Vijaya Mehta (born 4 November 1934), is a noted

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

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 * * ...

film and theatre director and also an actor in many films from the

Parallel Cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

. She is a founder member of Mumbai-based theatre group, Rangayan with playwright

Vijay Tendulkar Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. His Marathi plays established him as ...

, and actors Arvind Deshpande and

Shriram Lagoo Dr.Shriram Lagoo (16 November 1927 – 17 December 2019) was an Indian film and theatre actor, in Hindi and Marathi, in addition to being an ENT Surgeon. He was known for his character roles in films. He acted in over 250 films including Hindi ...

. She is most known for her acclaimed role in film ''

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

'' (1984) and for her directorial ventures, '' Rao Saheb'' (1986) and ''

Pestonjee ''Pestonjee'' is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Vijaya Mehta, starring Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, based on a story by film journalist B. K. Karanjia. At the 35th National Film Awards, it won the award ...

'' (1988). As the founder member of theatre group, ''Rangayan'', she became a leading figure in the experimental

Marathi theatre Marathi theatre is theatre in the Marathi language, mostly originating or based in the state of Maharashtra in India, and elsewhere with Marathi diaspora. Starting in the middle of the 19th century, it flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, ...

of the 1960s.

Early life and education

Vijaya Mehta was born Vijaya Jaywant in

Baroda 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 ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in 1934. She graduated 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 ...

. She studied theatre with

Ebrahim Alkazi Ebrahim Alkazi (18 October 1925 – 4 August 2020) was an Indian theatre director and drama teacher. A rigid disciplinarian, he instilled in his acting students an awe and reverence that they still carry with them, with several of them havin ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and with Adi Marzban.

Career

She became a major figure in 60s

experimental theatre. She is a founder member of theatre group, ''Rangayan'' with playwright

Arvind Deshpande Arvind (from sa, अरविन्द ') is a common Indian masculine name meaning lotus. The name is of Hindu origin. Its variants include Aravind, Aravinda, Aravindan, and Aurobindo (). Meaning ' means sun in the Sanskrit language. In pa ...

and

. Her stage production of

C. T. Khanolkar Chintamani Tryambak Khanolkar (C. T. Khanolkar) ( mr, चिंतामणी त्र्यंबक खानोलकर) (8 March 1930 – 26 April 1976) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He wrote poetry under the name "Arati ...

's ''Ek Shoonya Bajirao'' is considered as a landmark in contemporary Indian theatre. She introduced

Bertold Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

into

with adaptation of ''

The Caucasian Chalk Circle ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' (german: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a b ...

'' (''Ajab Nyay Vartulacha''), and Ionesco with ''

Chairs A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...

''. She collaborated on Indo-German theatre projects with German director

Fritz Bennewitz Fritz Bennewitz (20 January 1926 – 13 September 1995) was a German theatre director. Life Bennewitz was born in Chemnitz. His father was a train driver: his mother worked as a seamstress. Between 1950 and 1953 he was a student of German st ...

including a traditional performance of Bhasa's ''Mudrarakshasa'' with German actors. Except ''Pestonjee'', most of her work consists of film and television adaptations of her stage plays. She was awarded the 1975

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 ...

for excellence in Direction, in 1986 she won the

National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcast ...

for her role in '' Rao Saheb'' (1986).

Personal life

She first married Harin Khote, son of actress

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 ...

, however he died at an early age, leaving behind two young sons. Thereafter, she married Farrokh Mehta.

Filmography

* '' Kalyug'' (1981) - Actor * ''Smriti Chitre'' (1982, TV film) - Director, Actor a * ''Shakuntalam'' (1986, TV film) - Director * ''

'' (1984) - Actor * '' Rao Saheb'' (1985) - Director, Screenwriter, Actor * ''Haveli Bulund Thi'' (1987, TV film) - Director * ''Hamidabai Ki Kothi'' (1987, TV film) - Director * ''

'' (1988) - Director, Screenwriter * ''Lifeline'' (1991, TV Series) - Director * '' Quest'' (2006) - Actor

Awards

* 1975

* 1985

Asia Pacific Film Festival The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (abbreviated APFF) is an annual film festival hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific. The festival was first held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954. History The festival was first held in Toky ...

: Best Actress:

* 1986

: '' Rao Saheb'' * 2009 Tanveer Sanmaan * 2012

Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna and Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Puraskar were given at special events organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi in *Kolkata – Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Samman on 25 April 2012 *Chennai – Sangeet Natak Akademi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Vijaya 1934 births Gujarati people University of Mumbai alumni People from Vadodara Indian women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian film directors Indian stage actresses Indian film actresses Indian women film directors National School of Drama faculty Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Living people Indian theatre directors Marathi theatre Best Supporting Actress National Film Award winners Indian women television directors Indian television directors Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Gujarati cinema 20th-century Indian actresses Women writers from Gujarat 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Screenwriters from Gujarat Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 20th-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian film directors Actresses from Gujarat 21st-century Indian actresses Indian television writers Indian women screenwriters Film directors from Gujarat Indian television actresses Indian women television writers