sleeping after 'Chandni Bar' became a hit: 'People crave for big hit'

Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Chandni Bar' is considered one of his most memorable work and also one of Tabu's best performances. Nobody expected the film to do so well but it not only worked at theatres, it ended up becoming a cult. In a recent interview, the film-maker recalled the time when the film had released. He said that Mahesh Bhatt literally gave him a wake-up call and asked him to cherish this moment.
However, it took a while for the director to realise that the film has actually worked with the audience. He said in an interview with Komal Nahta on 'Game Changers', "After Friday, I’d gone to a theatre in Kandivali and stood outside. Nobody knew me at that time. I saw people were glued to the screen. But I couldn’t gauge the reaction. Are they finding it bad? They were very serious. When they got out, I was asking them how the film is. Some said it’s nice, but some didn’t speak at all. So I got worried again."
Tabu was the first one to call him up and inform him about it. He said, "Tabu had called first. She said, ‘Sir, dekho jalwa ho gaya aapka (See, you’ve done something great). The film has taken a huge opening.’ Lot of distributors also called me." Thus he assumed that the film was a hit and went to sleep. But that's when Mahesh Bhatt called him and asked him to cherish this moment.

Madhur said, "I remember I was sleeping on a carpet on the floor of my 1BHK under a fan, I didn’t even have an AC then. Around 2 pm, Mahesh Bhatt saab called me. I’d met him 2-3 times before that. He asked me, ‘Madhur, where are you?’ I was sleepy so I said I’m at home. He hurled abuses at me and said, ‘You’re a mad, foolish guy. Your film is a blockbuster, it’s such a big hit and you’re sleeping. Go and watch the rush outside theatres. You won’t get milestones like these too often.’ So I got so charged up. I said sorry to him, and ran like the fire brigade had sounded an alarm."
The director then visited Gaiety Galaxy and Star City theatre in Mumbai and saw the shows running houseful there. Nobody recognised his face at that point in time but the audience seemed happy. "I needed that pep talk. He said it so right: People crave for such a big hit. You don’t see one every day," he said.