Veteran comedian Birbal passed away in Bombay today (12th September). He was 84 and would’ve turned 85 on 1st October.
Birbal had acted in more than 500 films in Hindi, Punjabi and Bhojpuri. He entered the acting arena in the mid-1960s and found his calling in character roles tinged with comedy. He had a heavy Punjabi accent and often wore thick glasses.
Birbal (real name Satinder Khosla) was born to a businessman in Gurdaspur. He completed his college education in Jalandhar and came to Bombay to become a singer. But destiny had charted a different course for him. Filmmaker Raj Khosla impulsively cast him in the role of the quintessential bumpkin as a replacement for Gulshan Bawra in his Do Badan. He met Manoj Kumar on this film’s set, and it was he who nicknamed him Birbal which stuck as his screen name. He went on to act in many films of Raj Khosla and Manoj Kumar, including, Upkar, Mera Saaya, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan and Kranti. His role in V. Shantaram’s Boond Jo Ban Gayee Moti also brought him a lot of fame. Among his other memorable roles were the prisoner in Sholay, and the jilted lover in the Paan song from Biwi Ho To Aisi.
Some of the other films in which Birbal played good roles are Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, Tapasya, Sadma and Dil.