Bhudo Advani

Bhudo Advani (17 August 1905 – 25 July 1985) was an Indian character actor and comedian. He started his acting career in theatre with the notion of spreading awareness on social issues. He came to Bombay on the advice of an Ajanta Cinetone representative and was offered a role in the film Afzal, also called Hoor-E-Haram in 1933, directed by Mohan Bhavnani. He later joined Sagar Movietone, becoming an important fixture in most films produced by them. He turned from character roles to comedy performing in Dr. Madhurika, directed by Sarvottam Badami, Deccan Queen (1936) and Do Diwaane (1936), by C. Luhar.

Advani also became a vital part in director Mehboob Khan's films, acting in all the pictures directed by Mehboob while at Sagar Movietone. When Sagar shut down in 1939, Mehboob formed his own production company, National Studios, Bhudo Advani become a member there, but by the beginning of the 1940s, Advani was doing freelance work. In a career spanning forty-four years from 1933 to 1977, he acted in over ninety films. Belonging to the Sindhi community, Advani, along with Moti Prakash and S. P. Menghani, helped toward the development and formation of the Sindhi theatre in 1961.

His later memorable roles were in some of Raj Kapoor's films such as Boot Polish (1954), in which he lip-synced to the song "Lapak Jhapak Tu Aa Re Badariya", sung by Manna De in Raga Adhana, also in Shri 420 (1955) and Ab Dilli Dur Nahin (1957). His last film was Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977), made by Satyajit Ray.

Early life Bhudo Advani was born Daulatram Advani, on 17 August 1905, in Hyderabad, Sindh (now in Pakistan), British India. Following his matriculation exams, he spent his holidays staging plays based on social issues, which were of prime importance to him. During this time, he performed a play in which he had to portray an old man, "Buddha" or "Buddho" (a colloquial reference for an old man). Another reason for his name, Bhudo (old man), was due to his toothless smile; his edentia reportedly was caused by a hereditary disorder. The name stuck, and he was referred to as Bhudo Advani in film credits instead of Daulatram. and Sair-E-Paristan (1934), directed by Bhavnani and co-starring Bibbo, P. Jairaj and Khalil.

He left Ajanta Cinetone following an offer from Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Patel to join Sagar Movietone. Here he had the opportunity to work with directors such as Sarvottam Badami, Mehboob Khan and K. P. Ghosh. He became popular doing comedy roles and worked in over twenty films produced by them. Some of his films with Mehboob Khan were: Manmohan (1936), a film made to compete with Calcutta's New Theatres Ltd's Devdas, starring Surendra and Bibbo, and was a commercial success at the box-office; Deccan Queen, an action adventure film directed by Mehboob; the first "stunt" film from Sagar Movietone – Jagirdar (1937), a "romantic melodrama", with Bibbo and Surendra co-starring with Motilal; and in 1938, Gramaphone Singer, with Bibbo and Surendra, directed by V. C. Desai and R. Thakur, who were referred to as "juniors" in Sagar at the time of production of this film. The music was by Anil Biswas with dialogues by Zia Sarhadi.

In Raj Kapoor's Boot Polish (1954), Advani sings "Lapak Jhapak Tu Aa Re Badariya". The scene is referred to by author Rahaim, as an example of a "model of stillness", where the singer holds the tone with the audience watching awe-struck in frozen silence. The song, composed in Raga Adhana had Manna De providing play-back for Advani. He acted in several films till 1977, in small roles. In 1977, he acted in his last feature film Shatranj Ke Khiladi, based on a short story written by Munshi Premchand. The ensemble cast included Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Shabana Azmi, Richard Attenborough, Tom Alter, Victor Bannerjee and Farooq Sheikh. Produced by Suresh Jindal, it was directed by Satyajit Ray for Hindi cinema.

Death Bhudo Advani died on 25 July 1985, in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.

Filmography Partial list: Year Film Director Producer1933 Afzal a.k.a. Hoor-E-Haram Mohan Bhavanani Ajanta Cinetone Ltd.1933 Maya Jaal a.k.a. Satan Weeps or Jung-E-Ulfat Shanti Dave Ajanta Cinetone Ltd.1934 Shahi Gawaiya a.k.a. The Royal Musician or Vasavadatta P. Y. Altekar Ajanta Cinetone Ltd.1934 Sair-E-Paristan Mohan Bhavanani Ajanta Cinetone Ltd.1934 Dard-E-Dil a.k.a. Romance Mohan Bhavanani Ajanta Cinetone Ltd.1934 Mazdoor a.k.a. The Mill Mohan Bhavanani Ajanta Cinetone Ltd.1935 Pyar Ki Maar a.k.a. The Onslaught Of Love A. P. Kapoor Ajanta Cinetone Ltd.1935 Dr. Madhurika Sarvottam Badami Sagar Movietone1936 Deccan Queen Mehboob Khan Sagar Movietone1936 Manmohan Mehboob Khan Sagar Movietone1937 Jagirdar a.k.a. Landlord Mehboob Khan Sagar Movietone1938 Gramophone Singer V. C. Desai Sagar Movietone1938 Dynamite C. M. Luhar Sagar Movietone1939 Seva Samaj, a.k.a. Service Ltd. C. M. Luhar Sagar Movietone1939 Ladies Only Sarvottam Badami Sagar Movietone1940 Kum Kum The Dancer Modhu Bose Sagar Movietone1940 Pooja A. R. Kardar National Studios1941 Nai Roshni Lalit Mehta, Chimankant Gandhi National Studios1941 Bahen a.k.a. Sister Mehboob Khan National Studios1942 Mata a.k.a. Mother V. M. Gunjal Kirti Pictures1943 Fashion S. F. Hasnain Fazli Brothers1944 Bisvi Sadi (Biswi Sadi) Mohan Bhavnani Bhavnani Productions 1945 Pehli Nazar Mazhar Khan Mazhar Art Productions1946 Anmol Ghadi Mehboob Khan Mehboob Productions1947 Shahkar a.k.a. The Masterpiece S. Khalil United Films1948 Anokhi Ada Mehboob Khan Mehboob Productions1949 Duniya S. F. Hasnain Fazli Brothers1950 Meena Bazaar Ravindra Dave Pancholi Productions1950 Aankhen (Ankhen) Devendra Goel Devendra Cine Corporation1951 Saudagar M. I. Dharmsey West Hind Pictures1952 Khubsurat S. F. Hasnain Fazli Brothers1954 Boot Polish Prakash Arora R. K. Films1955 Shri 420 Raj Kapoor R. K. Films1955 Pyaase Nain S. Ram Tekchand Talkies 1956 Kismet Ka Khel Kishore Sahu Sahu Films Ltd.1957 Miss Bombay Kedar Kapoor N. C. Films1957 Ab Dilli Dur Nahin Amar Kumar R. K. Films1958 Madhumati Bimal Roy Bimal Roy Productions1959 Qaidi No. 911 Aspi Super Pictures1960 Anuradha Hrishikesh Mukherjee L. B. Films1963 Bachpan Nazar New Panch Ratan Pictures1969 Khamoshi Asit Sen Geetanjali Pictures1977 Shatranj Ke Khiladi Satyajit Ray Suresh Jindal