Remembering Veteran actress Nargis Dutt on her42nd death anniversary
Remembering Veteran actress Nargis Dutt on her42nd death anniversary
Today, 3 May 2023, is the 42nd death Anniversary of Bollywood’s yesteryear veteran actress Nargis Dutt.
I had the privilege of meeting and talking to the veteran actress in 1978 while I was working with actor-writer-producer-director
O.P.Ralhan who was close to the Dutts. It was at the residence of actress Zaheeda, daughter of Akhtar Hussain, brother of Nargis at Chateu Marine at Marine Drive that I had met
Nargis ji. At that around Zaheeda was a busy actress. Prem Pujari was a popular film in which she had shared screen space with Dev Anand. Sanjay and Namrata were also there with Nargisji.
Nargis, born Fatima Rashid on June 1 1929, is hailed as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Hindi cinema. She and Raj Kapoor were a hit pair.
Nargis made her screen debut as a child actress in Talash-E-Haq in 1935, but her acting career began in1942 with Tamanna (1942).
Nargis, who was also the younger sister of well-known actor Anwar Hussain, appeared in numerous commercially successful as well as critically appreciated films, in a career that spanned from the 1940s to the 1960s, many of which featured her alongside actor Raj Kapoor.
She won the Best Actress trophy at the Filmfare Awards for her performance as Radha in the iconic 1957 film ‘Mother India’, which was also nominated for an Academy Award.
Nargis and Mother India co-star, actor Sunil Dutt tied the knot in 1958. She would appear infrequently in films during the 1960s, some of which include Raat Aur Din (1967), for which she was given the inaugural National Film Award for Best Actress.
Notably, Nargis and Raj Kapoor
worked in 14 films together that included Boot Polish. Her other notable films were Shree 420, Bewafa, Anhonee, Dhoon, Anari, Andaz
Nargis on the sets of Mehboob Khan’s Mother India. The legendary Raaj Kumar played her on-screen husband in the film, while future hubby Sunil Dutt portrayed her rebellious younger son and Rajendra Kumar her older son.
Nargis and Sunil Dutt formed the Ajanta Arts Cultural Troupe and held stage shows featuring performances by several leading actors and singers of the time.
News input KV Raman
