Pooja Bhatt

Born: 24 February, 1972 in Mumbai

Biography: Born on 24th February to Indian film director Mahesh Bhatt and mother Kiran Bhatt, it was but natural for Pooja to foray into films. Today, she is a well known actress, producer and director in her own right. Film screenwriter and director Mohit Suri and the famous actor Emran Hashmi are her cousins.

Pooja ventured into films at the tender age of seventeen. She was cast by her father in the film Daddy (1989), which was her debut movie. In this film she was portrayed as a daughter trying to get her frustrated and alcoholic father back on track. In 1991 she appeared in one of her biggest hits Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin opposite Aamir Khan, which was a recreation of the Oscar winning ‘It Happened One Night.’ She won the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for this film.

The 1990s saw a number of releases in the form of Sadak, Junoon, Chahat, Tamanna, Border and Zakhm. Pooja earned some rave reviews for Sadak where she played a prostitute and Zakhm where she played a woman torn in tragedy who cannot claim her right over a man through whom she has two children. Zakhm was a film inspired by her own father’s life.

In 2001 Pooja appeared in the film Everybody Says I’m Fine! This was her last screen presence and since then, she has focused her energies towards direction and production. While Tamanna was her first production film, other films which she produced include Dushman, Zakhm, Sur, Jism, Paap, Holiday and so on. She made her directorial debut with Paap (2003) starring John Abraham and Udita Goswami. Her other directorial ventures include Holiday (2006), Dhokha (2007) and the forthcoming Kajraare (2009).

AKA & Alternative Spellings: Puja Bhatt, Pooja Bhat