MUMBAI - Photographer-turned-director Dilip Mehta remebers his association with Michael Jackson with whom he spent a huge amount of time at Neverland ranch in California, US, and says his stay was a “phenomenal experience”.

During an assignment in 1991 to shoot MJ, Mehta spent five nights with Jacko at Neverland photographing, chatting and bonding like two brothers over meals and drinks. Not only did they discuss MJ’s life, the photographer even waltzed with the King of Pop.

Apparently MJ opened up his heart to Mehta, but the photographer is unwilling to divulge details of their conversations, firstly because of the confidentiality clause and secondly because all matters pertaining to Neverland are now under legal dispute.

“We were introduced by MJ’s spiritual guru Deepak Chopra. I think, I was the only Indian photographer to have spent time with MJ at Neverland. For me, it was a privilege to have photographed him candidly. I think MJ was a divine and brilliant artiste. He gave me unprecedented access. It was a phenomenal experience,” Mehta, brother of Canada-based Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, told IANS.

Beyond that Mehta’s lips are sealed about what really happened at Neverland. At that time he was a freelance photographer and worked for prestigious magazines.

Mehta entered the world of cinema with “The Forgotten Woman”, a hard documentary to portray the reality of the widows of India. His feature film is “Cooking With Stella” that looks at a classic Indian tragedy, that of servants and employers, and currently he is busy with the world premiere of the movie at Toronto International Film Festival, starting Sep 10.