Aditya Bhattacharya – Bollywood director and grandson of acclaimed filmmaker Bimal Roy

Aditya Bhattacharya is an Indian film director and actor associated with Bollywood. Son of Bollywood director Basu Bhattacharya – a pioneer of parallel cinema (director of Raj Kapoor starrer Teesri Kasam) and Rinki Bhattacharya – documentary filmmaker and columnist and daughter of Bimal Roy, Aditya Bhattacharya is also associated with entertainment industry. As a film director he is best known for his debut work, Raakh (1989), which starred Aamir Khan in lead role. He has directed and acted in 5 movies each.

Aditya Bhattacharya owns a rich Bollywood tradition

Aditya Bhattacharya was born in 1965 as the son of film director Basu Bhattacharya and writer Rinki Bhattacharya. He has two sisters. Acclaimed filmmaker Bimal Roy is his maternal grandfather. His mother got legally separated from his father in 1990 because of domestic violence and embarked on a glorious journey as a writer, freelance columnist and documentary filmmaker.

Began his film journey as an actor in Shyam Benegal’s Mandi

He started his film journey as an actor in Mandi in 1983. Exactly the same year his parents got separated. He played the supporting role of Smita Patil’s boyfriend in the film. He later appeared in Rihaee (1988). The following year he switched to film direction and directed Raakh, the only movie which earned recognition. Though the movie was released after the huge success of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, it was declared flop. But it garnered three National Film Awards

Later he directed Senso Unico (1999), Dubai Return (2005), Sandokan in Sicilia (2009) and BMW – Bombay’s Most Wanted (2012) and all these movies went unnoticed. He returned to acting with Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003), and also appeared in Black Friday (2004) and Tera Kya Hoga Johnny (2008), playing supporting roles. After that he retired from films.

Aditya Bhattacharya – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. He was formerly married to Shashi Kapoor’s daughter, Sanjana Kapoor, and thus related to Kapoor family. After divorce he married an Italian, Maria Giovanna, and now divides his time between two countries.

2. He met Sanjana Kapoor during the theatre days at Prithvi Theatre. They had a brief marriage relationship.

3. He shared screen space with yet another filmmaker Anurag Kashyap in the movie, Tera Kya Hoga Johnny, his last release.

4. For a brief period in the late 1980s, he worked as a photo journalist in Italy. He also directed one film and a few music videos.

5. Ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan and film editor A. Sreekar Prasad marked their debuts through Raakh, which happens to be the debut movie of director also.

6. Debutante film editor A. Sreekar Prasad earned National award for his movie, Raakh while Aamir Khan earned Special Mention and Pankaj Kapur earned Best supporting actor award.

7. In 1983 he was named India’s Sexiest Man.