Nirupa Roy

Nirupa Roy (4 January 1931 – 13 October 2004) was an Indian actress who appeared in Hindi films. Roy was mostly known for portraying character roles of the Indian mother. She played leading roles in her early films and started playing mother roles during the 1970's – 80's. Her acting career spanned more than 50 years, and she acted in more than 475 films. She was referred to as the "queen of misery" in Hindi film circles.

Personal life

Nirupa Roy was born as Kokila Kishorechandra Bulsara in Valsad, Gujarat. She was married to Kamal Roy when she was 15 and moved to Mumbai. They have two sons, Yogesh and Kiran. She was very friendly with actress Shyama. She died, after having a cardiac arrest, in Mumbai on 13 October 2004 at the age of 72. She was regarded as the greatest Mother of all times in Bollywood. She was Gujarati and taught children Gujarati before she acted in films.

Career

In 1946, Roy and her husband responded to an advertisement in a Gujarati paper looking for actors. She was selected and started her acting career with the Gujarati film Ranakdevi. The same year she acted in her first Hindi film, Amar Raj. One of her popular films was Do Bigha Zameen (1953). She largely played mythological characters in the films of the 1940's and 50's. Her image of a goddess was very strong and people would visit her home and seek her blessings. Among her co-stars were Trilok Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan, Balraj Sahni and Ashok Kumar.

In the 1970's, her roles as mother to the characters played by Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor made her name synonymous to the impoverished suffering mother. Her role in Deewar (1975) and its dialogues with reference to a mother and son are used as clichés^[1]. She is considered as one of the best character artistes in Indian cinema.

Awards

• 1961 – BFJA Best Actress in Supporting Role, Chhaya^[2]
• 2003 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
• Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
  1956 Munimji – Malti
  1962 Chhaya – Manorama/Aayah
  1965 Shehnaai – Shobha

Filmography

• Lal Baadshah (1999)
• Ganga Tere Desh Main (1988) .... Ajay's Mother
• Mard (1985) .... Raju's (Mard) Mother
• Pataal Bhairavi (1985)
• Mawali (1983)
• Betab (1983)
• Teri Kasam (1982)
• Khoon Aur Pani (1981)
• Aatish (1979)
• Suhaag (1979)
• Amar Akbar Anthony (1979) .... Bharti
• Kartavya (1979) .... Vijay's Mother
• Khandaan (1979) .... Savitri G. Srivastav
• Besharam (1979) .... Mrs. Ramchandra
• Aaina (1977) .... Savitri R Shastri
• Deewar (1975) .... Sumitra Devi
• Pyar Ka Mausam .... Jamuna
• Shaheed (1965) .... Durga Bhabhi
• Aalha Udal (1962)
• Dharmputra (1961)
• Kangan (1959) .... Karuna
• Baazigar (1959)
• Dr. Z (1959)
• Kavi Kalidas (1959)
• Chaalbaaz (1958)
• Do Roti (1957)
• Janam Janam Ke Phere
• Krishna Sudama (1957)
• Laxmi Pooja (1957)
• Naag Mani (1957)
• Ram Hanuman Yuddha (1957)
• Bajrang Bali (1956)
• Sati Naag Kanya (1956)
• Raj Durbar (1955)
• Shri Ganesh Vivah (1955)
• Shiv Kanya (1954)
• Raj Ratan (1953)
• Shuk Rambha (1953)
• Rajrani Damayanti (1952)
• Shiv Shakti (1952)
• Dasavtaar (1951)
• Jai Mahakali (1951)
• Kashmir (1951)
• Lav Kush (1951)
• Shri Ganesh Janma (1951)
• Shri Vishnu Bhagwan (1951)
• Gadano Bel (1950)
• Har Har Mahadev (1950)
• Man Ka Meet (1950)
• Veer Bhimsen (1950)
• Garibi (1949)
• Hamari Manzil (1949)
• Mangalphera (1949)
• Gunsundari (1948)
• Hip Hip Hurray (1948)
• Nanand Bhojai (1948) - Gujrati
• Nanand Bhojai (1948) - Hindi
• Shiv S