indian cinema heritage foundation

Bipin Gupta

Artists
  • Born: 27 August 1905 (Meerut)
  • Died: 9 September 1981 (Kolkata)
  • Primary Cinema: Hindi
  • Parents: Trailokya Nath Gupta, Khemankari Devi
  • Spouse: Annapurna Devi
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Actor Bipin Gupta was born on 27 August 1905 to a Bengali family in Meerut. He was the fifth child of his parents, Trailokya Nath Gupta and Khemankari Devi. They later moved to Barrackpore where Bipin attended the Chinsura Training School and the Barrackpore Government High School.

He started working on radio in 1934 and by 1936 he became a professional stage artist. He stayed for 30 years in Bombay to establish himself as an actor. His first film, Shri Ramanuj came in 1943 at Calcutta.

Bipin Gupta’s first Bengali film was Chokher Bali, directed by Sotu Sen in 1938. He also played the role of a hero once in the film Noori (1934), produced by Durga International Films, Calcutta. He was cast opposite Sheela Devi. Unfortunately, the film didn’t do well at the theatres. He then appeared in films like Jawani Ki Reet (1939), Nimai Sanyasi (1940, Bengali), Lagan (1941), Nandini (1941, Bengali), Prabhu Ka Ghar (1945), Pujari (1946), Anjangarh (1948), Ananda Math (1951, Bengali), and Nagina (1951).

Bipin Gupta is most remembered for his roles as father, a zamindar, grandfather, or rich businessman. His personality had considerable grace and he possessed a very good voice. Once, while shooting for the film Teen Bahuraniyan (1968), when Prithviraj Kapoor lost his voice for some time, it was Bipin Gupta who dubbed his dialogues in the film. These qualities gave him a unique identity, making him an important part of the Hindi cinema.

In 1964, he produced a Hindi film called Daal Mein Kaala directed by Satyen Bose and starring Nimmi, Kishore Kumar, and Abhi Bhattacharya. The film took almost four years to make.

In the span of his career, Bipin worked in more than 300 films, including 128 Hindi films, between the 1930s and 1960s. He did 60 films in a period of 10 years, between 1950 and 1960 - a very high average of one film every two months for 10 years. Some of his important roles were in films like Baiju Bawra (1952), Jagriti (1954), Bhabhi (1957), Amrapali (1966), Gharana (1961), Khilona (1970), and Jeevan Mrityu (1970).

His last film was in 1979 in Bombay.

He was married to Annapurna Devi. His son married Kajri, daughter of actor-singer Sailesh Mukherjee. She too was an actress.

Bipin Gupta died on 9 September 1981 in Kolkata.