Vikram Bhatt (born 27 January 1969) is an Indian director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the Raaz film series, an Indian horror series produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt and for directing Ghulam (1998) starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherji, which was also produced by Mukesh Bhatt. For both of these films, he was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Vikram Bhatt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 January 1969[1] Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Spouses | Aditi Bhatt (div. 1998)Shwetambhari Soni (m. 2020) |
| Children | 3 |
| Father | Pravin Bhatt |
| Relatives | Vijay Bhatt (grandfather) Arun Bhatt (uncle) Chirantan Bhatt (first cousin) |
| Family | Bhatt family (of Vijay Bhatt) |
Formerly, he was the creative head of ASA Productions and Enterprises until 2014, when he resigned from the company.[2] Many of his films were produced under Loneranger Productions, which he co-founded.[3]
Early life
editBhatt is the grandson of Vijay Bhatt from (Gujarat, Palitana), one of the pioneers of the Indian film industry, and the son of cinematographer Pravin Bhatt.[4][5]
Career
editAt the age of 14,[1] in 1982, Bhatt started his career with director Mukul Anand in Anand's first film, Kanoon Kya Karega. Bhatt also assisted Mukul Anand as the chief assistant on the sets of Agneepath. This film turned out to be a cult classic, though not very successful at the box office.
Subsequently, Bhatt worked with director Shekhar Kapur for two and a half years and later with director Mahesh Bhatt for two years approximately. He has been an assistant director on the sets of several successful films including Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke and Junoon.
His career as a director began with the film Jaanam, which was produced by Mukesh Bhatt. His first four films did not fare well at the box office; his first successful directorial venture was Fareb. Following this, he had a string of successful films such as Ghulam, Kasoor, Raaz and Awara Paagal Deewana. After Awara Paagal Deewana, he gave flops like Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage, Deewane Huye Paagal and Ankahee. Ghulam and Raaz earned him nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
In 2008, Bhatt came back with the horror genre and he delivered three films that were successful at the box office; these include 1920. Shaapit and Haunted – 3D. In 2010, Bhatt introduced stereoscopic 3D for the first time in India with his film Haunted – 3D;[6] the film was released in May 2011 and it then set the record of the highest grossing Hindi horror film of all time, making Rs. 270 million at the box office.
In 2012, Bhatt's Raaz 3: The Third Dimension recorded domestic box office collection of Rs. 729 million after the 3rd weekend and the overseas collection was at 46 million.[7] Riding high with the success, Bhatt is writing another horror-thriller for Bipasha in the central role, with a more shocking image than Raaz 3.[8] Following the success of Raaz 3, Vikram Bhatt's written Hindi horror film 1920: Evil Returns which has been directed by debutant Bhushan Patel topped the first weekend collection chart at the box office and the approximate collection was Rs 124.3 million nett.[9] The movie further collected approx Rs 37.5 million nett in the second Weekend, taking the total to Rs 228.6 million nett. The film has been declared a 'hit'.[10] Soon after, Bhatt signed a deal with Bhushan Kumar's T-Series to produce 5 films of sci-fi, thriller and horror genre. Two of the films will be directed by Bhatt himself.[11]
In early 2013, Bhatt announced his upcoming projects, Creature 3D, India's First 3D Monster Movie with Bipasha Basu in the lead role[12] and 1920 London, third in the 1920 series.[13] Vikram Bhatt will mark his foray into Marathi cinema with 'Ek Doosrey Ke Liye', which will be directed by Ashwini Kumar Patil.
Starting from 16 February 2014, he would be seen hosting the TV Show Ishq Kills based on Real Life Romances on Star Plus.[14]
Notable achievements
editBhatt's movies, 1920: Evil Returns's social media promotion campaign was studied by Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. The management institute assessed Internet activities and campaigns; the team finally establish the connection between box office collections and promotions on social media. This case study is published by Harvard Business Publishing[15] and is being used by students in the United States, Canada, Norway, Slovenia and Sri Lanka.[16][17]
Bhatt's scripts for Khamoshiyan, 1920: Evil Returns and 1920 are set to turn into novels and release in January 2015.[18]
Personal life
editBhatt was married to his childhood sweetheart, Aditi Bhatt (div. 1998), and they have a daughter, Krishna Bhatt.[19] Bhatt shares a great bond with his daughter and she has been assisting him on his sets.[20]
Bhatt reportedly dated Ameesha Patel for five years and had also reportedly dated Sushmita Sen sometime in the mid 1990s, after she became Miss Universe 1994.[1] He married art connoisseur Shwetambari Soni in 2020.[21]
Filmography
editAs a director
edit| Year | Film | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Madhosh | |
| 1995 | Gunehgar | |
| 1996 | Fareb | Based on Unlawful Entry |
| Bambai Ka Babu | ||
| 1998 | Ghulam | Based on On the Waterfront and Kabzaa Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Director |
| 2001 | Kasoor | Based on Jagged Edge Also rendered his voice for Aftab Shivdasani |
| 2002 | Raaz | Based on What Lies Beneath Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Director Also partially rendered his voice for Dino Morea |
| Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage | ||
| Awara Paagal Deewana | Based on The Whole Nine Yards | |
| 2003 | Inteha | Based on Fear Also rendered his voice for Ashmit Patel |
| Footpath | Based on State of Grace Also rendered his voice for Emraan Hashmi | |
| 2004 | Aetbaar | Based on Fear |
| 2005 | Elaan | |
| Jurm | Based on Double Jeopardy Also rendered his voice for Milind Soman | |
| Deewane Huye Pagal | Based on There's Something About Mary | |
| 2006 | Ankahee |
Also rendered his voice for Aftab Shivdasani |
| 2007 | Red: The Dark Side | |
| Fear | ||
| Speed | Based on Cellular | |
| Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee | ||
| 2008 | 1920 | Inspired by The Exorcist Also rendered his voice for Indraneil Sengupta |
| 2010 | Shaapit | |
| 2011 | Haunted – 3D | Also rendered his voice for Mahaakshay Chakraborty |
| 2012 | Dangerous Ishhq | |
| Raaz 3D | ||
| 2014 | Creature 3D | |
| 2015 | Mr. X | |
| 2016 | Love Games | |
| Raaz Reboot | ||
| 2018 | 1921 | |
| 2019 | Ghost | |
| 2020 | Hacked | |
| 2022 | Judaa Hoke Bhi | Completely shot in the Virtual Production Studio with the help of unreal engine technology[22] |
Writer
edit- Dastak (1996)
- Aetbaar (2004)
- Bardaasht (2004)
- Yakeen (2005)
- Ankahee (2006)
- Three- Love, Lies and Betrayal (2009)
- Hate Story (2012)
- 1920: Evil Returns (2012)
- Horror Story (film) (2013)
- Ankur Arora Murder Case (2013)
- Khamoshiyan (2015)
- 1920 London (2016)
- Ghost (2019)
Producer
edit- Muthirai (2009)
- 1920 (2008)
- Three- Love, Lies and Betrayal (2009)
- Lanka (2011)
- Hate Story (2012)
- 1920: Evil Returns (2012)
- Dangerous Ishq (2012)
- Horror Story (2013)
- Hate Story 2 (2014)
- Bhaag Johnny (2014)
- Hate Story 3 (2015)
- 1920 Horrors of the Heart (2023)
Actor
edit| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Bhaag Johnny | Jinn |
| 2015 | Khamoshiyan | Book Editor |
| 2018 | Zindabaad | Arjun Vashisht |
| 2018 | Untouchables | Akash Arya |
| 2018 | 1921 | Mr. Wadia |
| 2019 | Khamoshi | Dev's Father |
| 2019 | Ghost | Doctor Singh |
| 2021 | Badnaam | Mr. Black |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Filmfare Awards | Best Director | Ghulam | Nominated |
| 2003 | Raaz | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ a b c Gupta, Priya (8 September 2012). "Ameesha and I never loved each other: Vikram Bhatt". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "Reliance upset with ASA Entertainment over 1920 London". Bollywood Hungama. 27 May 2014. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "Sunny Leone starts shooting for Vikram Bhatt's Anamika". Cinema Express. 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Romancing The Reel". Tehelka. 21 February 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ "Vikram Bhatt now turns producer too" Archived 5 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine Indian Cinema News, by Subhash K. Jha, 21 May 2007.
- ^ "Haunted 3D: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Movie". KoiMoi.com. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "Raaz 3 3rd Week Box Office Collections". 30 September 2012.
- ^ Jha, Subhash (19 September 2012). "Vikram Bhatt, Bipasha Basu team up again for next film". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ Shekhar (5 November 2011). "1920 – Evil Returns, LSTCK weekend collection at Box Office". OneIndia Entertainment. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ "Midweek: '1920 – Evil Returns' & 'Student Of The Year' dominate". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ Press Trust of India (22 November 2012). "Vikram Bhatt, Bhushan Kumar sign 5-film deal". NDTV Movies. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ Glamsham Editorial (10 January 2013). "Bipasha Basu in Vikram Bhatt's next CREATURE". Glamsham.com. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ "Prachi Desai to play princess in Vikram Bhatt's next '1920'". The Indian Express. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ "Vikram Bhatt to host TV Show Ishq Kills on Star Plus". IANS. Biharprabha News. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ "1920 Evil Returns - Bollywood and Social Media Marketing". Harvard Business Publishing. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ "IIM-B scripts case on digital promos of Bollywood film". The Hindu Business Line. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ "IIMB CASE STUDY ON A BOLLYWOOD FILM FINDS ITS WAY TO HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING". IIM Bangalore. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ "Vikram Bhatt thrilled as scripts for 'Khamoshiyan', '1920 - Evil Returns' turn into novels". IBN Live. 23 December 2014. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ Gupta, Priya (3 September 2012). "Vikram Bhatt's holiday with wife and daughter". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "THE MOST HEARTWARMING FATHER-DAUGHTER STORY FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!". TheFilmStreetJournal. February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Jain, Vaishali (6 October 2021). "Vikram Bhatt secretly marries Shwetambari Soni? Mahesh Bhatt shares details". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "K Sera Sera and Vikram Bhatt's Studio Virtual Worlds to Create History in Entertainment World". Business Wire India. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
External links
edit
- Vikram Bhatt at IMDb