Bharat Bhushan

Bharat Bhushan
Born 14 June 1920
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, British India
Died 27 January 1992 (aged 71)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Occupation Actor
Years active 1941–1992
Known for Baiju Bawra
Home town Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Religion Hindu
Awards Filmfare Best Actor Award, 1954

Bharat Bhushan (June 14, 1920 – January 27, 1992) was an Indian Bollywood actor, scriptwriter and producer, who is best remembered for playing Baiju Bawra in the 1952 film of the same name.[1] He was born in Meerut, and brought up in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

Personal life

Bharat Bhushan was born in 14 June 1920 Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

His father, Raibahadur Motilal, was the government pleader of Meerut. His mother died when he was two years old. His elder brother was film producer R. Chandra, who owned the Ideal Studio at Lucknow. The brothers left for Aligarh to stay with their grandfather after their mother's death. He did his studies and took a graduate degree from Aligarh. After this he took to acting against his father's wishes. He first went to Calcutta to join cinema and later established himself in Bombay.

He married into a prominent family in Meerut, Zamindar Raibahadur Budha Prakash's daughter Sharadha. They had two daughters, Anuradha and Aparijitha. Anuradha had polio-associated complications. Sharadha died of labour complications after delivering their second child in the early 60s, soon after the film Barsaat ki raat. In 1967, he married actress Ratna, his co-star in the movie Barsaat Ki Raat.

Bharat Bhushan owned bungalows in Bandra, Bombay and other areas. He was a avid reader and boasted of his collection of books which too he had to sell of like his cars and bungalows in the bad times He died when he was managing to finally get rid of financially bad times , on January 27,[2] 1992.[1]

Professional life

He made his debut with the Kidar Sharma hit, Chitralekha (1941).[3] However, he struggled for over a decade to make a mark in Hindi movies till Baiju Bawra (1952), which gave him instant stardom and legendary status along with Mohammad Rafi, Meena Kumari and Naushad Ali. Though a very talented actor and a prominent star of the 1950s and 1960s in Bollywood, he often took on roles of tragic musicians in the movies. Films in which he starred as lead actor include Basant Bahar.

"He portrays historical and mythological characters the best in Hindi movies," states contemporary actor-producer Chandrashekar. He wrote scripts and stories for Barsat Ki Raat, Nayi Umar Ki Nayi Fasal, Basant Bahar, Dooj Ka Chand, etc. He was the producer of Dooj Ka Chand. His brother R. Chandra made many films such as Bebus, Minar, and Basant Bahar.

He was the recipient of the second Filmfare best actor award for the film Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in 1954. Most of the great songs of major singers of that period Rafi, Manna Dey, Talat, and Mukesh were pictured on him. He was the first chocolate-faced good-looking star of Hindi films. He was one of the few actors who had a good sense of music, so most music-based movies were made with him in lead roles in the 50s and 60s.

He acted in Bollywood movies until the 1990s. He is still loved and revered by the Indians for the great movies and great songs that he gave in spite of personal tragedies and stiff competition from his contemporaries. He is considered to be one of the greatest stars and legends of Hindi cinema.

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gangadhar, V. (2007-08-17). "They now save for the rainy day". The Hindu. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  2. ↑ Sabharwal, Gopa (2007). India Since 1947: The Independent Years. India: Penguin Books. ISBN 0143102745. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  3. ↑ Gulzar, p. 533

External links