|
Bollywood Film Director Mahesh Bhatt
Art films, commercial cinema or comedies, he has made them all with élan. Director of films like Arth and Saaransh which stormed Bollywood in the eighties and demonstrated the power of cinema to the world, this acclaimed director is the Crème Dead Sea La Crème of Bollywood. Mahesh Bhatt was born on 20 September 1949 in Mumbai to a Hindu father and a Muslim mother. Bollywood was ingrained in his blood as his father Nanabhai Bhatt was a Hindi film director-producer. As a child Mahesh Bhatt was quite rebellious in nature. This streak of his was to be seen in films by the director. Mahesh Bhatt started his career as an Assistant Director with Raj Khosla in 1970 for the film Sakat. He was barely 21 years old then. His next film, Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain, came in 1974. The seventies were the formative years for this director. The struggle is evident by the frequency and the type of his films in this decade. He faced a severe financial crunch. Finally success smiled on him when he made Lahu Ke Do Rang in 1979. Shabana Azmi and Vinod Khanna starred in this movie and it bagged two Filmfare Awards. Mahesh Bhatt was making his presence felt in Bollywood. Eighties was a roaring period for Mahesh Bhatt. His first big movie was Arth in 1982. Said to have been made from his personal life, this movie starring Shabana Azmi narrated the story of a woman deserted by her husband. This movie became a benchmark for Women’s Rights Activists. Arth was awarded the Filmfare Best Screenplay Award in 1984. Another equally powerful film in 1984 was Saaransh. The movie depicted the fight of an honourable citizen against a corrupt society. Naturally, the 1985 Filmfare Best Story Award was bagged by Saaransh. Anupam Kher performed a role of a lifetime. With these two movies Mahesh Bhatt had established himself as the Director to be watched for quality movies. Thereafter there was no looking back. Mahesh Bhatt experimented with all possible themes. He took themes ranging from illegitimate birth to extramarital affairs. In 1985 he made Janam and Naam in 1986. 1987 saw Mahesh Bhatt turn to film production. He established his own banner called Vishesh Films along with Mukesh Bhatt. He launched his daughter, Pooja Bhatt in movies like Daddy in 1989 and Swayam in 1991. Mahesh Bhatt also deviated from Art films to make great commercial hits. The first one, Awaargi came in 1990. His biggest commercial, Aashiqui, in the same year with Rahul Roy, was loved by Bollywood fans. Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin was also a great success. Aamir Khan and Pooja Bhatt gave excellent performances. He won critical acclaim for the movie Sadak in 1991 (starring Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt). His next movie, Sir also featured Pooja Bhatt with Naseeruddin Shah. With such astounding progress honours and awards had to follow. He won the National Film - Special Jury Award for his film, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke in 1993. The entertainment field was wide open for Mahesh Bhatt. He forayed into making TV serials. A Mouthful of Sky written by Ashok Banker and the popular Hindi serial Swabhimaan written by Shobha De were appreciated. His other movies were Dastak when Sushmita Sen was launched in 1996 and Tamanna with Pooja Bhatt. Mahesh Bhatt also gave a super hit comedy in Duplicate. Zakhm was a very sensitive movie about the Mumbai Riots. The movie won the Filmfare Best Story Award. He, there after, directed Kartoos in 1999, after which Mahesh Bhatt moved on to screenwriting. He has written the scripts of more than twenty films. The major hits were Dushman, Raaz, Murder and Gangster. Mahesh Bhatt has had an equally stormy personal life. He was associated with Parveen Babi. He has stated that his superhit film Arth was based on his affair with Parveen Babi. The affair finally lead to the break up of his marriage with Kiran. Thereafter he married Sony Razdan. Pooja Bhatt was born on 24 February 1972. Mahesh Bhatt was also addicted to LSD. He then become the follower of the Acharya Rajneesh Cult called OSHO. He has also been the follower of spiritual leader U.G. Krishnamurti. His personal life has had a deep influence on his movies. Cinema is a medium which shows human experience in all its shades and hues. Mahesh Bhatt has very powerfully used it to show us real life experiences. He can be called the God Father of the new age cinema. He was also responsible in moving Bollywood towards bolder themes and on screen exposure. He believes that making movies on self experiences can give you much better results than imagining stories. Although he has stopped directing, he continues to write stories which provide the core for the movie to develop around it.
|
Popular Bollywood Actors
|
