Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has made a shocking revelation, claiming that he once fed human flesh mixed in betel leaf (paan) to a film financier on the advice of a tantrik (occult practitioner).

In a recent interview with his daughter Pooja Bhatt, the veteran director discussed the struggles he faced at the beginning of his career and how desperation led him to take bizarre steps for success.

Recounting the incident, Bhatt said his friend Arun Desai introduced him to a financier in Gaya, Bihar, during a time when he was finding it extremely difficult to fund his films. On Desai’s suggestion, Bhatt sought help from a tantrik who promised to improve his luck in getting movie deals.

“The tantrik told me to offer the financier a paan that had a small piece of human flesh inside it. I actually did it,” Bhatt admitted. He added that though the act deeply disturbed him later, it reflected the kind of blind faith and frustration young filmmakers experienced in the industry at the time.

Bhatt said the episode remains one of the strangest and darkest moments of his early life — a reminder, he noted, of how ambition and superstition can push people toward unthinkable extremes.