Jaspal Bhatti Biography
Jaspal Singh Bhatti was a famous Indian comedian, actor and satirist. As a great television personality, he was most famous for his satirical take on the problems of the common man. He is renowned for his television series “Flop Show” and mini series “Ulta Pulta” which ran on Doordarshan in the late 80s and early 90s. Jaspal Bhatti was born on 3rd March 1955 in Amritsar.
He completed his Electrical Engineer Degree from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh, Punjab. During his college days, Jaspal Bhatti was well-known for his street plays like Nonsense Club. These plays were spoofs which ridiculed the corruption in society. In 1985, he married Savita and has a son, Jasraj and a daughter, Raabiya.
Before entering into television, Jaspal Bhatti was a cartoonist for the Tribune newspaper in Chandigarh. In 1990s, he established home-made comedy on Doordarshan, the Hindi TV channel and became quite famous for his comedy acting. His low-budget TV program “Flop Show” in the early 90s is still remembered today. His wife produced the show and also acted as his wife in all episodes. Only ten episodes were ever produced, but the show achieved a powerful legacy and is still remembered. Jaspal Bhatti later directed and acted in the popular TV series Ulta Pulta and Nonsense Private Limited for the Doordarshan television network. His gift of introducing humour to emphasize everyday issues of the middle class society in India attracted the audience to his shows. His satire on the Punjab police “Mahaul Theek Hai” in 1999 was his first directorial project for a full-length feature film in Punjabi language. Its honest and simple humour was well expected amongst audience.
He appeared in several other television programmes like SAB TV’s “Comedy ka King Kaun” in which he was a judge and in a Star Plus show “Nach Baliye” in which he and his wife competed and entertained the audiences with their dancing and comic skills. He also played many roles as a comedian in Hindi and Punjabi films. In his later years, Jaspal Bhatti established a training school and a studio in Mohali called “Joke Factory”. He also launched a new 52-episode comedy series titled ”Thank You Jijaji” on SAB TV which was shot at his own MAD Arts film school in Chandigarh. In 2009, Mad Art’s animation film on female foeticide won second prize in the Advantage India which was organized by 1take media. It also won a certificate of merit at the IDPA-2008 Awards in Mumbai. Jaspal Bhatti was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the first Golden Kela Awards.
On 25th October 2012, Jaspal Bhatti died in a car accident. The car in which he was traveling hit a roadside tree near Shahkot in Nakodar area of the district around 3 am. He was driving from Bhatinda to Jalandhar for the promotion of his film, “Power Cut” along with his son Jasraj Bhatti and actress Surilie Gautam. Jaspal Bhatti was taken to a private hospital in Jalandhar where he was declared brought dead on arrival by the doctors. Jaspal Bhatti will be forever remembered for his modest humour style, which not only made us laugh but also exposed both corruption in our every day life and the people who thrive on it, revealing the harsh truths of our society.
