Narrating what made her quit Bollywood temporarily, the actress while speaking to a daily said, “Logon ne bahut kuch likha is bare mein, aur kaha bhi, but main ab chup nahin rahoongi. Aaj main sach bolna chahti hun (Many things have been said and written about me but I am not going to keep quiet any longer. I want to tell the truth today.) It was not my decision to stop doing films, but I was asked to leave India by Mahesh ji. He did not like my being famous and interacting with other directors.”
Meera has also gone to the extent of telling that the veteran filmmaker was jealous of her growing stardom and that he feared she might outshine him.
“Mujhe laga woh jealous thay mujhse jab main famous ho rahi thi. Woh nahin chahte thay ki main kisi aur director ke saath kaam karun (I thought he was jealous of me as I was becoming more famous than him. He did not want me to work with other directors). I got offers from big directors like Ram Gopal Varma, Mani Ratnam, Subhash Ghai and so on. He didn`t appreciate it at all,” she added.
Moreover, the actress has also said that Mahesh Bhatt slapped her when she expressed her desire to meet director-producer Subhash Ghai.
“He wanted me to only stick to his banner. One night, I had to meet Subhash Ghai at a hotel. Jab maine Maheshji ko kaha, toh woh bahut furious hue aur mujh par bahut chillaye, aur unhone mujhe do teen thappad bhi mare (When I told him I wanted to meet Subhash Ghai, he shouted at me and even spalled me thrice),” said Meera.
The actress has claimed that Bhatt had special feelings for her. “Tum mein aur Pooja mein koi farak nahin hai... Aur phir kuch der baad kahte ki main tumhe kaafi chahta hun aur tum mere liye bahut special ho (You are as good as my daughter Pooja. And after sometime he would tell me, ‘You are very special to me’). It was difficult for me to tell what exactly he wanted from me.” daily times monitor
