Bindu (actress)

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Bindu in Zanjeer (1973)

Bindu is an Indian actress popular during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

"Bindu was born to film producer Nanubhai Desai and his wife Jyotsna, a stage actress. Bindu's road to success was not an easy one. With her father's demise at the young age of 13 and being the eldest daughter, the burden of earning a daily meal fell on her young, frail shoulders. However, it was only after her marriage to Gujurati businessman Champaklal Zaveri that she got her first film offer. The film was to be director Raj Khosla's Do Raaste (1969). From here she went on to write her success story with Shakti Samanta's Kati Patang (1970) where she had a sizzling "Mera Naam Shabo" to her credit, a number which is even today remembered as the highlight of Kati Patang. Bindu pronounced her arrival on the scene as a vamp, an for image which her contemporaries Helen and Aruna Irani were famous around that time.

Kati Patang was only the beginning; followed by Ittefaaq (1969) and Imtihaan (1974), with her mesmerizing performances as a seductress in Imtihaan and as a nymphomaniac in Hawas )(1974), left audiences asking for more. With a string of hits behind her, she successfully managed to break out of the myth that married actresses usually do not go to become sex symbols, and especially not in the Hindi film industry.

But then a sex symbol was not all that Bindu was, her acting abilities were seen in films like Hrishikesh Mukherjee's films Arjun Pundit and Abhimaan 1973, where she won raves for played a very sympathetic character. She also acted in Chaitali. She proved to be just as convincing as the crippled woman in Chaitali as the deglamourised role of wife to Ashok Kumar, in Arjun Pandit.

Unfortunately, the 5'6" tall well-endowed Bindu was never offered roles as the leading lady despite being extremely photogenic, blessed with a flawless complexion and sharp features. Her being married perhaps came in the way of her being offered roles as the main female lead. Thus, she lost out on the chance of being the leading lady in her films.

Bindu was a stunning beauty, and equally stunning without any make up. She is known for her alabaster skin and smooth complexion. With her looks, histrionic ability, voluptuous figure and fair skin, she could have given all the leading ladies of Bollywood a run for their money. But this was not to be.

An impending pregnancy, followed by an unfortunate miscarriage, brought about a lull in her career and on the advice of her doctors she had to end her stint as the glamorous vamp – dancing and all. However, she could not stay away long and returned back to the silver screen with character roles – Hero, Biwi Ho To Aisi and Kishen Kanhaiya and with many other such movies she managed to re-establish herself as the unmerciful and cruel ma-in-law, or the cynical bua, chachi, mausi…

Today, leading a comparatively low-profiled life, Bindu is seen making fewer on-screen appearances, like the one in Shola Aur Shabnam which brought to the forefront the comic trait to her as an actress. This she followed with her light performance as the tip-top chachi in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun.

What can be unanimously said is that though many came and tried to fit into the vacuum left by Bindu none could match up to her heights. After Bindu, neither has anybody seen that kind of success, nor has anybody been able to imitate this illustrious vamp.^[1]