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Bhudo Advani (17 August 1905 – 25 July 1985)^[1] 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 toBombay on the advice of an Ajanta Cinetone representative and was offered a role in the filmAfzal, also calledHoor-E-Haram in 1933, directed by Mohan Bhavnani.^[2] He later joinedSagar Movietone, becoming an important fixture in most films produced by them. He turned from character roles to comedy performing inDr. Madhurika (1935), directed bySarvottam Badami,Deccan Queen (1936) andDo 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

His later memorable roles were in some ofRaj Kapoor's films such asBoot Polish (1954), in which he lip-synced to the song "Lapak Jhapak Tu Aa Re Badariya", sung byManna De inRaga Adhana,^[5] also inShri 420 (1955) andAb Dilli Dur Nahin (1957). His last film wasShatranj Ke Khilari (1977), made bySatyajit Ray.

Bhudo Advani was born Daulatram Advani, on 17 August 1905, inHyderabad, Sindh (now inPakistan),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.^[6] The name stuck, and he was referred to as Bhudo Advani in film credits instead of Daulatram.^[3]

He was spotted by a representative of Ajanta Cinetone, who saw him in a play and asked Advani to come to Bombay and join films. Advani left Hyderabad and went to Bombay, where he was given a role inAfzal (1933).

Following his debut inAfzal orHoor-E-Haram (1933), directed by Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani (Mohan Bhavnani, M. D. Bhavnani), Advani worked in an administrative capacity in the production company while also acting in several movies produced by Ajanta Cinetone. Some of the films he acted in wereMaya Jaal (1933), a fantasy directed by Shanti L. Dave for Ajanta Cinetone Ltd., co-starringBibbo, Master Nissar andP. Jairaj;Dard-E-Dil (1934);Dukhtare-E-Hind (1934);The Mill, also calledMazdoor (1934), directed by M. D. Bhavnani (Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani), and starring Bibbo, who played the mill owner's daughter in the film, with Motilal as the hero;^[7] andSair-E-Paristan (1934), directed by M. D. Bhavnani and co-starring Bibbo,P. Jairaj andKhalil.

He left Ajanta Cinetone following an offer from Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Patel to joinSagar Movietone. Here he had the opportunity to work with directors such asSarvottam 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'sNew Theatres Ltd'sDevdas, starringSurendra and Bibbo, and was a commercial success at the box-office;Deccan Queen, an action adventure film directed by Mehboob;^[8] the first "stunt" film fromSagar Movietone –Jagirdar (1937), a "romantic melodrama", with Bibbo and Surendra co-starring withMotilal;^[9] 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 byZia Sarhadi.^[10]

In Raj Kapoor'sBoot 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.^[11] The song, composed inRaga Adhana hadManna De providing play-back for Advani.^[5]

In 1958, Advani acted in theSindhi filmRai Daich, based on a folk story about the king ofJunagadh, Rai Daich. It was produced by Atu Lalwani and D. P. Kriplani and directed by J. B. Lulla. With lyrics by Parsram Zia, the film became popular due to its music, which was composed byBulo C. Rani.^[12] He acted in several films till 1977, in small roles. In 1977, he acted in his last feature filmShatranj Ke Khiladi, based on a short story written by Munshi Premchand. The ensemble cast includedSanjeev Kumar,Saeed Jaffrey,Shabana Azmi,Richard Attenborough,Tom Alter,Victor Bannerjee andFarooq Sheikh. Produced by Suresh Jindal, it was directed bySatyajit Ray forHindi cinema.^[13]

Bhudo Advani died on 25 July 1985, in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.^[2]

Partial list:^[14][15]

• Bhudo Advani atIMDb

• Indian male film actors
• 1905 births
• Male actors in Hindi cinema
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• People from Hyderabad, Sindh
• 1985 deaths
• Male actors from Sindh
• Male actors in Sindhi cinema
• Indian Sindhi people
• Male actors from Mumbai

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