Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 5, 2015)

Producer-director Mahesh Bhatt who makes his acting debut as 'The Lama' in Siddhartha, a modern take on the life of Gautama Buddha, says he only agreed to face the camera because of his love for the debutant director, Mukul Mihra. "He shot the film on my terms, he is a younger version of me in many ways," he asserts.

Bhatt liked Mishra's brave script and unique approach to a story of historical significance. He insists that when he was playing a Buddhist monk, he was in his own skin and it didn't feel like he was acting. "But I've realised that I'm not an actor and I will never be seen on screen again," he asserted.

Since, the 66-year-old filmmaker could not travel to Manali to shoot with the young cast, the makers built a monastery duplicating the statue of the 'Golden Buddha' in Mumbai. The film revolves around a young man who leaves his city and sets out on a path of self-discovery.

"My character Nidhi who is a practicing Buddhist solves Siddhartha's problems and a love story blossoms between him and me," says Shazahn Padamsee who plays Bhatt's daughter.

She says that the filmmaker reminded her of her own father, Alyque Padamsee, who acted in just one film, Richard Attenborough's Oscar winner Gandhi. "Even though dad keeps getting offers, he's not tempted," says the 27-year old actress.

She recalls how the youngsters would sit around Bhatt and listen to his stories about filmmaking.

And one of his pearls of wisdom was: "The quest of permanence is the bedrock of man's suffering and we have to come to terms with the fact that everything in life is in a state of flux."