Hemendra Bhatia was a well-known theatre director, actor, playwright, and acting coach who was born in Kanpur in 1952. He graduated from FTII and went on to make his acting debut in Shyam Benegal’s TV series Bharat Ek Khoj and thereafter appeared in films like Karamati Coat, Satta, and Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara. He had also written the TV mini-series Idiot and acted in many commercials. Being an acting coach, he joined the Bhartendu Natya Academy (BNA) as a teacher and also became the first and the only dean of Anupam Kher’s acting school, Actor Prepares. He breathed his last at the age of 70 in Mumbai on 30 August 2022.