Daji Bhatawadekar (stage name for Krishnachandra Moreshwar) (15 September 1921 – 26 December 2006), was an Indian theatre personality and film and television actor. He was credited with the revival of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and

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 * * ...

theatre in India. A winner of the

Sangeet Natak Akademi award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

in 1965, he was honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 1967, with the award of

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society.

Biography

Daji Bhatwadekar was born on 15 September 1921 at Bombay then in the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

of British India. He received his schooling at Arya Education Society, Bombay. He graduated from

Wilson College, Mumbai The Wilson College, established in 1832 in Mumbai, is one of India's oldest colleges; its foundation precedes that of the University of Mumbai, to which it is affiliated, by 25 years. Wilson College was granted autonomy by Mumbai University in ...

and followed it up with by a post graduate degree (MA) in

from

Mumbai University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

. He started his career with an office job but was drawn towards theatre and began involving with ''Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh'', a Mumbai-based literary association. Bhatwadekar acted in many Marathi, Sanskrit, Hindi and English language plays and was associated with actors such as

Durga Khote Durga Khote (14 January 1905 − 22 September 1991) was an Indian actress, beginning as one of the foremost leading ladies of her times, she remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema, as well as theatre, for over 50 years, starring in around ...

and directors like

Purushottam Laxman Deshpande Purushottam Laxman Deshpande (alternatively written as Pu La Deshpande; 8 November 1919 – 12 June 2000), popularly known by his initials ("Pu. La.") or as P. L. Deshpande, was a Marathi writer and humorist from Maharashtra. He was also an ac ...

and

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

. He also performed for ''Mumbai Brahman Sabha''. He was reported to have acted 78 different roles, some of them multiple times. ''Tochi ek Samarth'', ''Mitra'', ''Hee Tar Premachi Khari Gammat Ahe'', ''Lagnachi Goshta'', ''Macbeth'' and ''Tuzha Ahe Tuzhpashi'' are some of his well-known plays. He also acted in a film, Vijeta (1982). He played characters, Nand Dulal Babu in the episode ''Makdi ka Ras'' and Beni Madhav in the episode ''Veni Sanhar'',Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
for the television series,

Byomkesh Bakshi Byomkesh Bakshi is an Indian-Bengali fictional detective created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Referring to himself as a "truth-seeker" or Satyanweshi in the stories, Bakshi is known for his proficiency with observation, logical reasoning, and ...

(1993), broadcast by

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 bro ...

. A scholar in English and Sanskrit, Bhatwadekar wrote a book on Sanskrit theatre, with emphasis on ''aesthetics'' ( rasa) and ''expression'' (

abhinaya Abhinaya (Sanskrit ''abhi-'' 'towards' + ''nii-'' 'leading/guide') is the art of expression in Indian aesthetics. More accurately it means "leading an audience towards" the experience (') of a sentiment ('). The concept, derived from Bharata Mun ...

). He pursued his studies into his 70s and secured a doctoral degree at the age of 74. He was a recipient of several awards such as ''Natya Bhooshan'', ''Kala Guarav'', ''Maharashtra Ratna'' and ''Nata Samraat''. In 1965, he received the

for his contributions to

Sanskrit theatre The term Indian classical drama refers to the tradition of dramatic literature and performance in ancient India. The roots of drama in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to the Rigveda (1200-1500 BCE), which contains a number of hymns in ...

. The

honoured him with the civilian award of

in 1967. He lived in his ancestral home at Bhatawadekar Wadi along

Charni Road Charni Road (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʃəɾniː ɾoːɖ is a neighbourhood in the southern part of Mumbai. It is served by Charni Road railway station. History It is believed that when the British Government raised a grazing tax on peopl ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh observes the date of his death, 26 December, as Dr. Daji Bhatawadekar Memorial day.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatawadekar, Daji Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1921 births People from Mumbai City district Screenwriters from Mumbai Indian male stage actors Indian theatre directors Indian theatre managers and producers Indian male film actors Indian male television actors Marathi people Indian male dramatists and playwrights Year of death missing Male actors from Mumbai 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors in Marathi theatre

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links