Nanabhai Bhatt (12 June 1915 – 24 April 1999) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in Hindi and

Gujarati cinema Gujarati cinema, also known as Gollywood or Dhollywood, is the Gujarati language film industry. It is one of the major regional and vernacular film industries of the cinema of India, having produced more than one thousand films since its ince ...

. He is known for making over a hundred fantasy and mythological films, including ''Mr. X'' (1957), ''Zimbo Comes to Town'' (1960), ''Lal Qila'' (1960) and the blockbuster ''Kangan'' (1959) starring Nirupa Roy and Ashok Kumar. His first film, '' Muqabala'' (1942), was the first to feature the double-role or "twins" phenomenon in Indian cinema, wherein lead actress Fearless Nadia alternated between the good sister and the gangster's moll. The formula was subsequently emulated in numerous

Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

Early life and career

Bhatt, called Yeshwant Bhatt, was born in a

Nagar Brahmin The Nagar Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Gujarat. Author T. Sasaki says, Among Brahmins in Gujarat Nagar Brahmins were most prominent subdivision in the political, economic and social activities of this ...

family on 12 June 1915 in

Porbandar Porbandar is a city in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It is the administrative center of the Porbandar District and it was the former capi ...

, British India. He started his early career in films as a sound recordist with Prakash Pictures, working under his brother Balwant Bhatt, and then by writing "scripts and stories" using the name Batuk Bhatt. He began his directorial venture when he joined Homi Wadia's team at Basant Pictures by co-directing two films with

Babubhai Mistri Babubhai Mistry (5 September 1918 – 20 December 2010) was an Indian film director and special effects pioneer who is best known for his films based on Hindu mythology, such as ''Sampoorna Ramayana'' (1961), ''Mahabharat (1965 film), Mahabhara ...

, '' Muqabala'' (1942) and ''Mauj'' (1943), under the same name. He directed two more films as Batuk Bhatt, Homi Wadia's ''

Hunterwali Ki Beti ''Hunterwali Ki Beti'' is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1943, and is the sequel to the 1935 film ''Hunterwali''. Both films starred Fearless Nadia as the heroine and were produced by the Wadia brothers JBH and Homi (Nadia's husband) of ...

'' (1943) and Liberty Pictures ''

Sudhar Gurusar Sudhar is a township in the district of Ludhiana in Punjab, India. It falls in the Raikot sub-division. Demographics According to census 2001 it has a population of 5728, of which 3003 are males and 2725 are females. The number of hou ...

'' (1949). Bhatt left Basant Pictures and started his own production company "Deepak Pictures" in 1946.

Personal life

Bhatt was the patriarch of the Bhatt film family. He had five daughters and four sons, including film director and producer

Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt (born 20 September 1948) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. A stand-out film from his earlier period is ''Saaransh'' (1984), screened at the 14th Moscow International Film F ...

Mukesh Bhatt Mukesh Bhatt (born 5 June 1952) is an Indian people, Indian film producer and actor who has produced several Bollywood films. He is the younger brother of Mahesh Bhatt, and also the co-owner of the production company Vishesh Films, set up in 19 ...

, and Robin Bhatt. Bhatt died at Nanavati hospital in Mumbai from heart failure on 24 April 1999.

Filmography

Producer

*''

Kabzaa ''Kabzaa'' () is a 1988 Bollywood crime action drama film starring Raj Babbar, Sanjay Dutt, Paresh Rawal. Scripted by Salim Khan and directed by prominent Indian film director Mahesh Bhatt the film received positive reviews from the critics but ...

'' (1985)

Director

*''Jaya Parvati Vrat'' ( Gujarati film) (1982) *''Gajara Maru'' ( Gujarati film) (1981) *'' Dharti Mata'' (1976) *'' Balak Aur Janwar'' (1975) *''Jeevan Rekha'' (1974) *''Jung Aur Aman'' (1968) *''Baghdad Ki Raatein'' (1967) *''

Shankar Khan Shankar may refer to: People *Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name * Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer *L. Shankar, Indian violinist *S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar *Sankar ...

'' (1966) *'' Bekhabar'' (1965) *'' Aadhi Raat Ke Baad'' (1965) *'' Samson'' (1964) *'' Alapiranthavan'' (1963) *''

Bhootnath ''Bhoothnath'' () is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language supernatural comedy film written and directed by Vivek Sharma, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, Aman Siddiqui, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Rajpal Yadav and features Shah Rukh Khan in a c ...

'' (1963) *'' Naag Rani'' (1963) *'' Rocket Girl'' (1962) *'' Baghdad Ki Raaten'' (1962) *''

Teen Ustad Adolescence () is a transitional stage of Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majo ...

'' (1961) *''

Police Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

'' (1960) *''Lal Quila'' (1960) *''

Zimbo Shaher Mein Zimbo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * TV Zimbo, a television network in Angola * Zimbo (film), a 1958 Bollywood film * Zimbo Trio, a Brazilian instrumental ensemble established in 1964 in São Paulo * a character in the Aaahh!!! Real Monster ...

'' (1960) *'' Daaka'' (1959) *'' Baazigar'' (1959) *'' Kangan'' (1959) *''

Naya Sansar Naya Sansar ("New World") is a 1941 Indian Hindustani-language film on radical journalism, directed by reporter turned director, N. R. Acharya (1909–1993), and written by a journalist himself, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, who started his film career wi ...

'' (1959) *''

Madam XYZ Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French ...

'' (1959) *''

Son of Sinbad ''Son of Sinbad'' is a 1955 American adventure film directed by Ted Tetzlaff. It takes place in the Middle East and consists of a wide variety of characters, including over 127 women. The film was shot in 1953 and planned to be released in 3D ...

'' (1958) *'' Chaalbaaz'' (1958) *'' Mr. X'' (1957) *'' Ustad'' (1957) *'' Kismet'' (1956) *'' Watan'' (1954) *'' Toote Khilone'' (1954) *'' Sinbad Jahazi'' (1952) *'' Apni Izzat'' (1952) *'' Baghdad'' (1952) *'' Lakshmi Narayan'' (1951) *'' Ram Janma'' (1951) *''

Daman Daman may refer to: place Places *Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, a union territory in India **Daman and Diu, former union territory of India, now part of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu **Daman district, India ***Daman, India ...

'' (1951) *''

Lav Kush : ''For the TV Show by Ramanand Sagar watch Luv Kush'' ''Lav Kush'' is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language Hindu mythological film, produced by Dilip Kanikaria under the Devyank Arts banner and directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. It stars Jeetendra, Jaya ...

'' (1951) *'' Janmashtami'' (1950) *''

Veer Babruwahan The Veer is an option running play often associated with option offenses in American football, made famous at the collegiate level by Bill Yeoman's Houston Cougars. It is currently run primarily on the high school level, with some usage at t ...

'' (1950) *'' Hamara Ghar'' (1950) *''

Veer Ghatotkach ''Veer Ghatotkach'' is a 1949 Hindi Indian mythological film, starring Meena Kumari, Shahu Modak, Sumiti Gupta, Vasant Pahelwan, Naranjan Sharma and S. N. Tripathi. Meena Kumari, after her career as a child artist, started doing adult roles as ...

'' (1949) *'' Shaukeen'' (1949) *''

Maa Baap Ki Laaj ''Maa Baap Ki Laaj'' is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1946. Cast * Swaran Lata * Nazir Ahmed Khan Nazir Ahmad Khan ( ur, ) (1904 – 26 August 1983) was a Pakistani film actor, director and producer. Biography It was back in ...

'' (1946) *''

Chalis Karod ''Chalis Karod'' (Forty Crores) is a Bollywood film that was released in 1946. The film was directed by Nanabhai Bhatt for Chandra Art Productions. It had music composed by Gobindram and starred Nirmala Devi, Yakub Yakub or Yaqub ( ar, يعق� ...

'' (1946) *''

Mauj ''Mauj'' is a 1943 Bollywood film directed by Nanabhai Bhatt and Babubhai Mistri, starring Fearless Nadia Mary Ann Evans (8 January 1908 – 9 January 1996), also known by her stage name Fearless Nadia, was an Australian-born Indian act ...

'' (1943) *'' Muqabala'' (1942)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatt, Nanabhai 1915 births 1999 deaths People from Porbandar Film producers from Gujarat Hindi-language film directors Gujarati people Nanabhai 20th-century Indian film directors Film directors from Gujarat