Director in the Spotlight: Mahesh Bhatt

A Bollywood film is considered to be the brainchild of writers and directors working together on any particular project or in this case, a script. Many of us don't understand the importance of a director in creating a film that would appeal to the audiences and eventually lead to overall appreciation. BollyCurry is back with yet another edition of our feature article 'Director in the Spotlight' with the legendary director Mahesh Bhatt in the spotlight.

Born on 20^th September 1948, to parents Nanabhai Bhatt and Shirin Mohammad Ali, Mahesh Bhatt is a legendary writer, producer and director in the Bollywood industry. He is the co-owner of Vishesh Films along with his brother Mukesh Bhatt. Whilst Bhatt was in school, he used summer jobs to earn money. He also created advertisements for various products which lead him to becoming an assistant director to film director Raj Khosla. He is well known as the director of movies like Arth (1982), Saaransh (1984), Janam (1985), Naam (1986), Sadak (1991), Zakhm (1999), to name a few.

Bhatt married his first wife Kiran (born Lorraine Bright), whom he met in school, at the tender age

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of 20. The couple was blessed with two children - Pooja Bhatt, an actress and a producer and Rahul Bhatt, an aspiring actor. Later on, he fell for the actress Soni Razdan and decided to marry her in the year 1986. The couple has two daughters - Shaheen Bhatt and actress Alia Bhatt. Actor Emraan Hashmi happens to be his nephew.

Bhatt began his film direction in 1974 with film Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain (1974). He won his first Filmfare Award for Lahu Ke Do Rang in 1980. The film Arth (1982) was critically acclaimed and that was the beginning of a very long and successful career with films like Saaransh (1984), Janam (1985), Daddy (1989), Awaargi (1990), Aashiqui (1990), Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi (1991), Sadak (1991), Sir (1993), Gumrah and Criminal (1994) in his booty. In 1994, he got the Special Jury Award at the National Film Award for Hum Hain Raahi Pyaar Ke with Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla in lead roles. Subsequently, Bhatt decided to give up direction after Kartoos in the year 1999. But not before Bhatt did a television direction stint in 1995 with English series A Mouthful of Sky, written by Ashok Banker and the much acclaimed Hindi serials Swabhimaan (1995), written by Shobha De.

Upon his retirement from film direction, Bhatt took up script writing as his prime interest. He was creating stories for his future films like Dushman (1998), Raaz (2002), Murder (2004), Gangster -A Love Story (2006), Woh Lamhe (2006) and many others, with the most recent release being Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015).

DID YOU KNOW?

1.      Bhatt's story with his first wife, Kiran Bhatt, was his real life inspiration for the movie Aashiqui (1990).

2.      He was dating actress Parveen Babi before he married actress Soni Razdaan.

3.      His movie Saransh made it to the 14^th Moscow International Film Festival in 1984.

Bollywood undoubtedly needs filmmakers like Bhatt who have the courage to take inspiration from his real life experiences and present it on the silver screen. His journey in the Bollywood industry has been an encouragement for the entire film fraternity and the audiences ever since he entered the Hindi cinema vicinity.

With this, we take a wrap and promise to be back with yet another talent from the industry for our readers. BollyCurry wishes Mahesh Bhatt all the best for his future ventures with great health and fitness. We hope he continues to entertain us for many more years to come.

 

Author: Shikha A.

Editors: Aditi P. and Mohini N.

Graphics: Shikha A.

 

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