Pooja Bhatt | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bhatt in 2019 | |
| Born | (1972-02-24)24 February 1972 (age 53) Bombay,Maharashtra, India |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse | |
| Father | Mahesh Bhatt |
| Relatives | SeeBhatt family |
Pooja Bhatt (born 24 February 1972) is an Indian actress, director, and filmmaker.[1] She established herself as one of the leading actresses ofHindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. She is the recipient of several accolades, including twoNational Film Awards and oneFilmfare Awards.
Born into theBhatt family, she is the daughter of Indian filmmakerMahesh Bhatt. Bhatt played her first leading role in Mahesh Bhatt'stelevision filmDaddy in 1989. For the film, she won theFilmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Her breakthrough came with the romance comedyDil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991), which also emerged as her highest grossing release. In the following decade, Bhatt began portraying various characters, garnering critical acclaim for her performances in films includingSadak (1991),Junoon (1992),Naaraaz (1994),Chaahat (1996),Tamanna (1997), Border (1997),Kabhi Na Kabhi (1998),Angaaray (1998), andZakhm (1998).
Pooja Bhatt was born on 24 February 1972[2] toMahesh Bhatt and Kiran Bhatt (born Loraine Bright).[3] On her father's side, Bhatt is ofGujarati descent and on her mother's side, she is ofEnglish,Scottish,Armenian, andBurmese ancestry.[3][4] She is the step-daughter ofSoni Razdan. She has a brother,Rahul Bhatt and younger half-sisters Shaheen Bhatt andAlia Bhatt.[4] Her cousins are Hitarth Bhat, film directorMohit Suri, former actressSmiley Suri and actorEmraan Hashmi.[5]
Bhatt made her acting debut at age 17, in 1989 withDaddy, a TV film directed by her father Mahesh Bhatt. In the film, she portrayed a soul-searching teenage girl in an estranged relationship with heralcoholic father, played by actorAnupam Kher. Her performance in the film earned her theFilmfare Award for Best Female Debut.[6][7] Her biggest solo hit and her big screen debut came with the romantic comedyDil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991) oppositeAamir Khan,[4] which is a remake of theOscar-winningHollywood classicIt Happened One Night (1934). The film proved to be a breakthrough for Bhatt.
Her most well-known films in the 1990s includeSadak[4] oppositeSanjay Dutt, one of the highest-grossing movies of the year 1991.[8] The film was inspired by the 1976 American filmTaxi Driver.[9] Then in 1992 she was seen inPrem Deewane, directed bySachin Pilgaonkar and produced by Ashok Ghai. The film was released in India on 12 June, and stars anensemble cast includingJackie Shroff,Madhuri Dixit,Vivek Mushran,Manohar Singh,Ashalata Wabgaonkar,Prem Chopra and Kamal Chopra. In the same year, she starred inJunoon, reportedly inspired by the 1981 filmAn American Werewolf in London. The film was successful at the box office and received favourable reviews.[10]
In 1993, she appeared in many films includingJaanam which is about a boy and girl from opposing families who meet and fall in love, determined not to let the hate between their parents stand in the way of their happiness andPhir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee which was an Indian '90s melodious musicalHindi-languageromance film. Both the films was widely appreciated by Critics.[11] She then starred inSir opposite debutantAtul Agnihotri. This film is about a peace-loving college professor Amar, who loses his son in a war break-out between the two gang leaders. The film was remade in Telugu asGangmaster, withRajasekhar.[12] After that she appeared inChor Aur Chaand oppositeAditya Pancholi. It is a love story with the backdrop of drugs and its effect on the youth of the nation. Although the film underperformed at the box office, it developed a significant cult following over the years since its release.[13] Her next release wasAshutosh Gowariker's thrillerPehla Nasha, co-starringDeepak Tijori,Raveena Tandon, andParesh Rawal. The movie is a remake ofBrian de Palma's 1984 thrillerBody Double. The film also has cameo appearances by Aamir Khan,Sudesh Berry,Rahul Roy,Shah Rukh Khan,Juhi Chawla andSaif Ali Khan as themselves. It remains the only film to have Aamir, Shah Rukh and Saif in a scene together along with Roy and Berry.[14] Upon release, the film received negative reviews and failed at the box office.[15] Bhatt's final release of 1993 was Mahesh Bhatt's romantic action filmTadipaar, withMithun Chakraborty. The movie was released on the same day as Mithun'sShatranj and both went on to become hits based on Mithun's stupendous popularity at the time.[16]
After starring in many hit movies, she did many films including,Guneghar (1995) oppositeAtul Agnihotri, andNaaraaz (1994) oppositeMithun Chakraborty,Hum Dono oppositeRishi Kapoor,Angrakshak oppositeSunny Deol (1995). Then in 1996 Bhatt, stars inChaahat oppositeShah Rukh Khan, the film earned a total of₹6.87 crore (US$790,000) nett, and was declared "Below Average" byBox Office India.[citation needed] It was the 15th-highest-grossing film of the year in India.[17]
She next starred as an abandoned girl in the thriller filmTamanna, which marked her first production venture under her Pooja Bhatt Productions. It also won theNational Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues. Bhatt began 1997 with a role inJyoti Prakash Dutta’s ensemble dramaBorder, the film was released worldwide on 13 June 1997 with positive reviews from critics and garnered critical acclaim for its story, execution, scale, showing off the battle, direction, screenplay, performances and soundtrack.[18] It opened to strong box office results, had a final domestic net total of₹394 million (US$4.5 million) and was declared an all-time blockbuster byBox Office India. It also became the highest-grossing Hindi film of 1997 in India, but if according to worldwide, it was the second highest-grossing film of the year behindDil To Pagal Hai.Border grossed a worldwide total of₹655.7 million and it was the fourth biggest blockbuster film of the 90s decade.[19]
Bhatt gained further success in (1998) with the filmZakhm, oppositeAjay Devgan, which won theNargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. Zakhm was based on the life ofMahesh Bhatt's mother Shirin Mohammad Ali, while she essayed her character in this film.[20][21][22] The performance of Bhatt was well received, for which she received aFilmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics) nomination. Bhatt was also part of a filmAngaaray, oppositeAkshay Kumar andNagarjuna.[23] The movie was inspired by the American filmState of Grace.[24] The movie turned out to be a commercially successful.[25] All these achievements established Bhatt as one of the most successful actresses of the year, according to Box Office India. In 2001 Bhatt starred in an English-languagedrama filmEverybody Says I'm Fine!, which was written and directed byRahul Bose. The film premiered on 12 September at theToronto International Film Festival.[26]
From 2003 to 2012, she focused on producing and directing. She made her directorial debut withPaap in 2004, starringJohn Abraham andUdita Goswami. Since then, she has made four more directorial ventures:Holiday (2006),Dhokha (2007),Kajraare (2010) andJism 2 (2012).[25] Her last film appearance was in the romantic filmSanam Teri Kasam in 2009, opposite Saif Ali Khan and Atul Agnihotri.[27][28]
In 2020, Bhatt returned to acting withSadak 2, a sequel to the hit1991 film. Her father returned to directing with this film after 20 years, while her half-sisterAlia Bhatt also co-starred alongside her.[29] It was released on 28 August 2020 on the streaming platformDisney+ Hotstar.[30]
In 2021, Bhatt made her web series debut in theNetflix seriesBombay Begums. It also featuresAmruta Subhash,Shahana Goswami,Plabita Borthakur, Aadhya Anand and [Rahul Bose.[31]
Bhatt married restaurateurManish Makhija in 2003. They divorced in 2014.[32][33]
In the '90s, Bhatt was often regarded as one of the most stylish and bold actresses in Bollywood.[34] She appeared boldly in many magazine covers includingStardust,Cine Blitz, andFilmfare.[35] InRediff.com's "The Best Actresses" list of 2021, she ranked 10th.[36] In the same year,PETA India named her as the Hero for Animals for her support for never using animals in films.[37] In 2022, Bhatt joined Congress leaderRahul Gandhi'sBharat Jodo Yatra, which resumed inHyderabad.[38]
| Year | Film | Producer | Director | Production Designer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Tamanna | Yes | No | No |
| 1998 | Dushman | Yes | No | No |
| 1998 | Zakhm | Yes | No | No |
| 2002 | Sur: The Melody of Life | Yes | No | No |
| 2003 | Jism | Yes | No | Yes |
| 2003 | Paap | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2005 | Rog | Yes | No | No |
| 2006 | Holiday | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2007 | Dhokha | No | Yes | No |
| 2010 | Kajraare | No | Yes | No |
| 2012 | Jism 2 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2019 | Cabaret | Yes | No | No |
| Year | Film | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Daddy | Pooja | Debut film |
| 1991 | Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin | Pooja Dharamchand | |
| Sadak | Pooja | ||
| 1992 | Prem Deewane | Radha | |
| Jaanam | Anjali | ||
| Saatwan Aasman | Pooja Malhotra | ||
| Junoon | Dr. Nita V. Chauhan | ||
| 1993 | Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee | Pooja | |
| Sir | Pooja | ||
| Chor Aur Chaand | Reema D. Seth | ||
| Pehla Nasha | Monica | ||
| Tadipaar | Mohinidevi/Namkeen | ||
| 1994 | Kranti Kshetra | Pooja | |
| Naaraaz | Sonia | ||
| Boyfriend | Bilingual film inHindi andTelugu | ||
| 1995 | Gunehgar | Pooja Thakur | |
| Hum Dono | Priyanka Surendra Gupta | ||
| Angrakshak | Priyanka Choudhary/Priya | ||
| 1996 | Kalloori Vaasal | Pooja | Tamil film |
| Chaahat | Pooja | ||
| 1997 | Tamanna | Tamanna Ali Sayed | |
| Border | Kammo | ||
| 1998 | Yeh Aashiqui Meri | Anju | |
| Kabhi Na Kabhi | Tina | ||
| Angaaray | Pooja | ||
| Zakhm | Mrs. Desai | ||
| 2001 | Everybody Says I'm Fine! | Tanya | |
| 2009 | Sanam Teri Kasam | Seema Khanna | |
| 2020 | Sadak 2 | Pooja Varma | |
| 2022 | Chup: Revenge of The Artist | Zenobia Shroff |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Bombay Begums | Rani Irani | |
| 2023 | Bigg Boss OTT 2 | Contestant | 4th runner-up |
| 2024 | Big Girls Don't Cry | Anita Verna |
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| Year | Award(s) | Category | Film(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 36th Filmfare Awards | Best Female Debut | Daddy | Won |
| 1992 | Smita Patil Memorial Award | Best Actress | — | Won |
| Stardust Awards | Performer of the Year | — | Won | |
| 1999 | Bollywood Movie Awards | Best Actress (Critics) | Zakhm | Won |
| Most Sensational Actress | — | Nominated | ||
| Sansui Viewers' Choice Movie Awards | Best Actress Critics | Zakhm | Nominated | |
| Zee Cine Awards | Best Actress (Jury) | Nominated | ||
| Filmfare Awards | Best Actress Critics | Nominated | ||
| Screen Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
| Face of the Year | Won | |||
| 1999 | 44th National Film Awards | Best Film on Other Social Issues | Tamanna | Won |
| 1999 | 46th National Film Awards | Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration | Zakhm | Won |
| Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards | Best Actress (Hindi) | Won | ||
| 2004 | Zee Cine Awards | Best Debut Director | Paap | Nominated |
| Star Guild Awards | Best Debut Director | Nominated |
Rahul Bose, who won the second prize at the Palm Springs Festival for his directorial debut...
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