More than 35 years after ‘Aashiqui’ became a defining romance of Hindi cinema, actor Pooja Bhatt has revealed that the film was inspired by the extraordinary real-life love story of his filmmaker parents Mahesh Bhatt and Lorraine Bright, who later changed her name to Kiran Bhatt.Pooja said the 1990 blockbuster drew a lot of inspiration from the early days of her parents’ relationship, which began when they were teenagers. He told Cyrus Broacha’s podcast: “Aashiqui was based on my mother and father’s love story. My mother was in a Scottish orphanage, and my father lived in a building across from it. He saw her during a sporting event, jumped over the wall to find her and got caught.”The incident led to an unforgettable exchange with her grandmother, Betty Bertha Bright. “He called my grandmother and said, ‘Listen, I just put my youngest son in boarding school. If you’re old enough to jump over the wall, you’re old enough to take care of her.'”He revealed that the consequences were serious. Her mother was kicked out of the orphanage, after which Mahesh Bhatt took over the responsibility of her. “She got kicked out of school for that, and my dad took it as his responsibility. He took her to the YWCA and forged a letter saying she was a working girl so she could stay there. She got a job at Grover’s Vineyard. She only knew two bus routes: one to work and one to get home.“Pooja added that the film closely reflected this chapter in her parents’ lives. “He took care of her when she was very young. He is 77 now, she is 74. Aashiqui is based on that. In fact, she could be playing my mother’s role.”He also revealed that although Mahesh Bhatt and his uncle Mukesh Bhatt had wanted her to star in ‘Aashiqui’, she turned down the offer as her then boyfriend didn’t want her to continue acting. Interestingly, Pooja’s account echoes what Mahesh Bhatt himself shared during an emotional conversation on his podcast last year, where he revisited the beginning of his romance with Lorraine.Bhatt told Pooja on his podcast, “I was 16, she was 14. She was living in an orphanage, because her mother didn’t have the means to support her as a daily scholar. One day, I saw this beautiful girl with her friends at the gate of Bombay Scottish. There was something about her that drew me to her. But somehow, the love was preceded by the feeling of indignation.”Unable to meet Lorraine openly, Mahesh enlisted the help of a tailor who sewed school uniforms to secretly deliver her letters.He added: “Struck by her charm and beauty, I begged him to bring me my letter. He expressed the dangers of doing so because if he was caught, he would lose his job. But he was a generous man, so he took my letter and I waited for his reply. And then he did! I wrote to her in blood and she wrote back in blood.”Their secret romance, however, did not remain hidden for long. “All hell broke loose and the tailor lost his job, and Lorraine got kicked out of school.”Mahesh recalled that Lorraine’s mother was understandably upset, but promised to look after her daughter. She forged her father’s signature to secure lodging for Lorraine at the YWCA, where she later trained as a receptionist and telephone operator.Years later, the relationship took a painful turn when Mahesh fell in love with the actor Parveen Babi. “I really believed in fairy tale love, but then I had a relationship with Parveen Babi.” He recalled confessing the affair to Lorraine while her daughter Pooja slept nearby. “I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘All your life you’ve hated your father for keeping your mother like the other woman. What have you done?”Reflecting on the collapse of their relationship, she admitted: “My fairytale romance was reduced to ashes.”After his relationship with Parveen ended, Mahesh found love again with the actor Sony Razdan and decided to remarry. Before breaking the news to Lorraine, he chose to speak to Pooja first. Recalling that conversation, Pooja said, “I saw you sitting on the edge of my bed and you were telling me about the woman you have met, Soni, and the fact that you are going to marry her and leave. I was only privileged to be treated as an equal because you told me before you told my mother.”Mahesh also recalled reassuring his daughter that his decision would never affect his relationship with her. “You remember when I told you I wouldn’t be living here and please don’t mistake this for my rejection of you. There is another woman in my life, but I love you. And I will always take care of your mother and this house. I can’t thank you enough for that expression because you looked at me, and I thought you didn’t judge me,” he said. Despite going their separate ways, Mahesh and Lorraine continued to maintain mutual respect. Pooja recalled that when some people questioned the legitimacy of Mahesh’s marriage to Soni Razdan, it was her mother who stood up for him. Pooja had revealed, “When they questioned the legitimacy of your marriage and said, ‘Who gave permission? I’ll never forget, my mom stood up and said, ‘Who gave permission? I gave permission. He has my blessing.”