Adored by her fans for her charming personality and beauty, Bindiya Goswami was one of the most beautiful actresses of the 1970s and 80s who, despite having a brief career, gave many memorable films like “Khatta Meetha,” “Prem Vivah,” “Gol Maal,” “Jaani Dushman,” “Shaan,” “Dada,” “Hamari Bahu Alka, and many more.
Early Life
Bindiya Goswami was born on January 6, 1962, in Kaman, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, to Venugopal Goswami, a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin priest, and Dolly, a Catholic mother. Growing up, Bindiya aspired to become an air hostess like her elder sister Pearl. However, her life took a significant turn at 14, when she was discovered at a party at music director Pyare Lal’s home by Jaya Chakravarthy, the mother of Hindi film actress Hema Malini. Jaya saw a resemblance between Bindiya and Hema and recommended her to film producers, setting the stage for Bindiya’s entry into the world of cinema.
Debut and Breakthrough
IMDb documented her film debut with Bhupen Hazarika’s Assamese film Chik Mik Bijuli (1969) as a child artist. She followed it by two more Assamese films: Brojen Barua’s Lalita in 1972 and Deuti Barua’s Bristi in 1974. These entries need more in-depth research, as in my preliminary research we couldn’t find any reference about her career in Assamese movies.
Bindiya made her debut in the Hindi film industry with Murugan Kumaran’s Jeevan Jyoti (1976), opposite Vijay Arora. Although the film did not perform well at the box office, Bindiya was lauded for her innocence, charm, and beauty. After Jeewan Jyoti, she acted in films like Raj Tilak’s Mukti (1977), Asrani’s Chala Murari Hero Banne (1977), L.V. Prasad’s Jay-Vijay (1977), Sandhya Raag (1977, Assamese), Chhota Baap (1977), Khel Kismat Ka (1977), Duniyadari (1977), College Girl (1978), Aankh Ka Tara (1978), Ram Kasam (1978), and many more.
Bindiya’s breakthrough came with Basu Chatterjee‘s Khatta Meetha (1977) opposite Rakesh Roshan and Prem Vivah (1979) opposite Mithun Chakraborty. Both of these films established her as an actress who can act according to situations and mould herself into any role.
Bindiya Goswami – The Star
In 1979 came Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s cult comedy film Gol Maal (1979), where she played the role of Urmila with Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt. The film was a massive hit and remains one of her most memorable performances. The same year, she starred in Anil Ganguly’s “Khandaan” with Jeetendra and Rajkumar Kohli’s multistarrer blockbuster “Jaani Dushman.”
Bindiya’s career continued to flourish with notable films such as Dada (1979), where she was paired with Vinod Mehra. The film is still remembered for the exceptional chemistry between Mehra and Bindiya as well as its songs like “Dil Ke Tukde Tukde Karke Muskurake Chal Diye.” The film’s success led the pair to star in many films like Jaandaar, Khud-Daar, and Lalach.
Other Work
One of her most memorable films was Ramesh Sippy’s Shaan (1980), where she starred opposite Shashi Kapoor. Although Bindiya worked with many top actors like Jeetendra, Shatrughan Sinha, Sanjeev Kumar, Amol Palekar, and Rakesh Roshan, her most successful pairing was with Mithun Chakraborty, with whom she shared great on-screen chemistry. Some of their films include Karwat (1982), Heeron Ka Chor (1982), Aamne Samne (1982), Avinash (1986), and Mera Yaar Mera Dushman (1987).
Some of her other memorable films include Takkar (1980), Bandish (1980), Hamari Bahu Alka (1982), Reshma (1980, Punjabi), Rang Birangi (1983), and Mehandi (1983).
Personal Life
Bindiya married her co-star Vinod Mehra in 1980, but their marriage ended in divorce after four years. After her divorce, she married famous director J.P. Dutta in 1985 and stepped away from acting. With Dutta, she has two daughters, Nidhi and Siddhi.
In her second innings in the film industry, Bindiya found a new calling as a costume designer. She contributed her creative talents to iconic female stars like Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, and Aishwarya Rai. She mainly worked for the films directed by her husband J.P. Dutta. Her most notable films as costume designer are Border (1997), Refugee (2000), LOC Kargil (2003), and Umrao Jaan (2007).
Despite not being active in recent years, she remains a nostalgic figure for fans of classic Hindi cinema.
Bindiya Goswami on IMDB
