Veteran Gujarati theatre artist Markand Bhatt dies

VADODARA: Renowned Gujarati stage actor and theatre personality, Markand Bhatt, died here on Friday. Bhatt, 87, is survived by a son and a daughter. His wife, the well-known Hindi film actress Urmila Bhatt, had died in February 22, 1997.
An alumnus of M S University, he worked for some time as head of the Department of Drama at the Saurashtra Sangeet Natak Akademi in Rajkot before serving at MSU's Department of Drama.Bhatt also served as Chairman of the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Akademi from 1992 to 1995. Alongside his work in theatre education, he pursued a career in theatre as an outstanding actor and director. “He was a down to earth person. He had initiated a process where as part of academics, students would stage plays before locals. It was my privilege to have learnt drama under him. As a teacher, he has always been my source of inspiration,“ said Prabhakar Dabhade, head of dramatics department .
Bhatt has been associated with Triveni, a theatre group in the city for over 60 years.“His demise is a void to the Gujarati theatre industry . Being an academician as well, he saw theatre as a medium of educating the mass. He has given his students opportunities to perform in his plays that have been staged in various parts of the country and abroad,“ said P S Chaari, general secretary of Triveni. In 2008, he was honoured by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his contribution to Indian theatre as an actor.
His roles in plays such as C C Mehta's Atrulupta Saraswati and Param Maheshwar, Tagore's Nandini (Raktakarabi), Muktadhara and Arup Ratan, Bhasa's Karnabhar, Shankar Shesh's Raktbeej, Raghuvir Chaudhari's Sikandar Saani and Girish Karnad's Agni Ane Vaarsad won a special place in contemporary Gujarati theatre.