Vijay Bhatt

Infobox actor
name = Vijay Bhatt


imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Vijayshankar Jagneshwar Bhatt
birthdate = Birth date|1907|5|12|mf=y
location = Palitana, Gujarat, British India
deathdate = death date and age|1993|10|17|1907|5|12|mf=y
deathplace = Mumbai
occupation = producer, director, screenwriter
yearsactive = 1929- 1977
spouse = Rama Bhatt
othername =
awards = 1966: Filmfare Best Movie Award: "Himalaya Ki God Mein" (1965)

Vijay Bhatt was a noted producer-director-screenwriter of Hindi cinema, who made classics like, "Ram Rajya" (1943), " Baiju Bawra" (1952) and "Himalaya Ki God Mein" (1965), and the founder of ‘Prakash Pictures’, a film production company and and 'Prakash Studios' in Andheri East, Mumbai, which produced 64 feature films in all.

He was one of the founding members of Film and Television Producers Guild of India [ [http://www.filmtvguildindia.org/ftv/index.php?page=founder&PHPSESSID=5145b6f4596 Founders] www.filmtvguildindia.org.] .

Biography

Early life and education

Vijayshankar Jagneshwar Bhatt was born on May 12, 1907, into the modest household of Benkunwar Bhatt and Jagneshwar Bhatt, who was a railway guard at Palitana, Bhavnagar district, Gujarat.

While he was in his twenties, he moved to Bombay, moved to Bombay, along with his elder brother, Shankarbhai Bhatt, who took up a job, and went on to become a noted producer, younger Vijay enrolled in St. Xavier’s College, and completed Intermediate from the Science stream, and later received a diploma in ‘Electrical Lighting and Traction’ through a correspondence course from London [ [http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=16162 The Great Sage of Indian Cinema - Birth Centenary] "Screen", June 15,2007.] .

Career

Vijay made his debut in Indian film industry by as a screenwriter, for director K P Bhave’s silent film, "Vidhi Ka Vidhan". He eventually producing his first silent film, "Delhi Ka Chhela" in 1929, and went on to direct many notable films, in Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi cinema.

His early film "Ram Rajya" (1942) was a bit hit, and also made news, when it was shown to Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 [ [http://passionforcinema.com/gandhi-do-we-deserve-such-a-among-us/ Gandhi] passionforcinema.com.] . In 1947, he took the film to US, where it was first shown at Museum of Modern Art, New York on the 5th May, later he also met noted Hollywood director, Cecil B. DeMille [ [http://www.vijaybhatt.net/honours.html Honours] ]

His film " Baiju Bawra" (1952), which was based on the historical tiff between Emperor Akbar's court musician Tansen and the talented singer, Baiju Bawra, not just ran for hundred weeks in Bombay, becoming a diamond jubilee hit, but also established its lead cast, Meena Kumari and Bharat Bhushan [ [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-928923,prtpage-1.cms Everyone adores a good love story] "Times of India", Nov 20, 2004. ] , incidentally, legendary actress, Meena Kumari, who won her first Filmfare Best Actress Award for the film, was launched by Vijay Bhatt, in his film ‘Leatherface’ (1939), as a child artist, 'Baby Meena' (prior name -'Mahjabeen Bano'), a name that stayed with her for the rest of hre career [ [http://movies.indiainfo.com/tales/meena_kumari_0804.html Meena Kumari Profile] ] .

Personal life

The older brother of Vijay Bhatt was director-producer, ‘Harsukh Jagneshwar Bhatt’, and other siblings included, Shankarbhai Bhatt (producer), Labhshankarbhai Bhatt, Durlabhben Bhatt, and Nirmalaben Pandya. He was married to Rama Bhatt, with whom he had two sons, Arun and Pravin, and two daughters, and later six granddaughters and four grandsons.

His son, Pravin Bhatt, was a cinematographer in Hindi cinema, and his grandson, Vikram Bhatt, is a noted film director [ [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1528491.cms Bhatt naturally] "Times of India ", May 13, 2006.]

Selected filmography

* Dreamland (1936)
* Narsi Bhagat (1940) [ [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:296675~T2 Vijay Bhatt - Filmography] "Allmovie".]
* Bharat Milap (1942)
* Ram Rajya (1943)
* Baiju Bawra (1952)
* Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959)
* Hariyali Aur Raasta (1962)
* Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965) [ [http://www.vijaybhatt.net/filmography.html Complete filmography] .]

Awards

* 1966: Filmfare Best Movie Award: "Himalaya Ki God Mein" (1965) [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0080332/awards awards] Internet Movie Database.]

References

External links

* [http://www.vijaybhatt.net/ Vijay Bhatt – Tribute website]
*imdb name|id= 0080332|name=Vijay Bhatt
* [http://www.tehelka.com/story_main37.asp?filename=Ws010308Romancing.asp Life and times of legendary director-producer Vijay Bhatt] at Tehelka