Ramesh Bhatkar (3 August 1949 – 4 February 2019) was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

film, stage and TV actor. Of the various roles that Bhatkar portrayed, he was best known for his roles in the TV series ''Commander'' and ''

Hello Inspector ''Hello Inspector'' was an Indian suspense thriller TV serial starring Ravi Kishan that aired on DD Metro in 2002. The series was produced by Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Limited (SABTNL) and was directed by Heeren Adhikari. Ravi Kis ...

''. He worked for more than 30 years as an actor in the mainstream commercial movie industries of the

and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

languages. He died on 4 February 2019 at the age of 69 in Mumbai due to cancer.

Early life

Ramesh Bhatkar was born in 1949. His father was Snehal (Vasudeo) Bhatkar, a

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...

, composer, and

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

. In addition to his artistic background, in his early college days Ramesh Bhatkar was a champion

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who played for his college's aquatic team, and was an enthusiastic

kho-kho Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

player with the reputed Vijay Club in

Dadar Dadar ( ̪aːd̪əɾ is a densely populated residential and shopping neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also a prominent railway and bus service hub with local and national connectivity. Dadar holds the distinction of being Mumbai’s first plann ...

and used to participate in Marathi drama society in the evening time as an actor . Ramesh Bhatkar was the youngest of Snehal's three children, with his older siblings being Snehalata Bhatkar (now married to Ramkrishna Barde) and Avinash Bhatkar. Bhatkar lived in the famous Uma building at Kashinath Dhuru road opposite Kirti college, Dadar West. Famous personalities such as Anurag vaidya also live here.

Career

Movies

Bhatkar's mainstream movie debut was the film ''Chandoba Chandoba Bhaglaas ka'' (1977) followed by ''AshtaVinayak'' (1978), ''Duniya kari Salam, Maaherchi Manasa, Aapli Maanasa,'' and ''

Maherchi Sadi ''Maherchi Sadi'' ( mr, माहेरची साडी) is a Marathi film made in 1991. The film was produced and directed by Vijay Kondke (Nephew of the late Marathi film legend, Dada Kondke). The film made gross income of in first three ...

'' (1991). He also played a groom in the film ''Lek Chalali Sasarla'' and also small roles in movies like Savat majhi Ladki. Of his nearly 90 films, most are in

, with a few in the

language. He was last seen in a character loosely based on former CM of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavhan in the film The Accidental Prime Minister.

Television

His prosperous television career included very popular detective serials such as ''

'' (1990) and '' Damini'' (Marathi) on

DoorDarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest b ...

, Commander (1992) on

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi 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 bus ...

, Khoj (2000) on DD National and ''Teesra Dola'' (1998) on DD2; all these made Ramesh a very popular TV personality. He also appeared in ''Haddapaar, Bandini,

Vikram Aur Betaal ''Vikram Aur Betaal'' is an Indian television series that aired on DD National in 1985 & re-telecast in 1988 after the hit Series Ramayan (1987 TV series), Ramayan. The series contained stories from Hindu , Indian stories. The concept of the ...

, Yugandhara''. He also appeared in his early days in a small

telefilm 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 ...

B. P. Singh Brijendrapal Singh, better known as B. P. Singh is an Indian television producer born in Dehradun, India. He is the creator and director-producer of the Indian TV series ''CID'' (19982018), one of the longest-running TV series in India, whic ...

, ''Sirf Chaar din'', a suspense/thriller. His career includes about 30 series with more than 1,000 episodes aired.

Theatre

Marathi Theatre Marathi theatre is theatre in the Marathi language, mostly originating or based in the state of Maharashtra in India, and elsewhere with Marathi diaspora. Starting in the middle of the 19th century, it flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, ...

was Ramesh Bhatkar's first love, with very prominent lead roles in numerous plays. He played a lead role in ''Ashroonchi Zaali Phule'' (1975) which ran in the Marathi theatre industry for about 28 years. This role of "Lalya" in this play played by him was earlier made popular by Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar. But Ramesh Bhatkar also played it with equal potential and made it popular. Dr Ghanekar also appreciated it lastly. Bhatkar was noticed in the Marathi play ''Mukta'', where he was cast with lead actor Avinash Masurekar and actress Savita Malpekar in 1986. For the last 30 years, Ramesh has played lead roles in such plays as ''Ooghadale Swargache Daar'' (1982), ''Denaryaache Haath Hazaar'' (1980), ''Shadyantra'' (1991), ''Kevha Tari Pahate'', Akher Tu Yeshilach, Rahu Ketu, Mukta, The Boss- Sutradhar, Kinara. He has appeared in about 50 different plays overall.

Death

After a one-year battle with cancer, Ramesh Bhatkar died of cardiac arrest on 4 February 2019 at the age of 69.

Filmography

#Ashtavinayak # Aai pahije #Saheb (2012) #Tamasha – Hach Khel Udya Punha (2011) #Sai Darshan #Aai Raja Udo Udo (2010) #Maalik Ek (2010) #Umang (2010) #Asa Mi Kay Gunha Kela (2010) #Zale Mokale Aakash (2010) #'' Mata Ekvira Navsala Pavli'' (2009) #Gondya Maratay Tangada (2008) #Maazi Aai (2008) #Sakkha Bhau Pakka Vairi (2008) # Bharat Aala Parat (2007) #Aai Mala Maaf Kar (2006) #Mohityanchi Renuka (2006) #Munnabhai S S C (2005) #Kay Dyache Bola (2005) #Khabardaar (2005) #Savarkhed: Ek Gaav (2004) #Saatchya Aat Gharat (2004) #Gharandaaj (2003) #Shodh (2003) #Maratha Battalion (2002) #Jaidev (2001) # Censor (2001) #Ashi Gyaneshwari (2001) # Hafta Vasuli (1998) #Sarkarnama (1997) #Sehme Huay Sitaren (1995) # Bedardi (1993) #'' Bomb Blast (1993 film)'' #Ghayaal (1993) #Paisa Paisa Paisa (1993) #Savat Majhi Ladki (1993) #''

'' (1991) #Bandhan (1991) #Bombay War (1990) #Lapwa Chhapwi (1990) #De Taali (1989) #Hamal de Dhamal (1989) #Aai Pahije (1988) #Rangat Sangat (1988) #Prem Karuya Khullam Khulla (1987) #Mi Chairman Boltoy (1986) #Vahinichi Maya (1985) #Sobati (1984) #Duniya Kari Salaam (1979) #Duniya Kari Salaam (1979) Player acted * Ughadale Swargache Daar (1982) * Denaryaache Haath Hazaar (1980) * Shadyantra (1991) * Kevha Tari Pahate * Akher Tu Yeshilach * Rahu Ketu * Mukta * The Boss- Sutradhar * Kinara * Ashroonchi Zaali Phule * Premachya Gava Jave Serials / Shows acted *

(2002) * Damini * Commander (1992) – Hindi * Teesra Dola * Haddapaar * Bandini * Yugandhar *Vikram Aur Beetal *Suspense Every Week A (more complete) partial list is available on IMDB.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatkar, Ramesh 1949 births 2019 deaths Male actors in Marathi cinema Indian male television actors Deaths from cancer in India Male actors in Marathi television