On the 17th of January, 1951, Bindu Nanubhai Desai was born to film producer Nanubhai Desai and Jyotsna. Over her four decades of work, she has worked in more than 160 films and received seven Filmfare nominations.
She was born in a small village in Valsad district, Gujrat. When she was barely thirteen years old, her father passed away. Thereafter, young Bindu had to take responsibility as she was the eldest of the 7 siblings.
Her acting career started in 1962 with “Anpadh” wherein she starred as Kiran. But her rise to fame began in 1969 with her roles in “Ittefaq” and “Do Raaste”. Not only were these films box-office hits, but Bindu also received her first Filmfare nominations for her performance! The cabaret dance number from Kati Patang (1970) became an important part of her persona.
Bindu received another Filmfare nomination in 1972 for Daastan. In 1973 for Abhimaan and in 74’ for the exceptional commercially successful films, Hawas and Imtihan. In fact, these 1974 nymphomaniac performances helped her carve out a specific role for herself in the industry. She became the Glam Queen of the 70s.
Her versatility in acting is prominent with sympathetic roles, cabaret dance numbers, antagonist roles. But the most popular is probably “Mona Darling” from the film Zanjeer. In 1976, she received her seventh Filmfare nomination for her character in Arjun Pandit.
Between 1977-1980, Bindu struggled a lot with her own personal life. Her excitement to become a mother and start a family with her husband, Champaklal Zaveri, was halted by a miscarriage. It broke them as it would do to anyone else. However, she did return and now was the unmerciful and cynical aunt or mother or mother-in-law.
Bindu was the definition of glam of the 70s!
