New Delhi . Mahesh Bhatt is among those filmmakers of Hindi cinema, who presented different types of subjects on screen in his career. Mahesh Bhatt, born on 20 September 1948 in Mumbai, is celebrating his 78th birthday today. He has had a journey spanning over five decades as a director, producer and screenwriter.
Mahesh Bhatt's father's name was Nanabhai Bhatt and mother's name was Shireen Mohammad Ali. He studied at Don Bosco High School, Matunga. He started helping his mother from an early age and started working during his school days.
At the age of about 20, he started writing for advertisements. This work, which started to provide financial support to the family, gradually became a part of his creative journey. Interest in writing and ability to express experiences helped him further move towards cinema.
Before coming into the film world, Mahesh Bhatt also worked as the secretary of Smita Patil and Vinod Khanna. His initial recognition in the field of direction came from the 1970 documentary 'Sankat'. After this, at the age of 26, he made his debut as a director in Bollywood with 'Manjilein Aur Bhi Hain'.
His career continued to expand with direction. 'Naam' released in 1986 is counted among his first commercial cinematic films. After this, films like 'Arth', 'Saaransh', 'Aashiqui', 'Daddy', 'Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi' and 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' established him as a popular filmmaker.
In 1987, he also entered the field of production with his brother Mukesh Bhatt under the banner of Vishesh Films with 'Kabja'. In his career, there is mention of shaping the stories of more than 100 films as a screenwriter. He also worked on many films as a director and producer.
'Saaransh' was screened at the 14th Moscow International Film Festival. The film was India's submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film that year. His work also received awards on different occasions. 'Arth', 'Saraansh', 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' and 'Jakhm' are among his famous award-winning works.
Apart from films, Mahesh Bhatt also worked on television. He also made his presence felt on the small screen by directing serials like 'Swabhiman', 'Kabhi Kabhi' and 'Naamkaran'.
A glimpse of personal experiences and society related topics was seen in his films. He also made films on such subjects, which were rarely discussed openly at that time. For this reason, his work had to face criticism and controversies along with praise.
Mahesh Bhatt's personal life was also in discussion for a long time. His first marriage was with Kiran Bhatt. Both have two children Pooja Bhatt and Rahul Bhatt. He later married Soni Razdan, with whom he has two daughters, Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt.
Mahesh Bhatt's identity was not limited to just one director. His journey started from writing to direction, production and television. Currently, he is also in the news for 'Naam-to Live is War'. Veer Pahadia plays an important role in this film, while Siddhant Sachdev is directing it.