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Jaspal Singh Bhatti (3 March 1955 – 25 October 2012) was an Indian television personality known for his satirical take on the problems of the common man. He was most well known for his television series '' Flop Show, Full Tension'' and mini capsules ''Ulta Pulta'' which ran on
Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...
, India's public service broadcaster, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was commonly known as the "King of Comedy" and also the "King of Satire". He carried out various anti-corruption crusades in
Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
. His frontal attack on issues like red-tapism, nepotism, and corruption was both comic and awakening for the masses. In 2013, he was (
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
) awarded the
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...
, India's third-highest civilian award.


Early background and personal life

Bhatti was born on 3 March 1955 in
Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...
,
East Punjab East Punjab was a state of Dominion of India from 1947 until 1950. It consisted parts of the Punjab Province of British India that remained in India following the partition of the state between the new dominions of Pakistan and India by the ...
,
Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...
into a Punjabi Rajput Sikh family. Bhatti graduated from Punjab Engineering College (PEC) in
Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
as an electrical engineer. Bhatti married Savita Bhatti on 24 March 1985, and has a son, Jasraj Bhatti, and a daughter, Raabiya Bhatti. His wife Savita Bhatti was chosen in the
2014 Indian general elections General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 201 ...
, as a candidate of the
Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, ) is a List of political parties in India, political party in India. It was founded on 26 November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions, following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement against then gover ...
from
Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
, but she opted out.


''Flop Show''

His low-budget Flop Show, the TV series in the early 1990s, is remembered even today. His wife Savita Bhatti produced the show and acted in all 10 episodes as his wife. The show has had a long and powerful legacy and is well-remembered. One of his co-actors
Vivek Shauq Vivek Shauq (21 June 1963 – 10 January 2011) was an Indian actor, comedian, writer and singer. He had acted in Hindi and Punjabi films, television serials, theatre and television commercials. He was also a popular writer and singer. Shauq w ...
became pretty successful after his stint in Flop Show, having found a solid footing in
Hindi cinema 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 "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
.


Subsequent work

Bhatti subsequently acted and directed the popular TV series Ulta Pulta and Nonsense Private Limited for the
Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...
network. What attracted the audience to his shows was his gift of inducing humour to highlight everyday issues of the middle class in India. Bhatti's satire on the Punjab Police in his film
Mahaul Theek Hai ''Mahaul Theek Hai'' is a 1999 Indian Punjabi language comedy film directed by Jaspal Bhatti. The film is a satire of police departments of Punjab and their functioning. Plot A boy meets a girl. Boy's brother, is involved with an illegal busin ...
(1999) was his first directorial venture for a full-length feature film in his native
Punjabi language Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native sp ...
. He played the role of Jolly Good Singh, a guard, in the movie '' Fanaa''. He played a comical college principal in ''
Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe ''Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe'' (translation: ''Someone ask my heart'') is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language romance thriller film directed by Vinay Shukla, released on 11 January 2002, starring Aftab Shivdasani, Esha Deol (in her debut), and Sanjay ...
''. He also starred in the comedy Punjabi film ''Jijaji''. Bhatti acted in the Hindi Movie '' Aa Ab Laut Chalen'' with Kadar Khan in 1999. Bhatti appeared in
SAB TV Sony SAB is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription busi ...
's ''Comedy ka King Kaun'' as a judge with actress
Divya Dutta Divya Dutta (born 25 September 1977) is an Indian actress. She has appeared primarily in Hindi and Punjabi language, Punjabi cinema, and has received accolades including a National Film Award and a Filmfare OTT Awards, Filmfare OTT Award. Dutt ...
. In his latest stint, Bhatti and his wife Savita competed in a popular
Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of family dramas, romantic comedies, youth-oriented reali ...
show ''
Nach Baliye ''Nach Baliye'' ( ''Dance Partner'') is an Indian Hindi-language celebrity dance reality television series that airs on Star Plus. It is loosely based on '' Dancing With The Stars''. Production Concept The show is a competition where 10 tele ...
'' which went on air in October 2008. The couple demonstrated their dancing and comic skills. In his later years, Jaspal Bhatti set up a training school and a studio in
Mohali Mohali, officially Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar or Ajitgarh, is a planned city in the Mohali district in Punjab, India, Punjab, India, which is an administrative and a commercial hub lying south-west of Chandigarh. It is the headquarters of the M ...
near
Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
called "Joke Factory". He also launched a 52-episode comedy series titled ''Thank You Jijaji'' on Sony's family entertainment channel,
SAB TV Sony SAB is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription busi ...
. It was shot at his ow
MAD Arts
film school at Chandigarh. At a 2009 carnival in Chandigarh, Bhatti put up a stall displaying vegetables, pulses and oils. The onlookers were invited to throw rings around them to win these costly goods as prizes, poking fun at the government's failure to control inflation. In 2009, Bhatti school's, Mad Art's, animation film on
female foeticide Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant. As the practice overwhelmingly targets female fetuses, sex-selective abortion often specifically refers to female-selective abortion. ...
won the second prize in the Advantage India organised by 1take media. It won a certificate of merit at the IDPA-2008 Awards in Mumbai. Bhatti was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award, at the first Golden Kela Awards. Jaspal Bhatti was awarded
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...
by the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
, posthumously on
Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially calle ...
2013 for his contribution to the Arts.


Political satire

Bhatti was known for floating his political parties during elections to highlight the problems faced by the general public. In 1995, he floated the 'Hawala Party' delighting passers-by with his original poker-faced take on growing political corruption in the country which was already a hotly discussed topic in the context of the Jain-Hawala Diaries. In 2002, Bhatti announced that he was starting the "Suitcase Party" and released his manifesto allotting 5 seats to his family & more seats to be decided based on the suitcase size of the prospective candidates. In 2009, the comedian announced that he was floating the "Recession Party" and Bhajna Amli, alias Gurdev Dhillon, as his party's face from the
Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...
. In his trademark satirical style, he kept his party's symbol as opium, drugs and alcohol for which he claimed that there would be no shortage of supply if his party was voted to power.


Critical response

India's leading media critic Amita Malik said of him:


Death

Bhatti died in a car accident near Shahkot in the
Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...
district on 25 October 2012, aged 57. The car was being driven by his son, Jasraj Bhatti. Jaspal died just one day before the release of his film
Power Cut A power outage, also called a blackout, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, a power cut, or a power out is the complete loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an el ...
starring his son Jasraj. In his remembrance, his wife Savita Bhatti organised 'Jaspal Bhatti Humor Festival' which takes place every year on his birth anniversary in Chandigarh.


Awards and honours


Filmography


As actor

* '' Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya'' (2013) (Posthumous release) * ''
Power Cut A power outage, also called a blackout, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, a power cut, or a power out is the complete loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an el ...
'' (2012) – Actor and director * '' Dharti'' (2011) – Surveen's Dad * '' Mausam'' (2011) * '' Hum Tum Shabana'' (2011) Guest appearance * '' Chak De Phatte'' (2009) – Pyara Singh Lovely * '' Ek: The Power of One'' (2009) * '' Fanaa'' (2006) – Jolly Good Singh * ''Nalaik'' (2006) – Daku Mann Singh * ''Mera Dil Leke Dekkho'' (2006) * '' Jija Ji'' (2005) – Jija Ji * ''
Kuchh Meetha Ho Jaye ''Kuchh Meetha Ho Jaye'' (translation: ''Let's Have Something Sweet'') is a 2005 Bollywood romance film directed by Samar Khan as his debut film. It starred Arshad Warsi, Mahima Chaudhry, and Parvin Dabas, while Shah Rukh Khan had a special appe ...
'' (2005) – Ram Saran Dubey * ''
Nalayak ''Nalayak'' () is a 1978 Hindi-language action film, produced by Jagdish C. Sharma on Veena Films banner and directed by Padmanabh. Starring Jeetendra, Leena Chandavarkar and music composed by Kalyanji Anandji. Plot Laxman is a slacker and an ...
'' (2005) * '' Kuch Naa Kaho'' (2003) – Monty Ahluwalia * '' Tujhe Meri Kasam'' (2003) – Sardarji * '' Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani'' (2002) * ''
Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe ''Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe'' (translation: ''Someone ask my heart'') is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language romance thriller film directed by Vinay Shukla, released on 11 January 2002, starring Aftab Shivdasani, Esha Deol (in her debut), and Sanjay ...
'' (2002) – Naraaz Shankar * '' Shakti: The Power'' (2002) – Nandini's uncle * '' Yeh Hai Jalwa'' (2002) – Buta Singh * ''
Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai ''Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai'' (''My Heart is with You'') is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language romantic action drama film directed by Satish Kaushik, produced by Boney Kapoor, released on 25 August 2000. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai and ...
'' (2000) – Balwinder (Balu) * ''
Khauff ''Khauff'' (translation: Fear) is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Sanjay Gupta, starring Sanjay Dutt and Manisha Koirala. It was an unofficial remake of the American film ''The Juror.'' It was released on 3 March 2 ...
'' (2000) – Hava Singh/Dava Singh * ''Woh Bewafa Thi'' (2000) * '' Kartoos'' (1999) – Mini's uncle * ''
Mahaul Theek Hai ''Mahaul Theek Hai'' is a 1999 Indian Punjabi language comedy film directed by Jaspal Bhatti. The film is a satire of police departments of Punjab and their functioning. Plot A boy meets a girl. Boy's brother, is involved with an illegal busin ...
'' (1999) * '' Aa Ab Laut Chalen'' (1999) – Iqbal * '' Jaanam Samjha Karo'' (1999) – Tubby, Rahul's Secretary * ''Kaala Samrajya'' (1999) * ''Wanted: Gurdas Mann Dead or Alive'' (1994) – Thanedaar


As director

*''
Mahaul Theek Hai ''Mahaul Theek Hai'' is a 1999 Indian Punjabi language comedy film directed by Jaspal Bhatti. The film is a satire of police departments of Punjab and their functioning. Plot A boy meets a girl. Boy's brother, is involved with an illegal busin ...
'' (1999) (Also writer and producer) * ''
Power Cut A power outage, also called a blackout, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, a power cut, or a power out is the complete loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an el ...
'' (2012) (Also writer and producer)


TV serials


References


External links

*
Site
Jaspal Bhatti's Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatti, Jaspal 1955 births 2012 deaths Punjabi Sikhs Indian satirists Indian political artists Male actors in Punjabi cinema Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors from Amritsar Artists from Amritsar Punjab Engineering College alumni Panjab University alumni Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Engineers from Punjab, India People from Amritsar 21st-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors from Chandigarh Indian male comedians Road incident deaths in India