JASPAL BHATTI-GREAT PUNJABI COMEDIAN

Jaspal Singh Bhatti (3 March 1955 – 25 October 2012) was an Indian television personality famous for his satirical take on the problems of the common man. He is most well known for his television series Flop Show and mini capsules Ulta Pulta which ran on Doordarshan, India's national television network, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Early years

Jaspal Bhatti was born on 3 March 1955 at Amritsar in a Rajput Sikh family. He graduated from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh in Punjab, as an electrical engineer. He was very famous for his street plays like his Nonsense Club during his college days. Most of these plays were spoofs ridiculing corruption in society. Before venturing into television, he was a cartoonist for theThe Tribune newspaper in Chandigarh.

Flop Show

His low-budget Flop Show show 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. One of his co-actors Vivek Shauq has been very successful since his stint in Flop Show, having found a footing in Hindi cinema. On 10 January 2011, Shauq died from septicemia.

Subsequent work

Bhatti's subsequently acted and directed the popular TV series Ulta Pulta and Nonsense Private Limited for the Doordarshan television network. What attracted audience to his shows was his gift of inducing humour to highlight everyday issues of the middle class in India. Jaspal Bhatti's satire on the Punjab police Mahaul Theek Hai (1999) was his first directorial venture for a full-length feature film in his native Punjabi language. It was well received amongst audience for its simple and honest humour. He played the role of Jolly Good Singh, a guard, in the movie 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 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.^[1] The couple put their best foot forward to entertain the audiences with their dancing and comic skills.

The cartoonist, humorist, actor and filmmaker was focusing on acting as he was getting numerous offers from Bollywood producers as a comedian.

In his later years, Jaspal Bhatti set up a training school^[2] and a studio in Mohali near Chandigarh called "Joke Factory".

He also launched a new 52-episode comedy series titled ''Thank You Jijaji''^[3] on Sony's family entertainment channel, SAB TV. It was shot at his own MAD Arts film school at Chandigarh.

At a 2009 carnival at 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 to poke fun at the government's failure to control inflation.^[4]

In 2009, Bhatti school’s, Mad Art’s, animation film on female foeticide won the second prize in the Advantage India organized by 1take media.^[5] It won a certificate of merit at the IDPA-2008 Awards in Mumbai.^[6]

Bhatti was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award, at the first Golden Kela Awards.^[7]

Political Satire

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 takeoff on growing political corruption in the country which was already a hotly discussed topic in the context of the Jain-Hawala Diaries.^[8]

In 2002, Bhatti announced that he is starting the "Suitcase Party" & released his manifesto alloting 5 seats to his family & more seats to be decided based on the suitcase size of the prospective candidates^[9]

In 2009, the comedian announced that he is floating the "Recession Party" & 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 will be no shortage of supply if his party is voted to power.^[10]

Critical response

India’s leading media critic Amita Malik says 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 every day 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."^[11]

Personal life

Bhatti married Savita Bhatti on 24 March 1985^{[citation needed]} and has a son, Jasraj Bhatti, and a daughter, Raabiya Bhatti.^[12]

Death

On 25 October 2012, he died in a car accident. The Honda Accord car which the 57-year-old actor/director's son Jasraj Bhatti was driving hit a tree near Shahkot in Nakodar area of the Jalandhardistrict. The accident took place at around 1.30 am, when Jasraj lost the control over the vehicle while taking a blind turn and rammed into a roadside tree. The actor, along with his son and actress Surilie Gautam, was driving from Bhatinda to Jalandhar for the promotion of Power Cut (2012 film), which is based on frequent power cuts in Punjab. Bhatti was sitting in the rear seat of the car and received serious head injuries. Bhatti was taken to a private hospital in Jalandhar where he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.

SH. YASH RAJ CHOPRA- GREAT PUNJABI- FILM MAKER

Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 – 21 October 2012)^[1] was an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, predominantly working inHindi cinema and Bollywood. Chopra began his career as an assistant director to I.S. Johar and his elder brother, B.R. Chopra. He made his directorial debut with Dhool Ka Phool in 1959, a melodrama about illegitimacy and followed it with the social drama Dharmputra (1961). Encouraged by the success of both films, the Chopra brothers made several more movies together during the late fifties and sixties. Chopra then rose to prominence after the commercially and critically successful drama, Waqt (1965), which pioneered the concept of ensemble casts in Bollywood.

In 1973, Chopra founded his own production company, Yash Raj Films, and launched it with Daag: A Poem of Love (1973), a successful melodrama about a polygamous man. His success continued in the seventies, with some of Indian cinema's most successful and iconic films, including the action thriller Deewar (1975) which established Amitabh Bachchan as leading man in Bollywood, the romantic drama Kabhi Kabhie (1976) and Trishul(1978). The eighties marked a professional setback in Chopra's career as several films he directed and produced in that period failed to leave a mark at the Indian box office, notably Silsila (1981), Mashaal (1984), Faasle (1985) and Vijay (1988). However, in 1989, Chopra directed the commercially and critically successful cult film Chandni which became instrumental in ending the era of violent films in Bollywood and returning musicals.

Chopra then directed and produced the cult classic Lamhe in 1991. Considered by critics and Chopra himself as his best work to date, the film became one of the biggest Bollywood hits in the overseas market. Chopra followed it with the box-office hit and trend setter Darr (1993). StarringShahrukh Khan in his debut, it showed a sympathetic look at obsessive love and defied the image of the conventional hero. Since then, Chopra directed three more romantic films, all starring Khan; Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) before he announced his retirement from directing in 2012.

Chopra founded and was chairman of the motion picture production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, which ranks as India's biggest production company as of 2006, as well as the founder of Yash Raj Studios. Chopra's career has spanned over five decades and over 50 films and is considered one of the leading filmmakers in the history of Hindi cinema. Chopra has won several film awards, including six National Film Awards, eleven Filmfare awards and four Filmfare Award for Best Director. The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005 for his contributions towards Indian cinema. BAFTA presented him with a lifetime membership for his contribution to the films, making him the first Indian to receive the honour.

SARDAR FAUJA SINGH- MARATHON RUNNER

 SARDAR FAUJA SINGH started his career as a marathon runner at the age of 89 and is a huge inspiration to runners all round the world. He has completed nine marathons and carried the Flame while it was in London for the 2004 Athens Games. His current personal best time for the London Marathon in 2003 is 6 hours 2 minutes but with a world best of 5 hours 40 minutes in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2003. In the same event in 2011 .HE became the first 100 year old to complete a marathon in just over eight hours after setting world records in eight distances from 100m to 5000m just 72 hours earlier. In April 2012 he completed the London Marathon in 7 hours 49 minutes at the age of 101. HE has raised tens of thousands for various charities globally through his running.HE WAS TORCH BEARER IN LONDON OLYMPICS 2012. HE HAS RAISED NAME OF SIKHS ,PUNJABIS IN THE WORLD. MAY HE LIVE LONG.

(Story as provided by the Torchbearer’s nominator)

SHAHID BHAGAT SINGH- A TRUE PUNJABI

SARDAR .Bhagat Singh  27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931, Devanagari: भगत सिंह, Gurumukhi: ਭਗਤ ਸਿੰਘ ) was an Indian nationalist considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. He is often referred to as ShaheedBhagat Singh, the word Shaheed meaning "martyr" in a number of Indian languages. Born into a Sandhu Jat Sikh family which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj, as a teenager Singh studied European revolutionary movements and was attracted to anarchist and marxist ideologies. He became involved in numerous revolutionary organizations, and quickly rose through the ranks of theHindustan Republican Association (HRA) to become one of its main leaders, eventually changing its name to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928.

Seeking revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police, Singh was involved in the assassination of British police officer John Saunders. He eluded efforts by the police to capture him. Together with Batukeshwar Dutt, he undertook a successful effort to throw two bombs and leaflets inside the Central Legislative Assembly while shouting slogans of Inquilab Zindabad. Subsequently they volunteered to surrender and be arrested. Held on this charge, he gained widespread national support when he underwent a 116 day fast in jail, demanding equal rights for British and Indian political prisoners. During this time, sufficient evidence was brought against him for a conviction in the Saunders case, after trial by a Special Tribunal and appeal at the Privy Council in England. He was convicted and subsequently hanged for his participation in the murder, aged 23. His legacy prompted youth in India to begin fighting for Indian independence and he continues to be a youth idol in modern India, as well as the inspiration for several films. He is commemorated with a large bronze statue in the Parliament of India, as well as a range of other memorials.

JI AAYIAN NU

WELCOME

Welcome to PUNJABIS` GUINNESS WEB.This web have been created to  record achievements of PUNJABIS,their culture,personalities,VVIP PUNJABIS who have won  NAME AND FAME in the WORLD in different fields and are doing their best to shine the image of PUNJABIS in the WORLD.

JI AAYIAN NU

WELCOME

Welcome to PUNJABIS` GUINNESS WEB.This web have been created to  record achievements of PUNJABIS,their culture,personalities,VVIP PUNJABIS who have won  NAME AND FAME in the WORLD in different fields and are doing their best to shine the image of PUNJABIS in the WORLD.

RAJESH KHANNA- PUNJABI SUPERSTAR

Rajesh Khanna  pronunciation (help·info); (born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor in Hindi films, and was also a film producer and a politician. He was called as the first superstar of the Indian cinema.^[1]. He appeared in 163 feature films of which 128 films saw him as the lead protagonist; he appeared in 17 short films as well.^[2][3][4] He won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards and was nominated for the same fourteen times. He received the most BFJA Awards for Best Actor (Hindi) – four times^[5] and nominated 25 times. In 1991, he was awarded theFilmfare Special Award for completing 25 years in the industry, appearing in a record 106 films as the single lead protagonist in a span of 25 years. In 2005, he was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. Khanna was referred to^{[by whom?]} as the "First Superstar" of Hindi cinema.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} He made his debut in 1966 with Aakhri Khat and rose to prominence with his performances in films like Raaz, Baharon Ke Sapne, Ittefaq and Aradhana. He gave 35 Golden Jubilee Hits in the period 1966-1975, three more in 76-78 and 35 more in the period 1979-1991 and gave 22 silver jubilee hits in the period 1966-1991.^[11] He was known as one of the first casanovas in Indian cinema.^[12]

Rajesh Khanna died after prolong illness on 18 July, 2012.

[edit]
Khanna was an adorable person. Khanna was adopted and raised by foster parents who were relatives of his biological parents. Khanna lived in Thakurdwar near Girgaon, Mumbai and attended St. Sebastian’s Goan High School there, along with his friend Ravi Kapoor, who later took the stage name Jeetendra, and whose mothers were friends.^[14] Khanna gradually started taking interest in theatre and did a lot of stage and theater plays in his school^[15] and college days and won many prizes in the inter college drama competitions.^[16] Khanna became a rare newcomer who struggled in his own MG sports car to get work in theatre and films in the early sixties.^[17] Both friends later studied in Kishinchand Chellaram College(KC College), Bombay (now Mumbai).^[18] When Jeetendra went for his first film audition, it was Khanna who tutored. Khanna's uncle changed Khanna's first name to Rajesh when Khanna decided to join films. His friends and his wife called him Kaka (Uncle).

[edit]

[edit]Political and business career

Rajesh Khanna was a member of Parliament for the Indian National Congress, from the New Delhi constituency, where he won the 1992 by-election, retaining his seat until the 1996 election.^[102]When Khanna was MP, he did not accept new acting assignements.^[103] After leaving parliament, he was a political activist for the INC and campaigned for the party during the 2012 Punjab election.^[104]

Khanna and a group of foreign investors bought land in Shirdi on which they planned to build a religious resort for disciples of Sai Baba .

Reactions

Following his death, Sumadhwa felt very sad; there was a quick spate of reactions from within the Bollywood fraternity. Hema Malini said that "we always thought he would come back [from the hospital]. We are in shock right now." His son-in-law Akshay Kumar told reporters about his death and added that "he has gone to a nice and heavenly place. I am happy that he has gone there and hope that everyone will pray for him." Others celebrities who paid homage to him at his house included Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra and Sajid Khan.^[117] Shah Rukh Khan reacted on Twitterin writing: "To live with intention and walk to the edge. Play with abandon, choose with no regret. Smile and made us do the same. Sir, you defined our era. Whenever life felt tough u made us feel how love could change it all. RIP." Mumtaz also added that she had memories of having working with him; while Shahid Kapoor also wrote on Twitter: "RIP to the 1st king of romance...Rajesh Khanna." Subhash Ghai added that Khanna "was the powerhouse of Hindi film industry. I met him on the sets of aaradhna, he had some kind of energy and you will be charged when he is around you. His name will be written in golden words." Madhuri Dixit wrote on Twitter that "as another of Hindi cinema's giants passes, Rajesh Khanna. Our sincere condolences to his family. We will miss him dearly." Vyjayanthimala commented that "his death is a big loss to the industry. It's my bad luck that I didn't have the chance to work with him because he came much later. I remember when he came to Chennai for some film shoot the college girls went crazy to catch a glimpse of him when he was going to his studio."^[122] Manna Dey said: "He was a great actor, truly a superstar no doubt about it. I am honoured to have done playback for him. I have worked for him in several movies and actors like him are a rarity."^[123] Mrinal Sen recollected how Khanna had wanted to cast him in one of his films, but the latter could not manage due to date problems. "We had met several times. Once I had wanted to cast him in one of my films but somehow that didn't work out due to his date problems." Buddhadeb Dasgupta said Khanna's acting would continue to inspire young actors in future. "He was a great actor and was the first superstar. He was a much bigger star than Amitabh Bachchan. He was a craze when we were in school and college. His acting will continue to inspire young actors of the coming generations."^[124] Rituparno Ghoshsaid: "In the film Anand, Khanna delivered some of Indian cinema's most memorable dialogue. The use of the word babu moshai for Amitabh Bachchan, who played a Bengali doctor in the film, is so deeply etched in the minds of Indians that it has almost become a synonym for Bengalis for the rest of the countrymen. In a dhoti and kurta, you showed the rest of India how truly elegant Bengal was." Film historian S. M. M. Ausaja added: "He never acted in a Bengali cinema. But right from the late 1960s to the 70s he was the top star and worked with the top directors of his era, most of whom were Bengalis."^[125]

Additionally, those within the political spectrum that offered their condolences included Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who said that he "convey[s] my heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family and countless fans and admirers of Shri Rajesh Khanna." INC President Sonia Gandhi also expressed her sorrow. Regional political leaders who offered their condolences included Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee who said, "Rajesh Khanna was always a symbol of romance. His smiling face and the ability to connect with people at ease had made him popular. We lost a big pole star in the film world today", as well as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who added that "his death has caused irreparable loss to Hindi cinema."^[117]

Condolences also came from Pakistan where Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf called Khanna a "great actor whose contribution to the field of films and arts would be long remembered. (He had a) large fan following across the borders and captivated audiences with his excellent acting skills." Ali Zafar wrote on Twitter, "Rajesh Khanna - RIP. So many fond memories from his movies and songs," while Syed Noor said, "Rajesh Khanna was such a huge actor of the subcontinent that he will be remembered by the people for many years to come. The era he reigned over is unlikely to be experienced by any other actor of this subcontinent." Geo TV also aired a nearly hour-long tribute with contributions from actors, filmmakers and musicians.