Alka Nupur is a former Indian actress who was best known for her contributions to

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

throughout the 1980s. She appeared in many films throughout her career, including ''Laawaris'' (1981), ''Brij Bhoomi'' (1982), '' John Jani Janardhan'' (1984), and ''

Mohabbat Ke Dushman ''Mohabbat Ke Dushman'' () is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language action film produced and directed by Prakash Mehra. It stars Raaj Kumar, Hema Malini, Sanjay Dutt and Farah in lead roles. Cast * Raaj Kumar as Rehmat Khan * Hema Malini as Shamajaan * ...

'' (1988).

Career

In her early years, Nupur first began her career as a

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

dancer. She had also been taught by

Birju Maharaj Pandit Birju Maharaj (born Brijmohan Nath Mishra; 4 February 1938 – 16 January 2022) was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, child molester and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant o ...

and

Rani Karnaa ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...

, professional dancers. She received Government's National Cultural Scholarship at the age of 21. Throughout her career, she would sometimes be credited as "Alka Noopur", "Alka Napoor" (in Mr. X) and "Alka Kapoor" (in

Yaadon Ki Kasam ''Yaadon Ki Kasam'' is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Vinod Dewan, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Zeenat Aman, Shakti Kapoor, Asrani, Madan Puri and Viju Khote Summary Ravi Kapoor (Mithun Chakraborty) and Chandni (Zeenat ...

). She made her first appearance in films with '' Ek Aur Suhagan'' in 1979, and then went to make guest appearances in films such as '' Chashme Buddoor'' (1 minute's appearance). In 1981, she made an uncredited appearance dancing in '' Laawaris'' for "Apni To Jaise Taise." She gained fame for her dancing as the song and movie were hits. In 1982, she had her first starring role in ''

Brij Bhoomi Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhoomi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal and Ballabhgarh in Haryan ...

'' as Radha. Following this, she went and starred in other films such as ''

Purana Mandir ''Purana Mandir'' ( ''The Old Temple'') is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language horror film directed by the Ramsay brothers and produced by Kanta Ramsay. The soundtrack was composed by Ajit Singh. Typical of Ramsay's other works, the film chronicles th ...

'' and '' John Jani Janardhan''. She made more guest and side appearances in films like ''

Zakhmi Sher ''Zakhmi Sher'' () is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language action film produced by Pradeep Sharma under the TUTU Films banner and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. Starring Jeetendra and Dimple Kapadia with the music composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, i ...

'', and also starred as Chitkari in ''

Pataal Bhairavi ''Pataal Bhairavi'' () is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language swashbuckling fantasy film, produced by G. Hanumantha Rao by Padmalaya Studios, presented by Krishna and directed by K. Bapayya. It stars Jeetendra, Jaya Prada with music composed by Bappi ...

''. In 1988, she starred in a major role as Amina Bai in ''

''. She had starred as another main role in '' Chintamani Surdas''. In the final years of her career, she was cast in '' Jaadugar'', and appeared in ''

Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe ''Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe'' is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Moeen Amjad, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Moon Moon Sen, Shakti Kapoor and Amrish Puri. Plot Vijay is an upright and laborious young man. He works as a stunt man f ...

as Sonia,'' which was her last film before she retired from the film industry. Her major association was with music director, lyricist and singer

Ravindra Jain Ravindra Jain (28 February 1944 – 9 October 2015) was an Indian music composer, lyricist and playback singer. He started his career in the early 1970s by composing for several hit movies. His notable works include '' Chor Machaye Shor'' (19 ...

. Both of them belonged to the same city. Together they did 6 films:- Brajbhoomi, Mr. X, Mhara Peehar Sasra, Harishchandra Shaibya, Jai Karoli Maa and Chintamani Surdas. Presently, she is married to Banwari Lal Varshney and runs Noopur Centre of Performing Arts in Gurgaon which is affiliated to

IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University, known as IGNOU, is a Central University located at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi, India. Named after former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, the university was established in 1985 with a budget of 20& ...

where CPABN(Certificate of Performing Arts-Bharatnatyam) and CPAKT(Certificate of Performing Arts-Kathak) courses are taught. She lives in Delhi. She was awarded 'Braj Ratn' award in 2016.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nupur, Alka 20th-century Indian actresses Indian film actresses Living people People from Aligarh 1957 births