DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know Arun Bhatt wanted to become a music director when he was young?
Find out some unknown facts about Arun Bhatt here.
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famous songs
Some of the songs from Arun Bhatt's films are a favourite with many Gujaratis around the world. These include “Hu Amdavadno Rickshawalo” from “Maa Baap” and “Khatti meethi vaangi” from “Mota Gharni Vahu”. He wrote the lyrics of “Dikri to Parki Thapan Kehvay” himself and it is played at Gujarati weddings around the world even today. In fact, it has attained the status of a folk song over the years.
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cowrite lyrics
Arun Bhatt also wrote the lyrics for “Aaj No Chandaliyo Maney” and this song from “Lohini Sagai” is played at every Navratri function till date. In fact, Bhatt often co-wrote lyrics with Shri Avinash Vyas, the legendary songwriter and composer of Gujarat. They shared a great chemistry and loved working together. Bhatt also had a successful collaboration with his very talented son, Shri Gaurang Vyas.
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3 consecutive awards
Arun Bhatt won the Gujarat State Film Best Director award for three years consecutively for “Ghar Ghar Ni Vaat” in 1982, “Pooja Na Phool” in 1983 and “Sona Ni Jaal” in 1984. He won the best director award again in 1986 for “Shetal Tara Oonda Pani”.
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Manmohan Desai
Arun Bhatt was named “The Manmohan Desai of Gujarati films” since most of his films were wholesome family entertainers with the ‘lost and found’ theme, emotions, comedy and good music.
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barjatya
Shri Rajkumar Barjatiya of Rajshri Pictures loved Lohini Sagai and had signed Arun Bhatt to remake it in Hindi. However, he got busy launching his son, Sooraj as a director with Maine Pyaar Kiya. However the influence of Lohini Sagai was seen in Hum Apke Hain Kaun. When Renuka Shahane enters the house after her marriage to Mohnish Behl, his uncle gives her a Ramayan and says ‘This has Sita in it’. This scene and dialogue were directly inspired from Bhatt’s film.
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Rita Bhaduri
Veteran actress Rita Bhaduri enjoyed working with him and in her own words: “I worked on Gujarati films during its golden age when there were good directors and actors in the Gujarati industry like Kanti Madia and Arun Bhatt in the 80s. (Indian Express, Westward Ho! – Fri Sep 07 2012 )
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introduce actors
Arun Bhatt was responsible for getting actors like Asrani, Priya Tendulkar, Rajni Sharma (Baalika Badhu fame) to Gujarati Cinema.
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prafull dave
Arun Bhatt was the one to approve Prafull Dave's first song as a playback singer, “Maniyaro Te Halu Halu” from the film “Lakho Fulani”. It became a huge hit and Prafull Dave never looked back since then. To date he credits his career and fame to his mentor, Arun Bhatt.
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Lata mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar was so emotional after singing the Narsi Mehta Bhajan (Prabhatya) “Hey Kanuda tori govalan” for the film Mota Gharni Vahu that she asked Bhatt to send her the recording the same day as she wanted to rehearse it to perform it at her upcoming concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It is said that she refused the payment for the same song.
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asha bhosle
Asha Bhosle considered Arun Bhatt as her brother and always sang for free for his home production.
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kishore kumar
Kishore Kumar sang “Hun Amdavad No Rickshawalo” for the film “Maa Baap” and it became a huge hit. For “Mota Gharni Vahu”, he wrote the lyrics of the song “Khati Meethi Vaangi”. Kishore Kumar agreed to sing it as soon as he heard the lyrics. The song created a furore when it was released and people would throw coins and dance when it came on the screen.
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alka yagnik
Arun Bhatt, who was friends with music directors Kalyanji Anandji, once heard a young singer who was being trained at their academy. He decided to get her to sing and Alka Yagnik, who was preparing for a career as a playback singer sang beautifully for his film, “Hero Ghoghe Jai Aavyo”.
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shiv mahal
Arun Bhatt was the first filmmaker who was allowed to shoot in the opulent Shiv Mahal palace in Baroda for “Mota Gharni Vahu”. The only other filmmaker who was given permission to shoot by the royal family of Baroda at their palace after this was Raj Kapoor for his film Prem Rog. Many years down the line, they opened up their palace for other shoots.
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good cook
Arun Bhatt was a foodie and a fabulous cook. He often used to make his famous curry and spiced pulao for the entire unit. At home, too, he would cook egg curry and other dishes on special occasions. He experimented with various cuisines long before ‘fusion food’ became a fad.
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dilip kumar
Dilip Kumar was keen to play the main lead for a remake of Bhatt’s “Sonani Jaal”. He loved the script after a narration. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out with the producer and the film couldn’t get made.
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music composer dream
As a youngster, Arun Bhatt dreamed of becoming a music composer but his passion for filmmaking grew stronger once he started assisting his father as a director.
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voracious reader
Arun Bhatt was a voracious reader and took deep interest in literature, music and art.
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ear for music
Arun Bhatt had a connoisseur’s ear for music and he was quite good with the flute. He could talk in detail about each of the ragas and could seamlessly switch to western classical music as well.
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himalay ki godmein story
While reading a book on Albert Schweitzer, Arun was inspired to write a script for a film that later became the basis for “Himalay Ki Godmein” that was directed by his father, Vijay Bhatt.
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nauka doobi
Arun Bhatt, who was a voracious reader, also adapted Tagore’s short story “Nauka Doobi” for his film “Parki Thapan”. He wrote the screenplay himself and the film was loved by critics and audiences alike. Produced by a first time producer, Shri Prasankumar Patadia, the film won many awards and accolades.
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vardaan
The film "Vardaan", directed by Arun Bhatt celebrated 100 days in the theaters and Mehmood also received a Filmfare Award for his comic role as a Gujarati businessman. The song picturised on him – “Todi Nakh Tabla Ne Phodi Nakh Peti” became very popular.
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avinash vyas son
Arun Bhatt took an active interest in the lyrics and music of all his films. He closely worked with the legendary lyricist and composer, Avinash Vyas. It is to be noted that Shri Avinash Vyas loved working with him and treated him like his own son.
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mai baap
Arun Bhatt's Maa Baap was remade into a successful Marathi film "Mai Baap" by Bipin Varti starring Sachin Pilgaonkar and Sangeeta.
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cameo
Arun Bhatt always did a small cameo in all his home productions. In Maa Baap he is Asrani's passenger in the song "Hu Amdavadno ricksha walo" and in "Lohini Sagaai", he played a cock-eyed man ogling at Snehlata!
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katha sarita
Arun Bhatt turned to television in 1994 and directed a series of short stories called "Katha Sarita" for producer Jayendra Shah. The 13 episode series was telecast on Ahmedabad Doordarshan and received a lot of appreciation, so much so that they got an extension for 13 more episodes. The series was a hit at TRP (25+) and there was rerun on Doordarshan by public demand. It was in the papers that Shri Dhirubhai Ambani never missed a single episode of Katha Sarita!
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ghar jamai
In 1992, Arun Bhatt directed "Ghar Jamai" for producer Rajkumar Shahabadi starring Mithun Chakraborty, Varsha Usgaonkar and Kadar Khan. The film proved to be a surprise hit and did very well at the box-office
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documentaries
Early in 1960s Arun Bhatt scripted and directed short films and documentaries for the Government of Gujarat and won awards for The Poet Saints of Gujarat and The Industries of Gujarat and the Land and People of Gujarat.
