Pooja Bhatt

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Pooja Bhatt
Bhatt in 2018
Born (1972-02-24) 24 February 1972 (age 52)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • producer
  • director
Years active1989–present
Spouse
(m. 2003; div. 2014)
Parent
RelativesSee Bhatt family

Pooja Bhatt (born 24 February 1972) is an Indian film director, actress, voice-over artist and filmmaker.[1] Born into the Bhatt family, she is the daughter of Indian filmmaker, Mahesh Bhatt. Bhatt played her first leading role in Mahesh Bhatt's television film Daddy in 1989. For the film, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Her breakthrough came with the romance comedy Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991), which also emerged as her highest grossing release. She was a part of Bigg Boss OTT 2, where she emerged as the 4th runner up.

Personal life[edit]

Pooja Bhatt was born on 24 February 1972[2] to Mahesh Bhatt and Kiran Bhatt (born Loraine Bright).[3] On her father's side, Bhatt is of Gujarati descent and on her mother's side, she is of English, Scottish, Armenian, and Burmese ancestry.[3][4][5][6] She is the step-daughter of Soni Razdan. She has a brother, Rahul Bhatt and half-sisters Shaheen Bhatt and Alia Bhatt.[4] Her cousins are Hitarth Bhat and Emraan Hashmi.[7]

Bhatt married restaurateur Manish Makhija in 2003, they divorced in 2014.[8][9]

Career[edit]

Bhatt made her acting debut at age 17, in 1989 with Daddy, a TV film directed by her father Mahesh Bhatt. In the film, she portrayed a soul-searching teenage girl in an estranged relationship with her alcoholic father, played by actor Anupam Kher. Her performance in the film earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

Her biggest solo hit and her big screen debut came with the romantic comedy Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991) opposite Aamir Khan,[4] which was a remake of the Oscar-winning Hollywood classic It Happened One Night (1934). The film proved to be a breakthrough for Bhatt, post which she also appeared in many bold shoots like Stardust.[10]

Her most well-known films in the 1990s included Sadak[4] opposite Sanjay Dutt (1991), Junoon, Jaanam, and Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee opposite Rahul Roy, Sir (1993) and Guneghar (1995) opposite Atul Agnihotri, Tadipaar (1993) and Naaraaz (1994) opposite Mithun Chakraborty, Hum Dono opposite Rishi Kapoor, Angrakshak opposite Sunny Deol (1995), Chaahat opposite Shah Rukh Khan (1996), Tamanna (1997) which won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues, Border (1997) and Zakhm (1998), opposite Ajay Devgan, which won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. Zakhm was based on the life of Mahesh Bhatt's mother Shirin Mohammad Ali, while his daughter Pooja Bhatt essayed her character in this film.[11][12][13]

Bhatt (right) with her father Mahesh Bhatt and actress Mallika Sherawat in 2004.

Her last film appearance was in the English language film Everybody Says I'm Fine! in 2001.

From 2003 to 2012, she 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 (2006), Dhokha (2007), Kajraare (2010) and Jism 2 (2012).[4]

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, while her half-sister Alia Bhatt also co-starred alongside her.[14] It was released on 28 August 2020 on the streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar.[15]

In 2021, Bhatt made her web series debut in the Netflix series Bombay Begums. It also featured Amruta Subhash, Shahana Goswami, Plabita Borthakur, Aadhya Anand and Rahul Bose.[16]

In 2022, she appeared in the film Chup: Revenge of the Artist.

In 2023, she participated in the popular reality show Bigg Boss OTT 2, where she emerged as the 4th runner up of the season.

Filmography[edit]

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

Acting roles[edit]

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 in Hindi and Telugu
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

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2021 Bombay Begums Rani Irani
2023 Bigg Boss OTT 2 Contestant 4th runner-up
2024 Bigg Boss 17 Guest
2024 Big Girls Don't Cry Anita Verna

Awards and recognitions[edit]

Year Award(s) Category Film(s) Result
1991 36th Filmfare Awards Best Female Debut Daddy Won
1999 44th National Film Awards Best Film on Other Social Issues Tamanna
1999 46th National Film Awards Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration Zakhm
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Best Actress (Hindi)
2004 Zee Cine Awards Best Debut Director Paap Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Pooja Bhatt photos: 50 rare HD photos of Pooja Bhatt". The Indian Express. 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Birthday Exclusive: Pooja Bhatt". Deccan Chronicle. 24 February 2013. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b Nath, Dipanita (15 November 2016). "Letters from Father to Daughter". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Pooja Bhatt: Lesser known facts". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  5. ^ Bollywood Trade News Network (July 2007). "Tulip's one exciting girl to watch for!". GlamSham. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  6. ^ Jha, Subhash K (23 May 2013). "Pooja Bhatt auctions role for women's cause". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  7. ^ Sharma, Aditi (15 May 2021). "Emraan Hashmi spills the beans on Mahesh Bhatt-Mukesh Bhatt split". Zee News. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  8. ^ Sharma, Dishya (1 August 2023). "When Pooja Bhatt Revealed Reason Behind Separating from Manish Makhija: 'I Was Tired of Being...'". News18. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Bigg Boss OTT 2: Pooja Bhatt Says Divorce Was The "Lowest Phase" Of Her Life - "It Felt Like Death"". NDTV. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Pictures of celebrities' on magazine covers". The Times of India. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  11. ^ Khanabar, Ankita (15 March 2023). "Pooja Bhatt recalls wearing her grandmother's saree and mangalsutra in 'Zakhm' as the film was based on Mahesh Bhatt's mother's life - Exclusive!". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Pooja Bhatt recalls being terrified of playing her grandmom in Zakhm". Hindustan Times. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  13. ^ "When Mahesh Bhatt's father put sindoor on his mother's remains: 'It was too little too late, that broke me down'". The Indian Express. 11 March 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Mahesh Bhatt returns to direction with Sadak 2, daughters Alia and Pooja to star with Sanjay Dutt". The Indian Express. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Alia Bhatt announces Sadak 2 premiere on August 28 on Disney+ Hotstar". Bollywood Hungama. 6 August 2020. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  16. ^ Keshri, Shweta (16 July 2020). "Netflix's Bombay Begums starring Pooja Bhatt deals with desire, ethics and vulnerabilities". India Today. Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.

External links[edit]