Pūjā or alternative transliteration Pooja, (Devanagari: पूजा) (Sanskrit: reverence, honour, adoration, or worship) is a religious ritual performed by Hindus as an offering to various deities, distinguished persons, or special guests. It is done on a variety of occasions and settings, from daily puja done in the home, to temple ceremonies and large festivals, or to begin a new venture.Puja is modeled on the idea of giving a gift or offering to a deity or important person and receiving their blessing (Ashirvad). The two main areas where puja is performed is in the home and at public temples. There are many variations in scale, offering, and ceremony.Puja is also performed on special occasions such as Durga Puja and Lakshmi Puja. The puja ritual is performed by Hindus worldwide. Various poojas are performed at various times of the day and on various occasions.
Temple poojas are more elaborate and typically done several times a day. They are also performed by a temple priest, or pujari. In addition, the temple deity (patron god or goddess) is considered a resident rather than a guest, so the puja is modified to reflect that; for example the deity is "awakened" rather than "invoked" in the morning. Temple pujas vary widely from region to region and for different sects, with devotional hymns sung at Vaishnava temples for example. At a temple puja, there is often less active participation, with the priest acting on behalf of others.
Mahesh Bhatt (born on 20 September 1948), is a prominent Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Bhatt's early directional career consisted of acclaimed films, such as Arth, Saaransh, Janam, Naam,Sadak and Zakhm. He was later the writer of numerous commercial films in a range of film genres, from dramas like Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke and comedies like Duplicate, though he was mostly recognised for thrillers like Inteha, Jism, Murder and Woh Lamhe.
Mahesh Bhatt was born to Nanabhai Bhatt, a Hindu and Shirin Mohammed Ali, a Muslim on 20 September 1948. Nanabhai Bhatt was a film director and producer of Hindi and Gujarati films. Mahesh Bhatt was raised by his mother alone as his parents were not married and his father also had another family. He has five siblings, four sisters and one brother Mukesh Bhatt, who is a film producer.
Bhatt did his schooling from Don Bosco High School, Matunga. While still in school, Bhatt started summer jobs to earn money. He also made advertisements for various products. He was introduced to film director Raj Khosla through acquaintances. Bhatt thus started as assistant director to Khosla.