Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Nanabhai Bhatt
Indian director and producer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Nanabhai Bhatt (12 June 1915 – 24 April 1999) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in Hindi and Gujarati cinema.[1][2] He is known for making over a hundred fantasy and mythological films,[3] including Mr. X (1957), Zimbo Comes to Town (1960), Lal Qila (1960) and the blockbuster Kangan (1959) starring Nirupa Roy and Ashok Kumar.[4][5] His first film, Muqabala (1942), was the first to feature the double-role or "twins" phenomenon in Indian cinema, wherein lead actress Fearless Nadia alternated between the good sister and the gangster's moll. The formula was subsequently emulated in numerous Hindi films.[6]
Remove ads
Early life
Bhatt, called Yeshwant Bhatt, was born in a Nagar Brahmin family[7] on 12 June 1915 in Porbandar, British India.[citation needed][8] He started his early career in films as a sound recordist with Prakash Pictures, working under his brother Balwant Bhatt, and then by writing "scripts and stories" using the name Batuk Bhatt.[9]
Career
He began his directorial venture when he joined Homi Wadia's team at Basant Pictures[10] by co-directing two films with Babubhai Mistri, Muqabala (1942) and Mauj (1943), under the same name.[11] He directed two more films as Batuk Bhatt, Homi Wadia's Hunterwali Ki Beti (1943) and Liberty Pictures Sudhar (1949).[12] Bhatt left Basant Pictures and started his own production company "Deepak Pictures" in 1946.[10]
Over the next few decades, Bhatt became a prolific filmmaker, particularly known for his work in the mythological and fantasy genres. He directed over 70 Hindi and Gujarati films, many of which featured religious and heroic themes. Some of his most notable films include Alibaba Aur Chalis Chor (1954), Zimbo (1958), and Lal Qila (1960).[13]
Bhatt was instrumental in shaping the mythological cinema of the 1950s and 1960s, popularizing stories from Indian epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata through low-budget yet widely successful films.[14]
He was also a key figure in the Gujarati film industry, directing several Gujarati-language films such as Gajara Maru (1981) and Jaya Parvati Vrat (1982), which found success among regional audiences.[15]
Remove ads
Personal life
Bhatt was the patriarch of the Bhatt film family.[16] He was in a relationship with Shia Muslim actress, Shirin Mohammad Ali since 1939. The couple had six children – Sheila Bhatt, Purnima Bhasin, Kumkum Saigal, Mahesh Bhatt, Heena Suri and Mukesh Bhatt.[17][18] Later, Nanabhai married Hemlata Bhatt, with whom he had three children – Robin Bhatt, Parmesh Bhatt, Mamta Bhatt.[19][20]
He had five daughters and four sons, including film director and producer Mahesh Bhatt, Mukesh Bhatt, and Robin Bhatt.[21]
Bhatt died at Nanavati hospital in Mumbai from heart failure on 24 April 1999.[22][23]
Influence and recognition
- Honored by several Gujarati cultural organizations for his work in Gujarati devotional cinema during the early 1980s.[24]
- Posthumously recognized in retrospectives on early Indian cinema as a pioneer of low-budget mythological and fantasy filmmaking.[25]
- Commemorated by film historians and critics for his influence on the genre and as the patriarch of a family of filmmakers, including Mahesh Bhatt and Alia Bhatt.[26]
Remove ads
Filmography
As Producer
As Director
Remove ads
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads