Daji Bhatawadekar
Born15 September 1921 (1921-09-15)
Bombay, Bombay Presidency, India
Died26 December 2006 (2006-12-27) (aged 85)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
EducationWilson College, Mumbai
Occupation(s)Theatre artist, Film actor
AwardsSangeet Natak Akademi Award (1965)
Padma Sri (1967)

Daji Bhatawadekar (stage name for Krishnachandra Moreshwar) [1] (15 September 1921 – 26 December 2006), was an Indian theatre personality and film and television actor. He was credited with the revival of Sanskrit and Marathi theatre in India.[1][2] A winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1965,[3] he was honoured by the Government of India in 1967, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society.[4]

Biography

Daji Bhatwadekar was born on 15 September 1921 at Bombay then in the Bombay Presidency of British India. He received his schooling at Arya Education Society, Bombay.[5] He graduated from Wilson College, Mumbai and followed it up with by a post graduate degree (MA) in Sanskrit from Mumbai University.[5] He started his career with an office job but was drawn towards theatre and began involving with Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh, a Mumbai-based literary association.[2]

Bhatwadekar acted in many Marathi, Sanskrit, Hindi and English language plays and was associated with actors such as Durga Khote and directors like Purushottam Laxman Deshpande and Herbert Marshall.[2] He also performed for Mumbai Brahman Sabha.[5] He was reported to have acted 78 different roles, some of them multiple times.[5] Tochi ek Samarth, Mitra, Hee Tar Premachi Khari Gammat Ahe, Lagnachi Goshta, Macbeth and Tuzha Ahe Tuzhpashi are some of his well-known plays.[2][5] He also acted in a film, Vijeta (1982). He played characters, Nand Dulal Babu in the episode Makdi ka Ras[6] and Beni Madhav in the episode Veni Sanhar,[7] for the television series, Byomkesh Bakshi (1993), broadcast by Doordarshan.

A scholar in English and Sanskrit,[2] Bhatwadekar wrote a book on Sanskrit theatre, with emphasis on aesthetics (rasa) and expression (abhinaya).[5] He pursued his studies into his 70s and secured a doctoral degree at the age of 74.[5] He was a recipient of several awards such as Natya Bhooshan, Kala Guarav, Maharashtra Ratna and Nata Samraat. In 1965, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for his contributions to Sanskrit theatre.[3] The Government of India honoured him with the civilian award of Padma Shri in 1967.[4] He lived in his ancestral home at Bhatawadekar Wadi along Charni Road in Mumbai.[5] Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh observes the date of his death, 26 December, as Dr. Daji Bhatawadekar Memorial day.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ananda Lal, ed. (2004). The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195644463.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Times of India". Times of India. 29 May 2001. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Sangeet Natak Akademi". Sangeet Natak Akademi. 2015. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Padma Shri" (PDF). Padma Shri. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Daji Bhatwadekar: Timeless performance". Sify. 23 June 2004. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Byomkesh Bakshi: Ep#4- Makdi ka Ras". YouTube.
  7. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Byomkesh Bakshi: Ep#31 - Veni Sanhar". YouTube.
  8. ↑ "Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh". Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh. 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.

Further reading

  • Ananda Lal, ed. (2004). The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195644463.
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