This article is about the actor Mahipal. For the Gurjara-Pratihara king and Pala Dynasty king, see Mahipal (disambiguation).

Mahipal or (Mahipal Singh or Mahipal Bhandari) (1919 – 15 May 2005) was an Indian film actor, who worked in Hindi cinema and is most known as the lead in V. Shantaram's Navrang (1959) and the song Tu Chhupi Hai Kahan Me Tadapta Yahan and Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi. He acted in several well-known films of the 50s and 60s including V. Shantaram's Navrang (1959), and Babubhai Mistry's Parasmani (1963).

Biography

Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, where after his schooling, he graduated in literature from Jaswant Government College Jodhpur. Thereafter he worked in the theatre before migrating to Mumbai in the early 1940s,

He made his film debut in the 1942 film Nazrana, however the film didn't work, thereafter wrore lyrics for V. Shantaram for four films. He went on to work with directors like Sohrab Modi and later with Wadia Brothers, Homi Wadia and JBH Wadia, however it was his work with V. Shantaram that got him lasting acclaim. He worked in several mythological and historical films with actresses like Nirupa Roy, Mala Sinha and even Meena Kumari. He also did a series of fantasy films based on Arabian Nights including, Alibaba and 40 Thieves (1954), Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag (1952) and Alibaba ka Beta (1955), which gave him popularity even in Gulf countries. Later in his career, he switched character roles, and appeared in films like Jai Santoshi Maa (1975), a 70s hit. He died in Mumbai of a cardiac arrest, at the age of 86. He was survived by his wife Akkal Kunwar and daughters Shushila Jain and Nirmala Oswal.