Bibbo

Bibbo Biography

Bibbo was one of the leading singer-actresses in the first era of Indian talkies. She ruled the silver screen during the period 1933 to 1947, before she moved to Pakistan, following Partition. She was frequently paired with the singing actor Surendra, with whom she has delivered numerous hits like Manmohan (1936), Jagirdar (1937), Gramaphone Singer (1938), Dynamite (1938) and Ladies Only (1939). Bibbo also owns many successful films with Master Nissar and actor Kumar. After moving to Pakistan she continued with acting and towards the end of her career she played character roles. She is a recipient of Nigar Award for the best character actress for the Pakistani film - Zehr-e-Ishq (1958). She is also credited to be the first female music composer of Indian cinema, one year before Jaddanbai composed film music.

Her real name is Ishrat Sultana. She was born in Delhi in 1906 during the British rule. Her mother was a famous singer and courtesan Hafeezan Bai. Bibbo too was a trained singer when she came to film scene. Rangila Rajput released in 1933 marked her film debut. The movie was directed by M. D. Bhavnani, where she landed as a singing actress. It was followed by Mayajaal, for which she received rave reviews for her acting skills. Hindi journalist Pitambar Jha predicted a bright future for this artist, following the movie.

In 1934, Bibbo acted in five films including Vasavdatta, Sair-E-Paristan and Adal-e-Jehangir. She composed music for the controversial film - Adal-e-Jehangir, which was shortly banned for a period. With this movie she became the first female music director of Indian film industry. She married the director of the film - Khalil Sardar. She also composed music for Qazzak Ki Ladki. She played lead roles in almost 30 films before moving to supporting roles. She passed away in Karachi in 1972.

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Updated: March 20, 2016