King of comedy: Jaspal Bhatti

Born on March 3, 1955, in a Rajput Sikh family near Amritsar , Bhatti, a cartoonist with the daily Tribune, became famous for his satirical take on the problems of the common man.

Well known for his TV series Flop Show and Ulta Pulta, Jaspal Bhatti garnered immense love and admiration from the entire nation.

He was widely famous for his street plays like Nonsense Club during his college days. Most of these plays were spoofs ridiculing corruption in society.

Many won't know, but before venturing into TV, he was a well acclaimed cartoonist for the The Tribune newspaper in Chandigarh.

Jaspal Bhatti's sharp, pungent cartoons continued for 5 6 years on the front page of Tribune newspaper.

His pocket cartoons Oddly Speaking hit out at the malaise in the society.

Jaspal Bhatti's major TV serials were Ulta Pulta, Flop Show, Full Tension, Thank You Jijaji, Hye Zindagi Bye Zindagi.

His low budget Flop Show in the early 1990s is remembered even today. His wife Savita Bhatti produced the show and acted in all the episodes as his wife.

Only 10 episodes were ever produced, but the show has had a long and powerful legacy and is well remembered.

The fact that attracted audience to his shows was his untouched gift of inducing humour to highlight everyday issues of the middle class in India.

Bhatti's satire on the Punjab police Mahaul Theek Hai (1999) was his first directorial venture for a full length feature film in his native Punjabi language.

He played the role of Jolly Good Singh, a guard, in the movie Fanaa. He played a comical college principal in Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe.

In his latest stint, Bhatti and his wife Savita competed in a popular Star Plus show Nach Baliye which went on air in October 2008.