Bhagwanti Navani

Actress and singer Bhagwanti Navani was born in Karachi in the province of Sindh on 1st February 1940 to a family of eight. She has three brothers and two sisters. At the time of her birth, India and Pakistan were still one country as a whole, and so, when the Partition of India happened, Bhagwanti, who was seven at the time, had to migrate to Bombay, now called Mumbai, with her family. Here, Bhagwanti studied at Kamala Girls’ High School and later at the High School for Sindhis. She completed high school in 1957. Bhagwanti’s grandmother introduced her to Sindhi folk music. Wanting to learn more about the art, Bhagwanti enrolled at the Devghar Music School and Arun Sangeet Vidyalaya. Later, she joined the People Theatre Association, where her musical talents flourished.

She became well-versed in the art of singing Bhawans (devotional songs), Kalams, Orans, Ladas Lorries, etc. Bhagwanti became a household name for her Ladas (traditional Sindhi marriage songs) as they were sung and played at every wedding ceremony. Bhagwanti collaborated and sang duets with two of India’s most famous and important playback singers: Mahendra Kapoor Mahendra Kapoor was a playback singer in 1960’s, a >> Read More... and C. H. Atma. An accomplished playback singer, Bhagwanti lent her voice and musical talents to the Hindi Film Industry by singing solo, as well as with other popular singers of the era.

Some of the well-known movies she took part in are: ‘Ladli’ (1949), ‘Jhulelal’ (1966), ‘Sindhu-a Je Kinare’ (1968), ‘Hojamalo’ (1968), ‘Shal Dhiar Na Jaman’ (1969), ‘Halu Ta Bhajee Haloon’ (1984), ‘Kanwar Ram,’ and ‘Pardesi Preetam.’ Apart from her successful musical career, Bhagwanti Navani was also a talented actress, having stood on stage for more than three thousand performances in India and internationally. Her notable plays are: ‘’Sindhua Je Kinare’ (On the Bank of the River Indus), ‘Mehman,’ ‘ Gustakhi Maaf Gustakhi Maaf is a political satire show which sta >> Read More... ’ (1969), ‘Desh Ji Lalkar’ etc.