The curious case of Baby Bulbul, Master Vicky, and Master Lucky
Meet the Bollywood child artist with three screen names
In Hindi films, child actors playing both boy and girl roles isn’t uncommon. Two of Bollywood’s most beloved and prolific child artists, Daisy Irani and Sarika—dubbed as (Moppet) Roop Kumar and Moppet Suraj, respectively—had received great success in their young boy roles. Master Bittoo was frequently seen in girl roles, though he never went by any other screen name. Other popular child actors of that time, Master Bobby and Master Ravi, too, have donned frocks, ribbons, and funny-looking wigs to play girl roles—mostly with hilariously slipshod results.
This brings me to one of my favourite and still unsolved Bollywood mysteries about a certain Master Chicoo and Baby Munmun, which I had analysed in detail in a previous post.
Unlike the Chicoo-Munmun confusion, there is no such uncertainty about Baby Bulbul, aka Master Vicky, aka Master Lucky, possibly the only Bollywood child artist with three screen names.
Eighties Bollywood fans would very well remember the kid in Pyar Jhukta Nahin’s (1985) top tearjerker track, Tumse mil kar na jaane kyon. Billed as the ‘Wonderful Child Vicky,’ this child artist played Mithun Chakraborty and Padmini Kolhapure’s son in the film who reunites his estranged parents.
In the same year, this young actor was also introduced as Baby Bulbul in the Reena Roy and Raj Babbar-starrer Ek Chitthi Pyar Bhari. She went on to appear in a few other films under the same name, including the remake of The Parent Trap, Pyar Ke Kabil (1987), where Bulbul played the double role of the twin sisters.
In between, she starred alongside Rajesh Khanna in Adhikar (1986) and was credited as Master Lucky in the movie.
Baby Bulbul’s real name is Vishnupriya Pandit, and in all likelihood, she didn’t pursue acting once she grew up. By all accounts she is now an artist and is also associated with the corporate world. Interestingly, Bulbul is actress Aparajita’s daughter and the granddaughter of yesteryear star Bharat Bhushan.
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