Nanabhai Bhatt (12 June 1915 – 24 April 1999) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and

Gujarati cinema Gujarati cinema, also known as Dhollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Gujarati language widely spoken in the state of Gujarat. It is based in Ahmedabad. It is one ...

. He is known for making over a hundred fantasy and mythological films, including ''Mr. X'' (1957), ''Zimbo Comes to Town'' (1960), ''Lal Qila'' (1960) and the blockbuster ''Kangan'' (1959) starring

Nirupa Roy Nirupa Roy (born Kokila Kishorechandra Bulsara; 4 January 1931 – 13 October 2004) was an Indian actress who had appeared in Hindi films. Noted for her portrayals of tragedy and sorrow, Roy was known for her acting ability, and was uncharitabl ...

and

Ashok Kumar Ashok Kumar (born Kumudlal Ganguly; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is considered to be the first Super-st ...

. His first film, ''

Muqabala ''Muqabala'' is a 1942 Indian action drama film directed by Batuk Bhatt and Babubhai Mistri, and starring Fearless Nadia, Yakub, Agha, Dalpat, Srinivas and Rajni. Batuk Bhatt started his career as a director by co-directing this film and '' ...

'' (1942), was the first to feature the double-role or "twins" phenomenon in

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

, wherein lead actress

Fearless Nadia Mary Ann Evans (8 January 1908 – 9 January 1996), also known by her stage name Fearless Nadia, was an Australian-Indian actress and stuntwoman, who worked in Indian cinema. She is most remembered as the masked, cloaked adventurer in '' Hunterw ...

alternated between the good sister and the gangster's moll. The formula was subsequently emulated in numerous

Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and " Hollywood". The industry, producing films in t ...

Early life and career

Bhatt, called Yeshwant Bhatt, was born in a

Nagar Brahmin Nagar Brahmin is a Brahmin subcaste from the Indian state of Gujarat. Author T. Sasaki writes, amongst Brahmins of Gujarat, Nagar Brahmins were the most prominent subdivision in the political, economic and social relation, social activities o ...

family on 12 June 1915 in

Porbandar Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It was the former capital of the Porbandar State, Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and Chhaya, ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. 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. He began his directorial venture when he joined Homi Wadia's team at Basant Pictures by co-directing two films with

Babubhai Mistri Babubhai Mistry (5 September 1918 – 20 December 2010) was an Indian film director and special effects pioneer who is best known for his films based on Hindu mythology, such as '' Sampoorna Ramayana'' (1961), ''Mahabharat'' (1965), and ''Para ...

, ''

'' (1942) and ''Mauj'' (1943), under the same name. He directed two more films as Batuk Bhatt,

Homi Wadia Homi Wadia (22 May 1911 – 10 December 2004) was an Indian film director and producer in Bollywood (Hindi cinema). He was the co-founder of Wadia Movietone productions, established in 1933 and later after the closure of Wadiatone, he founded Ba ...

's ''

Hunterwali Ki Beti ''Hunterwali Ki Beti'' is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1943, and is the sequel to the 1935 film ''Hunterwali''. Both films starred Fearless Nadia as the heroine and were produced by the Wadia brothers JBH and Homi (Nadia's husband) of ...

'' (1943) and Liberty Pictures '' Sudhar'' (1949). Bhatt left Basant Pictures and started his own production company "Deepak Pictures" in 1946.

Personal life

Bhatt was the patriarch of the Bhatt film family. He was in a relationship with

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

actress, Shirin Mohammad Ali since 1939. The couple had six children – Sheila Bhatt, Purnima Bhasin, Kumkum Saigal,

Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt (born 20 September 1948) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Mahesh Bhatt, a number of accolades, including four Nati ...

, Heena Suri and

Mukesh Bhatt Mukesh Bhatt (born 5 June 1952) is an Indian people, Indian film producer and actor who has produced several Bollywood films. He is the younger brother of Mahesh Bhatt, and also the co-owner of the production company Vishesh Films, set up in 19 ...

. Later, Nanabhai married Hemlata Bhatt, with whom he had three children –

Robin Bhatt Robin Bhatt is an Indian screenwriter who works in Hindi films. He is the younger half-brother of Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt and son of Nanabhai Bhatt. He has written many films and was nominated thrice and won an award for '' Baazigar''. ...

, Parmesh Bhatt, Mamta Bhatt. He had five daughters and four sons, including film director and producer

, and

. Bhatt died at Nanavati hospital in Mumbai from heart failure on 24 April 1999.

Filmography

Producer

*'' Kabzaa'' (1988)

Director

*''Jaya Parvati Vrat'' (

Gujarati film Gujarati cinema, also known as Dhollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Gujarati language widely spoken in the state of Gujarat. It is based in Ahmedabad. It is one ...

) (1982) *''Gajara Maru'' (

) (1981) *'' Dharti Mata'' (1976) *'' Balak Aur Janwar'' (1975) *''Jeevan Rekha'' (1974) *''Jung Aur Aman'' (1968) *''Baghdad Ki Raatein'' (1967) *'' Shankar Khan'' (1966) *'' Bekhabar'' (1965) *'' Aadhi Raat Ke Baad'' (1965) *''

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

'' (1964) *'' Alapiranthavan'' (1963) *'' Bhootnath'' (1963) *'' Naag Rani'' (1963) *''

Rocket Girl Rocket Girl is a London-based independent record label. It has released records by Robin Guthrie, Pieter Nooten, God Is an Astronaut, Ulrich Schnauss, A Place to Bury Strangers, Bell Gardens (band), Bell Gardens among others, including many a ...

'' (1962) *'' Baghdad Ki Raaten'' (1962) *'' Teen Ustad'' (1961) *''

Police Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

'' (1960) *''Lal Quila'' (1960) *'' Zimbo Shaher Mein'' (1960) *'' Daaka'' (1959) *''

Baazigar ''Baazigar'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action thriller film directed by Abbas–Mustan and produced by Venus Movies. It stars Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role alongside Kajol, Siddharth, Shilpa Shetty (in her film debut ...

'' (1959) *'' Kangan'' (1959) *''

Naya Sansar Naya Sansar ("New World") is a 1941 Indian Hindustani-language film on radical journalism, directed by reporter turned director, N. R. Acharya (1909–1993), and written by a journalist himself, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, who started his film career wi ...

'' (1959) *''

Madam XYZ Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French , from " ...

'' (1959) *''

Son of Sinbad ''Son of Sinbad'' is a 1955 American adventure film directed by Ted Tetzlaff. It takes place in the Middle East and consists of a wide variety of characters, including over 127 women. The film was shot in 1953 and planned to be released in 3 ...

'' (1958) *''

Chaalbaaz ''ChaalBaaz'' (, ) is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language slapstick film directed by Pankaj Parashar and written by Rajesh Mazumdar and Kamlesh Pandey. It stars Sridevi in dual roles, with Rajinikanth and Sunny Deol. The film revolves around identical ...

'' (1958) *'' Mr. X'' (1957) *''

Ustad Ustad, ustadh, ustaz or ustadz (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian language, Persian ''ustād'') is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages, incl ...

'' (1957) *'' Kismet'' (1956) *'' Watan'' (1954) *''

Toote Khilone ''Toote Khilone'' () is a 1978 Indian Hindi-language film produced by Prem Sawhney and Mahendra Shah. The film is directed by Ketan Anand. The film stars Ketan's cousin Shekhar Kapur, Shabana Azmi and Utpal Dutt. The film's music is by Bappi L ...

'' (1954) *'' Sinbad Jahazi'' (1952) *'' Apni Izzat'' (1952) *''

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

'' (1952) *''

Lakshmi Narayan Lakshmi Narayana (, IAST: ) or Lakshmi Narayan is the dual representation of the Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Lo ...

'' (1951) *''Ram Janma'' (1951) *''

Daman Daman may refer to: Places *Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, a union territory in India **Daman and Diu (Lok Sabha constituency) **Daman and Diu, former union territory of India, now part of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu **Goa ...

'' (1951) *''

Lav Kush ''Lav Kush'' is a 1997 Indian Hindu mythological film, produced by Dilip Kanikaria under the Devyank Arts banner and directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. It is based on Valmiki's '' Uttar Ramayan'' from the Indian epic ''Ramayana''. The music of the ...

'' (1951) *''

Janmashtami Krishna Janmashtami (), also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In certain Hindu texts, such as the ''Gita Govinda' ...

'' (1950) *'' Veer Babruwahan'' (1950) *'' Hamara Ghar'' (1950) *'' Veer Ghatotkach'' (1949) *''

Shaukeen ''Shaukeen'' () is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Basu Chatterjee based on story ''Ram Nam Kewalam'' by Samaresh Basu. The movie stars Ashok Kumar, Utpal Dutt, A.K. Hangal, Rati Agnihotri and Mithun Chakraborty. Bas ...

'' (1949) *'' Maa Baap Ki Laaj'' (1946) *'' Chalis Karod'' (1946) *''

Mauj ''Mauj'' is a 1943 Bollywood film directed by Nanabhai Bhatt and Babubhai Mistri, starring Fearless Nadia Mary Ann Evans (8 January 1908 – 9 January 1996), also known by her stage name Fearless Nadia, was an Australian-Indian actress and ...

'' (1943) *''

'' (1942)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatt, Nanabhai 1915 births 1999 deaths People from Porbandar Film producers from Gujarat Hindi-language film directors Gujarati people Nanabhai 20th-century Indian people Film directors from Gujarat