Himani Shivpuri's birthday: Lesser-known, art films she's starred in
Veteran actor Himani Shivpuri has a unique distinction attached to her name, starring in multiple Bollywood blockbusters and working with numerous top stars. Despite being a character actor who plays supporting roles, Shivpuri has always held her own. While we've seen her in commercial films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Mehndi, on her 63rd birthday, learn about some lesser-known movies she's starred in.
'Ab Ayega Mazaa' (1984)
The comedy-drama film Ab Ayega Mazaa marked Shivpuri's feature film debut and was helmed by Pankaj Parashar. The multistarrer also starred Farooq Sheikh, Anita Raj, Satish Kaushik, Pavan Malhotra, SM Zaheer, Rajesh Puri, Raja Bundela, and Shoma Anand, among others. Shivpuri played Mitthu, the sister of Suresh "Sidey," played by Ravi Baswani. It is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
'In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones' (1989)
In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones starred several artists who went on to win momentous acclaim in their respective fields of work. The cast comprised Arundhati Roy, Raghuvir Yadav, Shah Rukh Khan, and Manoj Bajpayee, among others. Written by Roy and directed by Pradip Krishen, the Indian English TV film won the National Award for Best Screenplay and Best Feature Film in English.
'Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda' (1992)
Adapted from Hindi author Dharmavir Bharati's namesake novel, Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda is a landmark 1992 drama helmed by Shyam Benegal. Recipient of the 1993 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi, it was led by a number of marvelous artists, such as Shivpuri, Rajit Kapur, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Pallavi Joshi, Ila Arun, Anang Desai, Neena Gupta, and Amrish Puri.
'Mammo' (1994)
Following their successful partnership in Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda, Benegal and Shivpuri collaborated once again for Mammo. Honored with a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1995, the film starred her as Anwari, the protagonist Mammo's (Farida Jalal) sister. Mammo was reportedly the first part of Benegal's Muslim trilogy, the rest two being Sardari Begum (1996) and Zubeidaa (2001).
