Bibbo (actress)

Bibbo (born Ishrat Sultana 1906 – 1972) was a music composer, singer and actress who worked in both Indian and Pakistani films. She acted in Indian cinema from 1931 to 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, 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 ''Gharib Ke Lal'' (1939) sung by Mirza Musharraf and Kamla Karnataki, with music by Sagheer Asif and lyrics by Rafi Kashmiri. "Tujhe Bibbo Kahoon Ke Sulochana" (Should I call you Bibbo or Sulochana), where Sulochana 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 to 1947, 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). Provided by Wikipedia