Pooja Bhatt (born 24 February 1972) is an Indian film director, actress, voice over artist and film maker. Born into the

Bhatt family This article lists notable families whose members are prominent in the Indian Film Industry. For South Indian film families, see List of South Indian film families and for Indian music families, see List of Indian music families. A Akhtar–Az ...

, she is the daughter of Indian filmmaker,

Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt (born 20 September 1948) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. A stand-out film from his earlier period is '' Saaransh'' (1984), screened at the 14th Moscow International Film F ...

. Bhatt played her first leading role in

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

'' Daddy'' in 1989. For the film, she won the

Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year The Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut (previously known as Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year) is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films to recognise a performance by a female actor in their deb ...

for Best Female Debut.

Early life

Pooja Bhatt was born on 24 February 1972 to

and Kiran Bhatt (born Loraine Bright). On her father's side, Bhatt is of predominantly

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

descent and on her mother's side, she is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, Scottish, Armenian, and Burmese ancestry. She is the step-daughter of Soni Razdan. She has a brother,

Rahul Bhatt Rahul Bhatt (born 24 January 1982) is an Indian fitness trainer and actor. The son of film director Mahesh Bhatt and Kiran Bhatt, Rahul gained notoriety in 2009 following revelations that David Headley, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, h ...

and half-sisters Shaheen and Alia Bhatt. Her cousins are Hitarth Bhat and

Emraan Hashmi Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hashmi debuted in 2003 with the crime thriller film '' Footpath'' and subsequently appeared in films include '' Murder'' (2004), '' Kalyug ...

Career

Bhatt made her acting debut at age 17, in 1989 with '' Daddy'', a TV film directed by her father

. In the film she portrayed a soul-searching teenage girl in an estranged relationship with her

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

father, played by actor Anupam Kher. Her biggest solo hit and her big screen debut came with the musical hit '' Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin'' (1991), which was a remake of the Oscar-winning Hollywood classic ''

It Happened One Night ''It Happened One Night'' is a 1934 pre-Code American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite ( Claudette Colbert) tr ...

''. Pooja Bhatt appeared in many bold shoots like Stardust. Her most well-known films in the 1990s included '' Sadak'' opposite

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...

(1991), '' Junoon'', '' Jaanam'', and '' Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee'' opposite

Rahul Roy Rahul Roy (born 9 February 1968) is an Indian actor, producer and former model known for his works in Hindi films and television. Roy began his acting career with the 1990 blockbuster '' Aashiqui'', a Mahesh Bhatt production as the lead actor ...

, '' Sir'' (1993) and '' Guneghar'' (1995) opposite Atul Agnihotri, ''

Tadipaar ''Tadipaar'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language romantic action film directed by Mahesh Bhatt starring Mithun Chakraborty, Pooja Bhatt, along with Juhi Chawla in a special appearance. The super-hit songs of the film were composed by Nadeem- ...

'' (1993) and '' Naaraaz'' (1994) opposite Mithun Chakraborty, '' Hum Dono'' opposite

Rishi Kapoor Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 — 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director and producer who worked in Hindi films. He was the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards and a National Film Award. Born into th ...

, ''

Angrakshak ''Angrakshak'' (Bodyguard) is a 1995 Indian action thriller film starring Sunny Deol, Pooja Bhatt and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Originally, Divya Bharti signed up for it. But due to her sudden death, she was replaced by Pooja. Story Priyanka (P ...

'' opposite

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1956), better known by his stage name Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and current Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Punjab, India. As an acto ...

(1995), '' Chaahat'' opposite

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood ...

(1996), '' Tamanna'' (1997), the super-hit and multi-starrer ''

Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

'' (1997) and '' Zakhm'' (1998), opposite Ajay Devgan. Mallika Sherawat Mahesh Bhatt Pooja Bhatt still4

Her last film appearance was in the English language film '' Everybody Says I'm Fine!'' in 2001. She has since focused on producing and directing. She made her directorial debut with '' Paap'' in 2004, starring John Abraham and Udita Goswami. Since then, she has made four more directorial ventures: ''

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or t ...

'' (2006), ''

Dhokha ''Dhokha'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Pooja Bhatt, starring Muzammil Ibrahim and Tulip Joshi. Produced by Mukesh Bhatt and featuring music by M. M. Keeravani, the film revolves around a moderate Indian Mu ...

'' (2007), ''

Kajraare ''Kajraare'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Pooja Bhatt, starring Himesh Reshammiya and Sara Loren in the lead roles. Reshammiya plays a singer who falls in love with a bar dancer and the film is centred on how they find tr ...

'' (2010) and '' Jism 2'' (2012). In 2020, Bhatt returned to acting with '' Sadak 2'', a sequel to the hit 1991 film. Her father returned to directing with this film after 20 years. It was released on 28 August 2020 on the streaming platform

Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar (also known as Hotstar) is an Indian brand of subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, both d ...

. In 2021, Bhatt will be seen in the

Alankrita Shrivastava Alankrita Shrivastava is an Indian screenwriter, director and producer. Having made her debut as a director in 2011, she has since won accolades such as the Grand Prix at the Créteil International Women's Film Festival and a nomination for a Fi ...

directed upcoming webseries ''

Bombay Begums ''Bombay Begums'' is an Indian drama streaming television series for Netflix created by Alankrita Shrivastava, who also co-wrote the script along with Bornila Chatterjee and Iti Agarwal. The series directed by Shrivastava and Chatterjee, is p ...

''. It will also feature

Amruta Subhash Amruta Subhash is an Indian actress who works in Marathi and Hindi films, television, and theatre. She is a graduate of the National School of Drama, New Delhi. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the Marathi-langua ...

, Shahana Goswami,

Plabita Borthakur Plabita Borthakur is an Indian actor, singer and artist from Assam. Early life Her father Probin Borthakur was an engineer by profession with Oil India Limited along with being an Indian classical singer and teacher while her mother is a write ...

and Aadhya Anand.

Controversies

Mahesh Bhatt became the talk of the town and was slammed by the media after the filmmaker shot for a magazine cover which showed him and his daughter Pooja kissing each other on the lips. Her father also stated that: ''"If Pooja wasn't my daughter, I'd love to marry her."''

Filmography

As an actress

Web series

As a crew member

Awards and recognitions

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatt, Pooja 1972 births Living people Actresses from Mumbai Film directors from Mumbai Film producers from Mumbai Businesswomen from Maharashtra Indian film actresses Indian web series actresses Indian voice actresses Indian women film directors Indian women film producers Pooja Gujarati people Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Hindi film producers Hindi-language film directors Producers who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award Actresses of European descent in Indian films Actresses of European descent in Bollywood films Indian people of Armenian descent Indian people of Burmese descent Indian people of English descent Indian people of Scottish descent Filmfare Awards winners 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian film directors