Pooja Bhatt (born 24 February 1972) is an Indian film director, actress, voice over artist and film maker. Born into the

Bhatt family This article lists notable families whose members are prominent in the Indian Film Industry. For South Indian film families, see List of South Indian film families and for Indian music families, see List of Indian music families. A Akhtar–Az ...

, she is the daughter of Indian filmmaker,

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 ...

. Bhatt played her first leading role in

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

Daddy A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

'' in 1989. For the film, she won the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year for Best Female Debut.

Early life

Pooja Bhatt was born on 24 February 1972 to

and Kiran Bhatt (born Loraine Bright). On her father's side, Bhatt is of predominantly

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

descent and on her mother's side, she is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Scottish,

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

, and Burmese ancestry. She is the step-daughter of

Soni Razdan Soni Razdan (born 25 October 1956) is a British actress and film director who works in Hindi films. She is married to film director Mahesh Bhatt and is the mother of Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt. Early life Razdan was born in Small Heath Birmi ...

. She has a brother,

Rahul Bhatt Rahul Bhatt (born 24 January 1982) is an Indian fitness trainer and actor. The son of film director Mahesh Bhatt and Kiran Bhatt, Rahul gained notoriety in 2009 following revelations that David Headley, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, ...

and half-sisters Shaheen and

Alia Bhatt Alia Bhatt (; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Alia Bhatt, several accolades including four Filmfare Awards. One of I ...

. Her cousins are Hitarth Bhat and Emraan Hashmi.

Career

Bhatt made her acting debut at age 17, in 1989 with ''

'', a TV film directed by her father

. In the film she portrayed a soul-searching teenage girl in an estranged relationship with her

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

father, played by actor Anupam Kher. Her biggest solo hit and her big screen debut came with the musical hit ''

Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin ''Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin'' () is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film produced by Gulshan Kumar and directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The film starred Bhatt's daughter Pooja Bhatt in her first major lead female role, while the lead male ...

'' (1991), which was a remake of the Oscar-winning Hollywood classic ''

It Happened One Night ''It Happened One Night'' is a 1934 pre-Code American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed and co-produced by Frank Capra, in collaboration with Harry Cohn, in which a pampered socialite ( Claudette Colbert) tr ...

''. Pooja Bhatt appeared in many bold shoots like Stardust. Her most well-known films in the 1990s included ''

Sadak ''Sadak'' () is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film directed by Mahesh Bhatt. It stars Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt. The film is one of the highest-grossing movies of the year 1991. The film is also fondly remembered for the l ...

'' opposite

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...

(1991), '' Junoon'', ''

Jaanam ''Jaanam'' is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language film directed by debutante Vikram Bhatt. It stars Rahul Roy and Pooja Bhatt. It has a critically and publicly acclaimed soundtrack by Anu Malik. This movie was a remake of cult classic ''Bobby (1973 fil ...

'', and ''

Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee ''Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee'' () is an Indian 90's melodious musical Hindi-language romance film. It was produced by Jonny Bakshi and Nitin Keni, directed by Mahesh Bhatt, and starred Pooja Bhatt and Rahul Roy. The Film premiered on Zee TV on ...

'' opposite

Rahul Roy Rahul Roy (born 9 February 1968) is an Indian actor, producer and former model known for his works in Hindi films and television. Roy began his acting career with the 1990 blockbuster '' Aashiqui'', a Mahesh Bhatt production as the lead actor ...

, ''

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

'' (1993) and ''

Guneghar ''Gunehgar'' () is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language action film produced by Kalyaani Singh, presented by Maann Singh, and directed by Vikram Bhatt, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Atul Agnihotri, Pooja Bhatt, Tisca Chopra and Kiran Kumar. Plot The ...

'' (1995) opposite

Atul Agnihotri Atul Agnihotri (born 8 July 1970) is an Indian actor, producer and director. He started his Bollywood career as an actor, went on to direct two films, and found success as a film producer. He is best known for his debut film '' Sir'' (1993), whi ...

, '' Tadipaar'' (1993) and '' Naaraaz'' (1994) opposite

Mithun Chakraborty Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...

, '' Hum Dono'' opposite

Rishi Kapoor Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 — 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director and producer who worked in Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry base ...

, ''

Angrakshak ''Angrakshak'' (Bodyguard) is a 1995 Indian action thriller film starring Sunny Deol, Pooja Bhatt and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Originally, Divya Bharti signed up for it. But due to her sudden death, she was replaced by Pooja. Story Priyanka ( ...

'' opposite

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1956), better known by his stage name Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and current Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Punjab, India. As an actor, ...

(1995), '' Chaahat'' opposite Shah Rukh Khan (1996), '' Tamanna'' (1997), the super-hit and multi-starrer ''

Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

'' (1997) and ''

Zakhm ''Zakhm'' () is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The film stars Ajay Devgn, Kunal Khemu, Pooja Bhatt, Sonali Bendre and Nagarjuna. ''Zakhm'' was awarded with the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature F ...

'' (1998), opposite Ajay Devgan. Mallika Sherawat Mahesh Bhatt Pooja Bhatt still4

Her last film appearance was in the English language film ''

Everybody Says I'm Fine! ''Everybody Says I'm Fine!'' is an Indian English language drama film, released on 12 September 2001 at the Toronto Film Festival. It marks the directorial debut of Indian actor Rahul Bose and the screen debut for actor Boman Irani. For his work ...

'' in 2001. She has since focused on producing and directing. She made her directorial debut with ''

Paap ''Paap'' () is a 2003 Indian crime thriller film, directed by Pooja Bhatt in her directorial debut, and features John Abraham, Udita Goswami, Gulshan Grover and Mohan Agashe. The film received mixed reviews from critics, praising its cinemat ...

'' in 2004, starring

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor, film producer, writer and former model working in Hindi films. He has won a National Film Award and received five Filmfare nominations. After modelling for advertisements and companies, ...

and

Udita Goswami Udita Goswami (born 9 February 1984) is a former Indian actress who worked in Hindi cinema. She has been married to film director Mohit Suri since 2013. Personal life Goswami was born in Dehradun. Her father is from Banaras and her mother is fr ...

. Since then, she has made four more directorial ventures: ''

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

'' (2006), ''

Dhokha ''Dhokha'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Pooja Bhatt, starring Muzammil Ibrahim and Tulip Joshi. Produced by Mukesh Bhatt and featuring music by M. M. Keeravani, the film revolves around a moderate Indian M ...

'' (2007), '' Kajraare'' (2010) and ''

Jism 2 ''Jism 2'' () is a 2012 Indian erotic thriller film produced and directed by Pooja Bhatt and written by Mahesh Bhatt. It is the sequel to the 2003 sleeper hit Bipasha Basu starrer ''Jism (2003 film), Jism'' and marks the debut of Indo-Canadians, ...

'' (2012). In 2020, Bhatt returned to acting with ''

Sadak 2 ''Sadak 2'' () is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language action thriller road film directed by Mahesh Bhatt and produced by Fox Star Studios and Mukesh Bhatt under their banner Vishesh Films. A sequel to the 1991 film ''Sadak'', it stars Sanjay Dutt (r ...

'', a sequel to the hit 1991 film. Her father returned to directing with this film after 20 years. It was released on 28 August 2020 on the streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar. In 2021, Bhatt will be seen in the

Alankrita Shrivastava Alankrita Shrivastava is an Indian screenwriter, director and producer. Having made her debut as a director in 2011, she has since won accolades such as the Grand Prix at the Créteil International Women's Film Festival and a nomination for a Fi ...

directed upcoming webseries ''

Bombay Begums ''Bombay Begums'' is an Indian drama streaming television series for Netflix created by Alankrita Shrivastava, who also co-wrote the script along with Bornila Chatterjee and Iti Agarwal. The series directed by Shrivastava and Chatterjee, is pr ...

''. It will also feature Amruta Subhash,

Shahana Goswami Shahana Goswami is an Indian actress. She is the daughter of Indian economist and writer Omkar Goswami. Career Through her theater circle Goswami met talent consultant Shaanu Sharma who asked her to audition for a role in Naseeruddin Shah's ...

Plabita Borthakur Plabita Borthakur is an Indian actor, singer and artist from Assam. Early life Her father Probin Borthakur was an engineer by profession with Oil India Limited along with being an Indian classical singer and teacher while her mother is a write ...

and Aadhya Anand.

Controversies

Mahesh Bhatt became the talk of the town and was slammed by the media after the filmmaker shot for a magazine cover which showed him and his daughter Pooja kissing each other on the lips. Her father also stated that: ''"If Pooja wasn't my daughter, I'd love to marry her."''

Filmography

As an actress

Web series

As a crew member

Awards and recognitions

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatt, Pooja 1972 births Living people Actresses from Mumbai Film directors from Mumbai Film producers from Mumbai Businesswomen from Maharashtra Indian film actresses Indian web series actresses Indian voice actresses Indian women film directors Indian women film producers Pooja Gujarati people Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Hindi film producers Hindi-language film directors Producers who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award Actresses of European descent in Indian films Actresses of European descent in Bollywood films Indian people of Armenian descent Indian people of Burmese descent Indian people of English descent Indian people of Scottish descent Filmfare Awards winners 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian film directors