Mahesh Bhatt is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter, who is one of the leading filmmakers in Bollywood.
Wiki/Biography
Mahesh Bhatt was born on Monday, 20 September 1948 (age 71 years; as in 2019) in Bombay. His zodiac sign is Virgo.
Mahesh Bhatt And His Brother Mukesh As A Child
He attended school from Don Bosco Secondary School, Matunga.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 7″
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Hair Color: Salt & Pepper; Half Bald
Family, Caste & Wife
Mahesh Bhatt’s father, Nanabhai Bhatt, is an Indian film director and producer who worked in Hindi and Gujarati Cinema. His father was a Hindu Nagar Brahmin. Mahesh’s mother, Shirin Mohammad Ali, was a Gujarati Shia Muslim and Nanabhai Bhatt’s second wife.
Mahesh Bhatt’s father, Nanabhai Bhatt
Mahesh Bhatt With His Mother Shirin Mohammad Ali
Hemalata Bhatt, Nanabhai Bhatt’s first wife was his stepmother. He has 4 brothers- Mukesh Bhatt (film producer; son of Nanabhai Bhatt & Shirin Mohammad Ali ), Dhaval Bhatt (editor; son of Nanabhai Bhatt & Hemlata Bhatt), Robin Bhatt (writer; son of Nanabhai Bhatt & Hemlata Bhatt), and Parmesh Bhatt & four sisters; three of them are- Mamta (daughter of Nanabhai Bhatt & Hemlata Bhatt), Sheila Darshan, Heena Suri.
Mahesh Bhatt With Mukesh Bhatt
Mahesh Bhatt’s brother, Robin Bhatt
He married Kiran Bhatt (also known as Lorraine Bright) in 1970 but they separated later.
Mahesh Bhatt With Kiran Bhatt
They both have two children; a son named Rahul Bhatt (fitness trainer and actor) and a daughter named Pooja Bhatt (actress and filmmaker). He was in a relationship with Parveen Babi, an actress, model, and interior designer. He married for the second time to Soni Razdan (an English film actress and director) in 1986.
Mahesh Bhatt With Soni Razdan
The couple has two daughters named Shaheen Bhatt (writer/director) and Alia Bhatt (actress).
Mahesh Bhatt’s Daughters, Shaheen, Alia, And Pooja and Son, Rahul
Career
As Director
Mahesh Bhatt started his career by doing product advertisements. He was introduced to director Raj Khosla through an acquaintance and later, he started assisting Raj Khosla. He made his debut as a film director with the film “Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain” in 1974.
In 1984, he directed “Naam,” which was his first commercial film.
He made several films such as Janam (1985), Saaransh (1984), Aashiqui (1990), Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991), Sir (1993), Zakhm (1998), and Sadak (1991). His last film as a director was “Kartoos (1999),” after which he turned fully into a screenwriter.
He made his comeback as a director with the film “Sadak 2 (2020). He made his Television debut with the TV show “Swabhimaan” in 1995, which aired on DD National.
As a Screenwriter
His first film as a screenwriter was “Arth (1982).”
After retiring from his directorial career, he wrote the screenplay “Sangharsh (1999).” He wrote screenplays for several Bollywood films such as Dushman (1998), Raaz (2002), Murder (2004), Gangster (2006), Woh Lamhe (2006), and Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015).
As Publisher
He made his debut as a film producer with the film “Papa Kehte Hai (1996),” along with Amit Khanna.
He produces films under the banner “Vishesh Films,” which is co-owned by his brother Mukesh Bhatt. The company is named after Mukesh’s son Vishesh Bhatt, who is a producer. 
Other Works
He made his acting debut with the movie “The Dark Side of Life: Mumbai City” in 2018.
He sang for the first time in the movie “Mr. X.” He sang the title song of the film with MILI.
Controversy
- He was hit with controversy when he appeared on the cover of Filmfare Magazine, where, he kissed his eldest daughter, Pooja. He also stated that if Pooja was not his daughter, he would have married her.
- Rangoli Chandel once claimed that Mahesh Bhatt threw a ‘Chappal’ at Kangana Ranaut during the release of Woh Lamhe (2007) after she refused to sign one of his films. To this Mahesh Bhatt replied,
She (Kangana) is a bachchi. He started his journey with us. Just because his brother (Rangoli is also Kangana’s spokesperson and manager) attacked me, I will not comment.”
- On Karan Johar’s chat show, ‘Koffee With Karan,’ when Mahesh was asked to rank actors according to their acting skills, he put Aamir Khan last. Interestingly, when Lagaan went to the Oscars, he commented,
lobbying for the oscars in this way is akin to condescending to the white man.”
- After Sushant Singh Rajput committed suicide on 14 June 2020, Mahesh Bhatt started being harassed on social media for calling Sushant a schizophrenic. According to an article published by Suhrita Sengupta, a writer and close friend of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, in the National Herald, Mahesh Bhatt once said about Sushant Singh that –
It’s Parveen Babi all over again.”
The article further read that it was Mahesh Bhatt who had advised Sushant’s rumored girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty to stay away from Sushant due to his deteriorating mental health. Suhrita Sengupta further wrote –
He had no choice. Bhatt Saab tells him there is nothing he can do. If he stays, he too will lose his sanity. Rhea waits for Sushant’s sister to come to Mumbai and take over the job. Sushant’s siblings try their best to support and comfort him. But he couldn’t hear anyone. He won’t take his medicine.”
Award
- National Film Awards He has won 3 National Awards which include, the award for Best Feature Film in Urdu for “Sardari Begum” and Best Feature Film in Hindi for “Gudia” in 1997, and the Special Jury Award for the film “Hum Hain Rahi Pyar To” in 1994.
- Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration for the film “Zakhm” in 2000
- Filmfare Awards He has won 3 Filmfare Awards; the first one under the Best Dialogue category for the film “Arth” in 1984 and two awards in the Best Story category for the films “Saaransh” in 1985 and “Zakhm” in 1999.
Favorite Things
Facts
- During his school days, he used to do summer jobs and also do product advertisements.
- Mahesh’s mother, Shirin Mohammad Ali and his father, Nanabhai Bhatt never married.
- Once Mahesh asked his mother about the meaning of his name. He said that he would ask his father, because he was the one who gave him the name. His father came to him the next day, and told him that his name meant ‘Lord of Gods.’ Mahesh in an Interview revealed that as a child he did not like his name because it was the name of a god, who beheaded his own son.
- During his childhood, ‘Ganesha’ was his favorite deity and he also wanted his name to be ‘Ganesha.’ He even used to sleep with a small Ganesha under his pillow.
- Mahesh Bhatt met Lorraine Bright (Kiran Bhatt) during his school days. They both fell in love and married when she was 20 years old.
- The couple broke up after Mahesh Bhatt started dating Parveen Babi. Mahesh Bhatt left his family and startedBhatt left his family and started a direct relationship with Praveen.
- Praveen was reportedly diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia (auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions; believes everyone is trying to harm you). He even went on to accuse some personalities like Amitabh Bachchan & Bill Clinton of conspiring to kill him. In an interview with Filmfare Magazine, Mahesh said that he left Praveen because he could not handle his situation. Describing the situation, he said-
Sometimes he will say the air conditioner has bugs. We had to take it apart and show it to him. Other times there are ‘bugs’ in the fan or in the perfume.”
Praveen Babi
- He converted to Islam to marry both of his wives. He does not want to leave his first wife and children from her, and Islam is the only religion that allows him to be with both of his wives.
- Emraan Hashmi’s grandmother and Milan Luthria’s grandmother are sisters of Mahesh’s mother.
Mahesh Bhatt With Emraan Hashmi
- The Mahesh Bhatt-directed film “Saaransh” (1984) was India’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1985.
- The story of the movie “Aashiqui” (1990) was inspired by the love story of Mahesh Bhatt and Kiran Bhatt (born Lorraine Bright).
- The stories of the films “Woh Lamhe (2006)” and “Arth (1982)” were inspired by the life of Parveen Babi and her relationship with Mahesh Bhatt.
- Talking about Parveen Babi, Mahesh Bhatt said, “I owe everything today to my brief association with this wonderful lady.” In an interview, she revealed that her films had failed until she made “Arth (1982)” based on her relationship with Praveen. The film brought him great success.
- He has launched the careers of many actors such as Anupam Kher, Rahul Roy, Anu Aggarwal, Deepak Tijori, Sonali Bendre, Dino Morea, Bipasha Basu, Emraan Hashmi, Mallika Sherawat, Sushmita Sen, and Kangana Ranaut.
- Mahesh followed a philosopher named UG Krishnamurti. He also wrote two biographies on his life, “UG Krishnamurti, a Life” in 1992 and “A Taste of Life: The Last Days of UG Krishnamurti” in 2009. He was at his bedside when Krishnamurti died in Vellacrosia in Italy and later, he was burned.
Mahesh Bhatt With UG Krishnamurti
- He believes that the Congress Party is committed to secularism and that Narendra Modi is communal. In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, he campaigned in Karvan-e-Bedari (awareness caravan) asking people to vote for Congress and defeat Modi. He also criticized the communal record of the Congress and Rajiv Gandhi in the 1984 Sikh Genocide.
- “A Mouthful of Sky” (1995), directed by Mahesh Bhatt was the first English-language TV series produced in India.
Actor Mahesh Bhatt A Mouthful of Sky (1995).
- He is an advisory member of TeachAIDS, a US-based non-profit organization that fights AIDS through the development of HIV prevention technology products.
- He is known to have copied scenes from Hollywood movies, and sometimes, he has even copied entire Hollywood movies without acknowledging the makers. For example- he copied “The Fugitive” (1993) and remade it in Hindi as “Criminal” (1995).
- He hosted several episodes of two science magazine programs, namely “Turning Point (1991)” and “Science Imaging.”
- He is a member of the Board of Patrons of the Mother Teresa Awards, which are given to individuals or organizations that promote peace, equality and social justice.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
