Markand Jashbhai Bhatt (2 October 1929 – 5 February 2016) was an Indian Gujarati theatre actor and director. Born and studied in

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

, he taught theatre for more than thirty years at

M. S. University The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

. He acted in and directed several Gujarati plays.

Life

Markand Bhatt was born on 2 October 1929 in

. He started acting at the age of ten in local stage troops. He received master's degree in Drama in 1958 from

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

. He served as the Head of the Department of Drama at Saurashtra Sangeet Natak Akademi, Rajkot for two years. He served as the Head of Department of Theatre Art from 1969 to 1989 and the dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts from 1984 to 1989 at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. He was chairman of the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Akademi from 1992 to 1995. He had acted in more than 1,500 shows of Gujarati plays. He is considered as a pioneer of modern Gujarati theatre who revived the theatre in 1960s. The plays in which he acted include

Chandravadan Mehta Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta (6 April 1901 – 4 May 1991), popularly known as C. C. Mehta or Chan. Chi. Mehta, was a Gujarati playwright, theatre critic, bibliographer, poet, story writer, autobiographer, travel writer and broadcaster from Vadoda ...

's ''Atrulupta Saraswati'' and ''Param Maheshwar'';

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

's ''Nandini'', ''Muktadhara'' and ''Arup Ratan''; Bhasa's ''Karnabhar'', Shankar Shesh's ''Raktabeej'',

Raghuveer Chaudhari Raghuveer ChaudhariSpelling of name is based on his signaturArchived herOther alternative spellings are Raghuvir Chaudhary and Raghuvir Chaudhari. is a novelist, poet and critic from Gujarat, India. He has also worked as a columnist for numerou ...

's ''Sikandar Saani'' and Girish Karnad's ''Agni Ane Vaarsad''. Some other plays are ''Vasundhara na Vahala Davala'', ''Gagane Megh Chhavayo'', ''Venice no Vepari'', ''Janani Janmabhoomi'', ''Nava Klevar Dharo Hansala'', ''Sumanlal T Dave''. He acted in two Gujarati films including ''Reti na Ratan''. He directed several plays including some acclaimed ones; ''Dhara Gurjari'', ''Paritran'', ''Shetal Ne Kanthe'', ''Finger Print'' and ''Hoholika''. He played as an actor and directed plays till 2000. He was associated with an organization, Triveni, to work in field of theatre. He died on 5 February 2016 at Vadodara at the age of 87.

Recognition

He received Gujarat Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1973. He also received

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 2008. He was felicitated by London-based Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans in 1984.

Personal life

He was married to Urmila Bhatt, a Hindi film and Gujarati theatre actress whom he met during studies. She predeceased him on 22 February 1997. They had two sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatt, Markand People from Vadodara 1929 births 2016 deaths Indian theatre directors Gujarati theatre Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni Academic staff of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Male actors in Gujarati-language films Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian male stage actors 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors from Gujarat