Mumbai, October 24 (). Himani Bhatt, who grew up in a middle-class Garhwali family in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, shone on the school stage, inspired by the poems and Hindi classes of Shivpuri father Haridutt Bhatt Shailesh. While playing with brother Himanshu Bhatt, he practiced drama in the boys hostel of Doon School, then took a chemistry degree from DAV College, but his heart said that he wanted to do acting.
She came to Delhi and took training in NSD from 1982 to 1984. She started her career with a supporting role in ‘Ab Aayega Maza’. Rajshri Production gave her her first commercial hit in ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’. After this, she became famous by playing the roles of aunts and uncles in Yash Chopra’s films. She was seen winning people’s hearts with her roles in films like ‘Pardes’, ‘Anjaam’, ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, ‘Hero No. 1’, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. She created a stir on TV with serials like ‘Happu Ki Ultan Paltan’, ‘Sasural Simar Ka’.
Actress Himani Shivpuri is considered one of the most reliable supporting actresses in 90s Hindi cinema. There is always a natural smile on his face and a deep theater simplicity is visible in his acting. There is such a personal anecdote related to his most famous film ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, which shows how deep the pain was hidden behind the laughter behind the scenes. This is the story of a time when an artist had to fulfill professional responsibilities even in the midst of his biggest personal loss.
The shooting of the film ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ was done during the busiest and most successful phase of Himani Shivpuri’s career. In the film, she played the character of Kajol’s ‘Kammo Chachi’, which was memorable for its light romance and banter with Anupam Kher.
While shooting for an important portion of the film, Himani suddenly faces a major personal crisis in her life. Her husband, actor Gyan Shivpuri, passed away.
The tragedy occurred when the climax sequence of the film was yet to be shot. She and Anupam Kher had a short but emotional scene in the climax. Himani Shivpuri immediately flew to her home, as at that time she had to take care of her only son and attend the last rites process.
When she failed to return, the Yash Raj Films unit had to remove her climax scene. She was the only actress in the film’s lead cast who was not present in the iconic train climax scene, even though her scene was part of the script.
Himani Shivpuri later shared that the Yash Raj banner and director Aditya Chopra gave her full support during that difficult time. The unit was understanding of their plight and no one pressured them to return, ensuring that their personal tragedy did not affect them.
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JP/ABM