Jaspal Bhatti: The Funnyman Of Indian Television

October 25, 2012

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[size=4][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][font=Arial]Jaspal Singh Bhatti, one of the most well known comedians of Indian television, touched a chord with the audience by highlighting everyday problems of the common man through simple and honest humour.[/font][/font][/color]
[color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][font=Arial]Bhatti, 57, who [url="http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/comedian-jaspal-bhatti-dies-in-road-accident/20121025.htm"]died[/url] in a car accident in the wee hours of October 25, will always be remembered for his television series [i]Flop Show [/i]and mini capsules [i]Ulta Pulta [/i]during the golden days of Doordarshan in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[/font][/font][/color]
[color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][font=Arial]The low-budget series [i]Flop Show [/i]is remembered even today for taking on the problems of middle class Indians in a quirky way. His wife Savita Bhatti produced the show and acted in all the episodes as his wife.[/font][/font][/color][/size]

October 25, 2012

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[size=4][font="Arial"]Born on March 3, 1955 at Amritsar in a Rajput Sikh family, Bhatti graduated from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, as an electrical engineer.[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4][font="Arial"]He became popular with his street plays in the city. His plays were spoofs ridiculing corruption in society.[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
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[size=4][font="Arial"]Before venturing into television, he was a cartoonist for [i]The Tribune [/i]newspaper in Chandigarh.[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4][font="Arial"]After a successful stint on television with his show, Bhatti's subsequently acted in Hindi and Punjabi films and got his due recognition in the film industry with Salman Khan starrer [i]Janam Samjha Karo [/i]in 1999, where he played Salman's personal secretary.[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4][font="Arial"]Bhatti played the role of Jolly Good Singh, a guard, in Aamir Khan-Kajol starrer [i]Fanaa[/i].[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4][font="Arial"]He also starred in the Punjabi comedy, [i]Jijaji.[/i][/font][/size][/size][/font][/color]

October 25, 2012

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[size=4][font="Arial"]His first directorial venture was a feature film in his native Punjabi language [i]Mahaul Theek Hai[/i], a humorous take on Punjab police.[/font] [/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4][font="Arial"]Bhatti appeared on many reality shows after that. He was seen in [i]Comedy ka King Kaun [/i]as a co-judge with actress Divya Dutta and also presented his dancing abilities in [i]Nach Baliye[/i] with wife Savita.[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color]

October 25, 2012

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[size=4][font="Arial"]Bhatti set up a training school and a studio in Mohali near Chandigarh called Joke Factory and also an animation school Mad Arts, where he launched a new 52-episode comedy series titled [i]Thank You Jijaji[/i].[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4][font="Arial"]The school also produced an animation film on female foeticide, which won the second prize in the Advantage[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4][font="Arial"]India organised by 1take media. It won a certificate of merit at the IDPA-2008 Awards in Mumbai.[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4][font="Arial"]The comedian's latest film [i]Power Cut[/i], is based on the frequent power cuts in Punjab.[/font][/size][/size][/font][/color]

October 25, 2012

RIP

October 25, 2012

[size=4][color=#000000]It was an era of very long attention spans. People had all the time in the world and only one channel to watch. In fact Hum Log, Doordarshan’s very first TV soap opera in the 1980s lasted a lengthy 156 episodes. Many shows just dragged on slowly (even without commercial breaks) and sometimes so less was fitted into a whole hour.[/color]

[color=#000000]But amidst all this was a compact almost Twitter-like programme called Ulta Pulta. It presented a funny title sequence (It is still difficult to get the end of the song “Ulta hai! Pulta hain” out of one’s head), a parody on each and every problem faced by the common Indian man, followed by a satirical lecture by the creator Jaspal Bhatti and sometimes followed by another 30-second skit… all packed into a space of roughly 5 minutes![/color]

[color=#000000]It was like a blink and you miss it kind of TV serial of that era and we wondered how anyone could pack so much into so little time. All sorts of topics were covered: From the great bumbling Indian bureaucracy to a scooter mechanic taking a customer to a ride, to how the English word “ sorry ” has ruined Indian culture.[/color][/size]

October 25, 2012

[size=4][color=#000000]It was inevitable that this show would be ramped up and Bhatti soon got a half-an-hour slot for Flop Show, which took the Ulta Pulta theme forward. That featured a spoof title song, followed by a short skit explaining the week’s topic, the actual serial followed by a parody song. (“Jis gali main kirayadar se jhagda na ho, us gali main hame ghar lena nahin” in the episode featuring landlord-tenant tensions!)[/color]

[color=#000000]Bhatti kept production costs down by having his wife Savita produce the show and she also acted as his wife. (Friend Vivek Shauq who also appeared in the show, also died young.) I always wondered how Doordarshan sanctioned only 10 episodes of Flop Show as it had my entire neighbourhood in splits.[/color]

[color=#000000]But from there Jaspal Bhatti just went berserk and exploded on the scene.[/color]

[color=#000000]TV serials like Full Tension, Thank you Jijaji and Hye Zindagi bye Zindagi followed and he also acted in Bollywood films like Aa Ab Laut Chalen and Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai.[/color]

[color=#000000]He had come a long way from holding spoof dramas on the streets during his college days via his Nonsense Club or being a cartoonist in The Tribune.[/color]

[color=#000000]He continued putting up performances all his life and parodied current events much to the delight of onlookers. Corruption and inflation were popular themes. He effortlessly made ad spoofs and continued to come out with short films throughout his career. [/color]

[color=#000000]He proudly set up the country’s “First Comedy School” and called it the Mad Arts Jaspal Bhatti Film School.[/color]

[color=#000000]He first tried a hand in direction with Mahaul Theek Hai, a satire on the Punjab Police. His versatility knew no bounds and he came as a judge on comedy shows and even shook a leg with his wife in the famous dance show Nach Baliye.[/color]

[color=#000000]He was the proud owner of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the infamous Golden Kela Awards.[/color]

[color=#000000]It was no surprise that the Ulta Pulta man embraced Twitter (@JaspalBhatti69) and entertained cyberspace with his one-liners. His very last Tweet will always read: BJP 'just pretending' to fight corruption: Sonia Gandhi...and congress pretending to be honest !?![/color]

[color=#000000]In his website (www.jaspalbhatti.com), he introduces himself as “They call me the Ulta Pulta man”, something which he remained proud of all his life.[/color]

[color=#000000]Like Yash Chopra, who died before the release of his last film Jab Tak Hain Jaan, Bhatti died tragically just a day before the release of Power Cut, a Punjabi film which he directed, along with playing the starring role. It’s quite an irony, for he was an electrical engineer by profession.[/color]

[color=#000000]So long and thanks for the laughs Mr Jaspal Bhatti, we are sure that heaven must be reverberating with laughter right now, even though things have got much quieter here back on Earth![/color][/size]