20 Facts About Sharmila Tagore

A lot of the people of our generation know Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore is a Bengali actress, who later sh >> Read More... as Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan is a film celebrity born to actress  >> Read More... ’s mother. But there are many other things about the actress that we do not know, but is worth knowing. The actress has done a lot in her career, some good and some bad, that has made her who she is today. As the generations change, people tend to forget the people of the past. So today, we will talk about 20 facts about this veteran actress.

1. The Accidental Actress

Sharmila debuted with a Bengali film by Satyajit Ray Biographies reveal bare details about the maverick >> Read More... . However, she has stated several times that she always wanted to become a dancer and had never even thought of becoming an actor. It seems to have turned out to be a great career turn for her as she has been a part of some great films.

2. The Urge To Quit

The actress was wonderful at her job. She has been a part of many critically acclaimed films and various classics. However, in her heart, she had always wanted to quit, as it was dancing that really had her heart, not acting. She stated in an interview that she would always tell herself that she would do just one more film and then quit.

3. Begum Ayesha Sultana

The actress had chosen the Nawab of Pataudi and the ex-captain of Indian cricket team, Tiger Pataudi as her life partner, so the actress converted to his religion, that is Islam. This also led to a change in her name, which became Begum Ayesha Sultana from Sharmila Tagore. However, for her friends, family and in all the films that she worked after this, her name remained Sharmila Tagore.

4. Her Hypocrisy

The actress was the first in India to commercially don a bikini. She did it twice, first for a film called ‘An Evening In Paris’ and then for a Filmfare shoot. However, during her term as the head of Central Board of Film Certification, the actress would often voice concerns against more and more actresses donning bikinis in films.

5. Her First National Award

The actress joined the industry at a very young age, in the early 1960s. However, amidst all the awards and praises she received, she never became the proud recipient of a National Award until 1975, when she worked in ‘ Mausam Click to look into! >> Read More... ’, directed by ‘ Gulzar Gulzar is the pen name of the author, poet and pop >> Read More... ’. This was 16 years after she joined the industry.

6. Her Regional Ventures

The actress has been a part of many films, 53 to be in total, but not all of them have been in Hindi or for Bollywood. She has also stayed true to her heritage and done 10 Bengali films. Along with that, she has also done one Marathi, one Malayalam and one English film.

7. A Change In Hobbies

The actress has had some typical hobbies in the past that included shopping and enjoying luxuries like any Bollywood celebrity. However, off late, as age has set in, the actress has noticed a change in the things she enjoys, which has now become listening to music, reading books and the classic, gardening.

8. No More Travelling For Her

The actress had once been incredibly fond of traveling. She would frequently visit sanctuaries and be involved in outdoor activities with her husband. But after his death, she is no longer as fond of travelling. In fact, she does not think of it as worthwhile. The only place she likes to travel to is the Pataudi ancestral house of the family.

9. Her Family Heritage

The actress’s mother was an Assamese, Ira Baruah and her father was a Bengali, called Gitindernath Tagore. She is originally from Hyderabad and back then, her father was associated with the East India Company as he was acting as the Deputy General Manager of the company, Elgin Mills owner.

10. The Indian Sex Symbol

Her first role was that of a tragic bride of the lead actor in the film Apur Sansar, a 1959 Bengali film by Satyajit Ray. In 1964, she appeared in the Bollywood film Kashmir Ki Kali, a significant film in her career, by Shakti Samanta Shakti Samanta, an eminent Indian film director, w >> Read More... . Shakti Samanta also took her in several other films, like An Evening In Paris, which released in 1967, where she wore a bikini, and subsequently became a sex symbol, as she was the first one to do so.

11. The Connection To Rabindranath Tagore

The Tagore in the actress’s name does in fact come from the legendary Rabindranath Tagore, from her paternal side and her maternal side. Sharmila’s father was the grandson of Rabindranath Tagore’s first cousin’s grandson. Her maternal grandmother was the granddaughter of Rabindranath’s brother. She is also distantly related to Devika Rani In the annals of history of the Indian movie indus >> Read More... and Abanindarnath Tagore, the pride of India and one of the best painters that the country has seen.

12. Her Children

We all know of Sharmila Tagore’s two children, one of who is an actress, Soha Ali Khan Soha Ali Khan was born into a royal family. She is >> Read More... , married to Kunal Khemu Kunal Khemu is an Indian actor who was involved wi >> Read More... , who is also an actor. Her son, Saif Ali Khan, who acquired the title of Nawab of Pataudi after his father’s death, has two children with his first wife Amrita Singh Amrita Singh is an Indian film and TV actress. She >> Read More... and is expecting a child with Kareena Kapoor Khan Kareena Kapoor is a super hit actress working in I >> Read More... , his second wife. She also has a third child, Saba Ali Khan Saba Ali Khan is a renowned fashion designer. She >> Read More... , who chose to not get into the acting line and is a jewelry designer.

13. The Pairing With Rajesh Khanna Born as Jatin Khanna on 29th December 1942, the ch >> Read More...

Sometimes, when two actors are paired together, they share such chemistry and they look so good together that none of their films fail. Something similar happened between Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna. They were paired together for six films, all of which were superhits, including the national award winning Mausam.

14. Her Films With Her Son

The actress has yet appeared in only two films with her son, the first being the film Ashiq Aawara, released in 1993 and Eqlavya: The Royal Guard, which also starred Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942 in A >> Read More... and was made by Vidhu Vinod Chopra Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a classic filmmaker, who has >> Read More... .

15. Major Achievements

The actress has been given many awards and honors for her contribution to the Indian cinema, but her major achievements that are awarded to an actor very rarely include being appointed as the head of the Censor Board of Indian films from the year 2004 to 2011. UNICEF also chose her as a goodwill ambassador in 2005 and in 2013 she was also honoured with the Padma Bhushan.

16. Her Love For Her Husband

The actress met her husband back in 1965 through a common friend. Thus began a four year long courtship. The actress just did not agree, despite four years of regular sending of roses and flowery conversations. Finally, when she did agree, the union was rejected by both of their parents, as the actress was then a sex symbol and cricketers were not as loved back then as they are now. However, the two continued to persist and finally the parents agreed, although reluctantly. Then people began to estimate how long the marriage would last. The two defied all speculations and finally lived together for as long as life allowed them to.

17. Her Bond With Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor: - 'Elvis Presley' of India. >> Read More...

The actress received her first big break with the actor Shammi Kapoor. However, the actress later stated that in those days it was Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor, a name that needs no introduction, >> Read More... who truly left her speechless. She did not even know Shammi then, as she had not seen much of his films. However, as she worked with Shammi, she began to realize that he too was no less.

18. Her Gift To Her Daughter

When Soha and Kunal started their wedding preparations, they received a special gift from Soha’s mother, Sharmila Tagore. It was a 9 crore flat in a posh locality in Mumbai, where each floor of the building was occupied by only one flat. This flat was registered on the names of both Sharmila and Soha and was gifted to them while the talks about Saif and Kareena’s wedding were still in the air as the two were also planning their wedding then.

19. Her Chemistry With Shashi Kapoor

The actress then got the chance to work with the man she had crushed over for a long time. She had earlier stated that when Shashi would come on the sets of Kashmir Ki Kali, she could not work at all. However, when she started to work with him, they shared incomparable comfort and chemistry. In fact, both of them played a crucial role in each other’s success.

20. Her Sourness Towards Amrita And Her Grandchildren

All said and done, the actress has not been a very fair woman in her personal life. When Amrita separated from Saif Ali Khan because of how unfaithful he was, they froze all of her bank accounts and did not even attempt to contact the children or financially support them. Sharmila too did not interfere and did not even try and contact the children on birthdays and special occasions. Amrita then took up the reins, searched for roles, yet maintaining her self-respect.