Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra hit a rough patch in life after his film Delhi 6 (2009) received poor reviews and failed at the box office. In a recent interview, Mehra opened up about the phase and said stuck in a "black hole." Mehra revealed, that he resorted to alcoholism after this. The phase lasted for about six months. He further shared that he felt a deep spasm and a sense of being lost. However, one morning he woke up and realised he needed to take action and not wallow in despair like the character Devdas.
There was a heartbreak, I went deep into alcoholism, for almost six month or so. I just wanted to sleep and not get up. It was like a black hole. Then one morning I woke up and realised that I got to do something about it, that I can't just get into a Devdas mode,' he said.Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra continued that he decided to rework the film by shooting additional scenes. He reached out to his cinematographer Binodh Pradhan. They worked together for three days to create a different beginning and ending for Delhi 6. This revised version of the film was then sent to the Venice Film Festival in Europe which provided a sense of closure and healing for Mehra. However, he stated that the story of the film still continues.Post failure of Delhi 6, Mehra made a successful comeback with the biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, starring Farhan Akhtar. The film, based on the life of Olympian Milkha Singh, received critical acclaim and emerged as a commercial success.