Vijaya Mehta

{{Infobox person

| name = Vijaya Mehta

| image = Vijaya mehta.jpg

| imagesize = 200px

| caption = Mehta in 2012

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1934|11|04}}

| birth_place = Baroda, Baroda State, British India (present-day Vadodara, Gujarat, India)

| height =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| yearsactive =

| birth_name = Vijaya Jaywant

| othername =

| spouse = Harin Khote (died)
Farrokh Mehta

| children = Anahita Uberoi

| website =

| awards = 1975 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
1985 Asia Pacific Film Festival, Best Actress: Party
1986 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress: Rao Saheb

}}

Vijaya Mehta (born 4 November 1934),Abhijit Varde: [http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Vijaya+Mehta%22+1934&btnG=Nach+B%C3%BCchern+suchen&tbm=bks&tbo=1&hl=de Daughters of Maharashtra: Portraits of Women who are Building Maharastra : Interviews and Photographs], 1997, p. 87 is a noted Indian Marathi film and theatre director and also an actor in many films from the Parallel Cinema. She is a founder member of Mumbai-based theatre group, Rangayan with playwright Vijay Tendulkar, and actors Arvind Deshpande and Shriram Lagoo. She is most known for her acclaimed role in film Party (1984) and for her directorial ventures, Rao Saheb (1986) and Pestonjee (1988). As the founder member of theatre group, Rangayan, she became a leading figure in the experimental Marathi theatre of the 1960s.{{cite web |title=The return of Desdemona |work=Mumbai Mirror |url=http://www.mumbaimirror.com/others/sunday-read/The-return-of-Desdemona/articleshow/29368448.cms |date=25 January 2014 |access-date=22 June 2014}}

Early life and education

Vijaya Mehta was born as Vijaya Jaywant in Baroda, Gujarat in 1934.{{cite book |last1=Gulati |first1=Leela (editor) |last2=Bagchi |first2=Jasodhara (Editor) |last3=Mehta |first3=Vijaya (Author) |title=A space of her own : personal narratives of twelve women |date=2005 |publisher=SAGE |location=London |isbn=9780761933151 |page=181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HdzF06JsGyMC&q=ckp&pg=PA181}} She graduated from Mumbai University. She studied theatre with Ebrahim Alkazi in Delhi and with Adi Marzban.

Career

She became a major figure in 60s Marathi experimental theatre. She is a founder member of theatre group, Rangayan with playwright Vijay Tendulkar, Arvind Deshpande and Shriram Lagoo.{{cite web |title=Shantata! Awishkar Chalu Aahe |url=http://www.mumbaitheatreguide.com/dramas/features/08/aug/28_feature_shantata.asp |date=August 2008 |publisher=Mumbai Theatre Guide}}

Her stage production of C. T. Khanolkar's Ek Shoonya Bajirao is considered as a landmark in contemporary Indian theatre. She introduced Bertold Brecht into Marathi theatre with adaptation of The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Ajab Nyay Vartulacha), and Ionesco with Chairs.

She collaborated on Indo-German theatre projects with German director Fritz Bennewitz including a traditional performance of Bhasa's Mudrarakshasa with German actors. Except Pestonjee, most of her work consists of film and television adaptations of her stage plays.

She was awarded the 1975 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for excellence in Direction, in 1986 she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Rao Saheb (1986).

Personal life

She first married Harin Khote, son of actress Durga Khote, however he died at an early age, leaving behind two young sons. Thereafter, she married Farrokh Mehta.{{cite news |title=Life at play |author=Shanta Gokhale |author-link=Shanta Gokhale |url=http://www.punemirror.in/printarticle.aspx?page=comments&action=translate§id=63&contentid=2012112620121126075151856ed14874e&subsite= |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130217225014/http://www.punemirror.in/printarticle.aspx?page=comments&action=translate§id=63&contentid=2012112620121126075151856ed14874e&subsite= |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 February 2013 |work=Pune Mirror |date=26 November 2012}}

Filmography

Kalyug (1981) - Actor
Smriti Chitre (1982, TV film) - Director, Actor a
Shakuntalam (1986, TV film) - Director
Party (1984) - Actor
Rao Saheb (1985) - Director, Screenwriter, Actor
Haveli Bulund Thi (1987, TV film) - Director
Hamidabai Ki Kothi (1987, TV film) - Director
Pestonjee (1988) - Director, Screenwriter
Lifeline (1991, TV Series) - Director
Quest (2006) - Actor

Awards

1975 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
1985 Asia Pacific Film Festival: Best Actress: Party[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0248289/awards Awards] IMDb.
1986 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress: Rao Saheb{{cite web |url=http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm33NFAAward.aspx |title=33rd National Film Awards |publisher=International Film Festival of India |pages=28, 36 |access-date=22 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505170442/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm33NFAAward.aspx |archive-date=5 May 2014 |url-status=dead }}
2004 Zee Chitra Gaurav Lifetime Achievement Award
2009 Tanveer Sanmaan{{Cite web |url=http://www.maayboli.com/node/24834 |title=तन्वीर सन्मान सोहळा - २००९ | Maayboli}}
2012 Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna