Indian Comedian and Actor
Jaspal Bhatti
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Born
| Jaspal Singh Bhatti
(
1955-03-03
)
3 March 1955
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Died
| 25 October 2012
(2012-10-25)
(aged 57)
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Alma mater
| Punjab Engineering College
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Occupations
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Years active
| 1985?2012
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Notable work
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Spouse
|
Savita Bhatti
(
m.
1985)
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Children
| 2
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Relatives
| Surilie Gautam
(daughter-in-law)
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Honours
| Padma Bhushan
(2013)
[1]
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Jaspal Singh Bhatti
(3 March 1955 ? 25 October 2012) was an Indian television personality known for his satirical take on the problems of the common man. He was most well known for his television series
Flop Show
,
Full Tension
and mini capsules
Ulta Pulta
which ran on
Doordarshan
, India's public service broadcaster, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was commonly known as the "King of Comedy" and also the "King of Satire". He carried out various anti-corruption crusades in Chandigarh. His frontal attack on issues like red-tapism, nepotism, and corruption was both comic and awakening for the masses.
In 2013, he was (
posthumously
) honoured with the
Padma Bhushan
, India's third-highest
civilian award
.
[1]
Early background and personal life
[
edit
]
Bhatti was born on 3 March 1955 in
Amritsar
,
East Punjab
,
Republic of India
into a
Punjabi
Sikh
Rajput
family.
[2]
Bhatti graduated from
Punjab Engineering College (PEC)
in
Chandigarh
as an electrical engineer.
[3]
Bhatti married
Savita Bhatti
on 24 March 1985, and has a son, Jasraj Bhatti, and a daughter, Raabiya Bhatti.
[4]
His wife Savita Bhatti was chosen in the
2014 Indian general elections
, as a candidate of the
Aam Aadmi Party
from
Chandigarh
, but she opted out.
[5]
Flop Show
[
edit
]
His low-budget
Flop Show
, the TV series in the early 1990s, is remembered even today. His wife Savita Bhatti produced the show and acted in all the episodes as his wife. Only 10 episodes were ever produced, but the show has had a long and powerful legacy and is well-remembered.
[6]
[7]
One of his co-actors
Vivek Shauq
became pretty successful after his stint in
Flop Show
, having found a solid footing in
Hindi cinema
.
Subsequent work
[
edit
]
Bhatti subsequently acted and directed the popular TV series
Ulta Pulta
and
Nonsense Private Limited
for the
Doordarshan
network. What attracted the audience to his shows was his gift of inducing humour to highlight everyday issues of the middle class in India. Bhatti's satire on the
Punjab Police
in his film
Mahaul Theek Hai
(1999) was his first directorial venture for a full-length feature film in his native
Punjabi language
. He played the role of Jolly Good Singh, a guard, in the movie
[[Fanaa (film)|Fanaa]
. He played a comical college principal in
Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe
. He also starred in the comedy Punjabi film
Jijaji
.
Bhatti acted in the Hindi Movie
Aa Ab Laut Chalen
with Kadar Khan in 1999.
Bhatti appeared in
SAB TV
's
Comedy ka King Kaun
as a judge with actress
Divya Dutta
. In his latest stint, Bhatti and his wife Savita competed in a popular
Star Plus
show
Nach Baliye
which went on air in October 2008.
[8]
The couple demonstrated their dancing and comic skills.
In his later years, Jaspal Bhatti set up a training school
[9]
and a studio in
Mohali
near
Chandigarh
called "Joke Factory".
He also launched a new 52-episode comedy series titled
Thank You Jijaji
[10]
on Sony's family entertainment channel,
SAB TV
. It was shot at his own
MAD Arts
film school at
Chandigarh
.
At a 2009 carnival in Chandigarh, Bhatti put up a stall displaying vegetables, daal and oils. The onlookers were invited to throw rings around them to win these costly goods as prizes, poking fun at the government's failure to control inflation.
[11]
In 2009, Bhatti school's, Mad Art's, animation film on
female foeticide
won the second prize in the Advantage India organised by 1take media.
[12]
It won a certificate of merit at the IDPA-2008 Awards in Mumbai.
[13]
Bhatti was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award, at the first
Golden Kela Awards
.
[14]
Jaspal Bhatti was awarded
Padma Bhushan
by the
Government of India
, posthumously on
Republic Day
2013 for his contribution to the Arts.
Political satire
[
edit
]
Bhatti was known for floating his political parties during elections to highlight the problems faced by the general public.
In 1995, he floated the 'Hawala Party' delighting passers-by with his original poker-faced take on growing political corruption in the country which was already a hotly discussed topic in the context of the
Jain-Hawala Diaries
.
[15]
In 2002, Bhatti announced that he was starting the "Suitcase Party" and released his manifesto allotting 5 seats to his family & more seats to be decided based on the suitcase size of the prospective candidates.
[16]
In 2009, the comedian announced that he was floating the "Recession Party" and Bhajna Amli, alias Gurdev Dhillon, as his party's face from the
Ludhiana
. In his trademark satirical style, he kept his party's symbol as opium, drugs and alcohol for which he claimed that there would be no shortage of supply if his party was voted to power.
[17]
Critical response
[
edit
]
India's leading media critic
Amita Malik
said of him:
"Bhatti has the correct style for TV, an understated, quiet humour which sinks in without shouting, and which mercilessly exposes both corruption in our everyday life and the typical people, who thrive on it. The grim fact and the hard truths of our society so bitter otherwise are made so funny through the adept handling of Bhatti, that cleansing laughter is created out of common malpractices."
[18]
Death
[
edit
]
Bhatti died in a car accident near
Shahkot
in the
Jalandhar
district on 25 October 2012, aged 57. The car was being driven by his son, Jasraj Bhatti.
[19]
[20]
Jaspal died just one day before the release of his film
Power Cut
starring his son Jasraj.
[21]
In his remembrance, his wife Savita Bhatti organised 'Jaspal Bhatti Humor Festival' which takes place every year on his birth anniversary in Chandigarh.
[22]
[23]
Awards and honours
[
edit
]
Filmography
[
edit
]
As actor
[
edit
]
As director
[
edit
]
TV serials
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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