Jaspal Bhatti (English: Jaspal Bhatti, born: March 3, 1955; death: October 25, 2012) was an Indian Hindi film actor and famous comedian. Jaspal Bhatti was not just a comedian, but he was a seasoned satirist who made sarcastic comments on the ironies of life. He gave very careful dialogues on inflation, corruption, hypocrisy of leaders or other questions of life. In the 80s and 90s, his programs ‘Flop Show’ and ‘Ulta-Pulta’ became very popular on Doordarshan.
Jaspal Bhatti was born on March 3, 1955 in Amritsar. Jaspal Bhatti obtained the degree of Electrical Engineer from Punjab Engineering College. He became famous during his college days with his street play Nonsense Club. Most of his plays made fun of corruption and politicians in a very entertaining manner, which was greatly appreciated by the people. The reason for his popularity was that he raised the everyday issues of the middle class in an interesting manner.[1]
Before presenting his programs on television, he was a cartoonist in ‘The Tribune’ published from Chandigarh. He directed ‘Mahaul Theek Hai’, a scathing satire on the Punjab Police, and this very first direction of his became quite popular. He played the role of a guard Jaali Gud Singh in the film ‘Fanaa’. He also acted in the Punjabi comedy film ‘Jijaji’. Bhatti and his wife Savita also participated in the reality show ‘Nach Baliye’ in 2008 and both entertained the audience with their dance and comedy.[1]
The very small budget series ‘Flop Show’ is still remembered for raising the problems of middle class people with uniqueness. Jaspal Bhatti’s wife Savita Bhatti was not only the producer of this show, but she also played the role of his wife in all its episodes. After the success of her show on the small screen, Bhatti worked in Hindi and Punjabi films. Bhatti appeared in many reality shows. He became a co-judge with actress Divya Dutta in ‘Comedy Ka King Kaun’. He was seen showcasing his dancing skills with his wife in ‘Nach Baliye’. He established his own training school in Mohali, near Chandigarh, named ‘Joke Factory’. In the year 1999, he became the personal secretary of Salman Khan in the film ‘Jaanam Samjha Karo’ and people liked him very much in this role. He played a guard named Jolly Good Singh in ‘Faanaa’ starring Aamir Khan and Kajol. He also worked in the comedy-oriented Punjabi film ‘Jijaji’. Bhatti, an expert in the art of making the audience laugh, directed the film ‘Mahaul Theek Hai’ made in Punjabi language. The audience liked this film based on Punjab Police very much.[2]
The specialty of Jaspal Bhatti’s cheeky humor was the art of laughing and making fun of himself. On his website, he used to introduce himself in this manner, ‘I write a regular column in the Sunday Tribune, due to which its sales are declining.’ In his biography, he used to mention the names of all the schools where he studied. After this his comment would be that do not think that I am very educated. In fact, all my teachers feel ashamed to call me their disciple.[1]
He also has an animation school ‘Mad Arts’ in Mohali, near Chandigarh, where he also produced the 52-episode comedy series ‘Thank You Jijaji’. The school also made an animation film on female feticide, which was awarded second prize in ‘Advantage India’ organized by One Tech Media. Jaspal Bhatti’s last film is ‘Power Cut’, which is based on the frequent power cuts in Punjab.[2]
He died in a road accident at around 3 am on 25 October 2012 near Shahkot in Jalandhar. He was 57 years old. Jaspal Bhatti’s son Jasraj, his film’s heroine and PRO Naveen Joshi were injured in this accident. According to newspapers, Jaspal Bhatti was going from Bathinda to Jalandhar for the promotion of his film ‘Power Cut’. He was accompanying his team in a Honda Accord car.
