Although filmmaker Vikram Bhatt — known for movies such as Raaz, Awara Paagal Deewana, Aetbaar, and 1920, among others — enjoyed a phase where most of his projects performed well at the box office, the tide eventually turned, leading to a string of flops. Once the tough times began, most of his industry friends turned their backs on him. At this time, a hopeless Vikram Bhatt decided to direct the movie 1920, which he penned too. In a recent interview, the director recalled the kind of struggles he had to go through at the time of its making and release, waiting for a miracle to revive his dying career. In an interview with Bharti Singh and Harsh Limbachiya on their YouTube channel, Vikram Bhatt shared, "After a couple of hit films, I had a series of flops and in the industry, there is a rule: 'if you have a couple of bad Fridays then people stop taking your calls'. I was helpless. At that time, I had a subject called 1920. I decided to direct it." He added, "I struggled a lot to make that film. I had nobody to buy it from me. Nobody believed in me. The situation was so bad that even my lightman was like: 'Sir, yeh kaisi film hai? (What kind of film is this?)' I said, 'This is what is going to work'. After completing production, I had around 35 trials of the film, but nobody bought it from me. I knocked on the doors of every studio and producer, but nobody showed any interest. Everybody had their own opinions and reasons. Eventually, I only released the film. The release day was filled with stress and the environment was stressed." ALSO READ | Kim Sharma calls Orry one of the most successful ‘social experiments’, opens up about his meteoric rise: ‘He’s not an influencer but a celebrity’ However, Vikram Bhatt's confidence in himself and his film finally worked for him. He recalled, "I remember, my dad calling me when I was in office. He said, 'Do you have an FM Radio?' I said, 'no I don't have it here at the office.' He then asked me to go to my car and switch to Radio Mirchi. At that point in time they had a show where the audience would give its verdict. They would say 'mirchi' if they liked it and 'tamatar' if they didn't. When I heard the programme, most of them said 'mirchi'. Then critic Ritu Raj called it a masterpiece. Eventually, after 1920, again my films got on track and became hits." The film, made on a budget of Rs 7 crore, went on to earn Rs 14.5 crore, eventually becoming a famous franchise. A sequel to the film, 1920: The Evil Returns, was released in 2012, which too became a commercial success despite mixed reviews.
