Bibbo

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Birth name Ishrat Sultana
Birth 1 january 1906
Death 1 january 1972 (at 66 years)

Bibbo (1906–1972) was singer-actress working in Hindu/Urdu films. She acted in Indian cinema from 1933-1947 before moving to Pakistan following Partition of India in 1947. She started her acting career with Ajanta Cinetone Ltd. in 1933, working with directors like M. D. Bhavnani and A. P. Kapoor. She was one of the top leading ladies of the 1930s along with actresses like Devika Rani, Durga Khote, Sulochana (Ruby Myers), Mehtab, Shanta Apte, Sabita Devi, Leela Desai and Naseem Banu. She was referred to as "one of the most important female stars of the 1930s and 1940s". Her fame had her featured in the lyrics of a popular song from the film Garib Ke Lal (1939) sung by Mirza Musharraf and Kamla Karnataki, with music by Sageer Asif and lyrics by Rafi Kashmir. "Tujhe Bibbo Kahoon Ke Sulochana" (Should I call you Bibbo or Sulochana), where Sulochana (Ruby Myers) referred to another popular actress of the time. This was the first time a song featuring famous actors was used in the lyrics of a film song.

Bibbo became the first female music composer of Indian cinema, when she composed the music for Adal-e-Jahangir in 1934, a year before Jaddanbai, mother of actress Nargis, composed music for Talash-e-Haq (1935). She was also the music director for a second film called Qazzak Ki Ladki (1937).

She worked with actors like Master Nissar, Surendra and Kumar. She formed a popular working relationship with them. Her pairing with Surendra was especially well-liked with the pair giving several hits like Manmohan (1936), Jagirdar (1937), Gramaphone Singer (1938), Dynamite (1938) and Ladies Only (1939). Her first film was Rangila Rajput followed by Mayajaal, both in 1933. She worked in nearly thirty films as a lead actress in India from 1933-47, shifting to character roles in later years, following her move to Pakistan. She won the Nigar Award for the best character actress for her role in the Pakistani film Zehr-e-Ishq (1958).

Biography

Bibbo was married by the end of 1930s to Khalil Sardar, who directed her in Adal-e-Jahangir for which she gave music. Following the marriage they left Bombay and moved to Lahore, where they produced a film under the banner of Rainbow films, Qazzak Ki Ladki (1937), where she was also the music director. The film was a commercial failure and Bibbo finally returned to Bombay. Following Partition in 1947, Bibbo moved to Pakistan, where she worked as a character artiste. According to Zulqarnain Shahid (The Weekly MAG, Pakistan) re-published in Cineplot, it was stated that Bibbo was married to Shahnawaz Bhutto, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's father. In the June 1943 issue of Filmindia, Baburao Patel answered a query about Bibbo claiming she was "indeed married to Bhutto".

The last days of Bibbo's life are claimed to have been lonely with her life described as being "miserable and poverty stricken". She died on 25 May 1972.

Usually with

Yakub
(3 films)

Surendra
(3 films)

Sabita Devi
(2 films)

Mehboob Khan
(2 films)

Motilal
(2 films)