Sharmila Tagore

Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali films. Known for her acting range and beauty, Tagore is a recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to Hindi cinema. In 2013, the Government of India, honoured her with Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour for her contributions to the Indian culture through performing arts.
Born into the prominent Tagore family, one of the leading families of Calcutta and a key influence during the Bengali Renaissance, Tagore made her acting debut at age 14 with Satyajit Ray's acclaimed Bengali drama The World of Apu (1959). She went on to collaborate with Ray on numerous other films, including; Devi (1960), Nayak (1966), Aranyer Din Ratri (1970), and Seemabaddha (1971); thus, establishing herself as one of the most prominent figures in Bengali cinema.
Tagore's career further expanded when she ventured into Hindi films, making her debut with Shakti Samanta's romantic drama Kashmir Ki Kali (1964). She went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema with films like; Waqt (1965), Anupama (1966), An Evening in Paris (1967), Aamne Saamne (1967), Satyakam (1969), Aradhana (1969), Safar (1970), Amar Prem (1972), Daag (1973), Avishkaar (1974), Mausam (1975), Chupke Chupke (1975), and Namkeen (1982). She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Aradhana and National Film Award for Best Actress for Mausam. This was followed by a decade of intermittent film appearances including; Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala (1991), Goutam Ghose's Abar Aranye (2002), and the Hindi films; Aashik Awara (1993), Mann (1999), Viruddh (2005), Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2006), and Break Ke Baad (2010). She made her film comeback after 12 years with Gulmohar (2023).
Apart from acting, Tagore has also served as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification from October 2004 to March 2011. In December 2005, she was chosen as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She was married to cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi with whom she had three children—actors Saif, and Soha, and jewellery designer Saba.
Early life and background
Sharmila Tagore was born on 8 December 1944 in Cawnpore (now Kanpur), United Provinces to Gitindranath Tagore, a general manager in the British India Corporation, and his wife Ira Tagore (née Baruah). Tagore's father belonged to the aristocratic Bengali Hindu Tagore family, and were distantly related to the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, while her mother was of Assamese Hindu descent and hailed from the Barua family. Gitindranath was the grandson of the noted painter Gaganendranath Tagore, whose own father Gunendranath had been a first cousin of the laureate. In fact, Tagore is more closely related to Rabindranath Tagore through her mother: her maternal grandmother, Latika Barua (née Tagore), was the granddaughter of Rabindranath Tagore's brother, Dwijendranath Tagore. Tagore's maternal grandfather (husband of Latika Barua née Tagore) was Jnanadabhiram Barua, an Assamese who was the first principal of Earl Law College in Guwahati (now known as Government Law College), himself the son of the noted social worker Gunabhiram Barua. As a member of the Tagore family, she is also a distant relative of the actress Devika Rani and the painter Abanindranath Tagore (brother of Gaganendranath Tagore).
Tagore was the eldest of three children and had two younger sisters, the late Oindrila Kunda [Tinku Tagore] and Romila Sen [Chinky]. Oindrila was the first in the family to act in a film, and the only role she ever played was that of Mini, the child character (but a central character) in Tapan Sinha's film Kabuliwala (1957). In adulthood, she became an international bridge player. Her other sister, Romila Sen, married to Nikhil Sen, a businessman who served as chief operating officer of Britannia Industries for several years, died as the founder and managing director of Unibic Foods in November 2019.
Tagore attended St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School and Loreto Convent, Asansol. She made her film debut when she was a 13-year-old schoolgirl, after which her studies lost priority. Within a short while, her attendance and performance at school suffered, she came to be regarded as a bad influence on her classmates, and was faced with a choice of either doing films or studying further. At that point, her father advised her to move ahead in life, commit herself to a film career and 'give it her all' in order to become successful.
Career
Career beginnings and breakthrough (1959-1968)
Tagore began her career as an actress in Satyajit Ray's 1959 Bengali film, Apur Sansar, as the ill-fated bride. In 1959, Ray cast her in Devi, a film set in 1860 on Hindu orthodoxy and rational reforms. She considers it as her favourite film and performance. She wento onto appear in Bengali films Shes Anko and Nirjan Saikate. She won IFFI Best Actor Award (Female) for Nirjan Saikate.
Tagore made her hindi film debut with Shakti Samanta's Kashmir Ki Kali in 1964. Samanta cast her in many more films, including An Evening in Paris (1967), in which she became the first Indian actress to appear in a bikini, which established Tagore as a sex symbol in Hindi films. She also posed in a bikini for the glossy Filmfare magazine in 1966. But, when she was the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification 36 years later, she expressed concerns about the increased use of bikinis in Indian films. In both these film, she was paired opposite Shammi Kapoor.
Tagore went onto appear in films such as the Hindi films, Waqt, Aamne Saamne, Devar and Anupama, Mere Hamdam Mere Dost and the Bengali film Nayak. Her work in Anupama, opposite Dharmendra, proved to be her breakthrough.
Widespread acclaim and stardom (1969-1980)
Tagore earned stardom after her successful films in the 1970s, especially with Rajesh Khanna. Films like Aradhana (1969) and Amar Prem (1972), made her one of the leading actress of her time. Her other films with Khanna include Safar (1970), Daag: A Poem of Love (1973) and Maalik (1972). The Khanna-Tagore pair yielded seven box office hits – Aradhana, Safar, Amar Prem, Chhoti Bahu, Daag, Raja Rani and Avishkaar. As per the review of the film Raja Rani made in 2014 by The Hindu newspaper, the film did well at the box office. Aradhana, made Tagore won her first and only Filmfare Award for Best Actress. This pair of Khanna-Tagore is considered as one of the leading and best on-screen romantic couples in the 100 years of Indian cinema.
Tagore also worked with Uttam Kumar in many films. She starred in Gulzar's 1975 film, Mausam opposite Sanjeev Kumar, and won her first and only National Film Award for Best Actress. She had paired opposite Dharmendra in seven box office hit movies – Devar, Anupama, Mere Hamdam Mere Dost, Satyakam, Yakeen, Chupke Chupke, Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka and Sunny.
Her filmography also include Faraar and Besharam opposite Amitabh Bachchan, Aa Gale Lag Jaa and Paap Aur Punya opposite Shashi Kapoor. Tagore's other films during this success period include - Ek Se Badhkar Ek, Anand Ashram, Tyaag, which she also co-produced and the Malayalam film Chuvanna Chirakukal among others.
Further success and sporadic work (1981-2006)
In the 1980s, Tagore appeared in films such as Kalankini Kankabati, Namkeen, New Delhi Times and Maa Beti. Tagore played a supporting role in Mira Nair's 1991 film, Mississippi Masala and appeared in Bengali film Protidan opposite Naseeruddin Shah. In the 1990s, she appeared in Ghar Bazar and Mann. Tagore also appeared in two television shows, Katha Sagar for DD National and Zindagi for Star Plus.
She worked with her son Saif Ali Khan in Aashiq Awara and Eklavya: The Royal Guard. For Eklavya, Bollywood Hungama wrote, "Sharmila Tagore exudes class in a cameo." Tagore also worked in Dhadkan and Abar Aranye, for which she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Tagore received high praises for her work in Virruddh... Family Comes First. Planet Bollywood noted, "Sharmila Tagore, shines in a role tailor-made for her."
Hiatus and recent work (2007-present)
From 2007 to 2009, Tagore appeared in film such as Fool & Final, Tasveer 8*10, Antaheen and the Marathi film Samaantar. In 2009, Tagore became the jury member at the main competition of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. In 2010, she played a supporting role in Break Ke Baad, after which she took a 12 year break from acting. DNA India noted, "Sharmila Tagore pitch in with a good performances."
After 12 years, Tagore made her comeback with the 2023 film Gulmohar, that released on Disney+ Hotstar. Hindustan Times noted, "The elegance and poise Tagore exudes are remarkable. Her dialogue delivery, gestures, body language, emotions- everything looks just so effortless even after this hiatus." While India Today wrote, "Sharmila Tagore is always a joy to watch on screen. And, what a comeback."
Tagore will make her comeback to Bengali films after 14 years with Suman Ghosh's Puratawn.
Personal life
Tagore converted to Islam, changed her name to Begum Ayesha Sultana, and married Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the titular Nawab of Pataudi and Bhopal and former captain of the Indian cricket team, on 27 December 1968. They had three children: Bollywood actorSaif Ali Khan (b. 1970); Saba Ali Khan (b. 1976), a jewellery designer; and Soha Ali Khan (b. 1978), a Bollywood actress and TV personality. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi died at age 70 on 22 September 2011.
From 1991 to 2004, Saif was married to actress Amrita Singh. They had two children, daughter Sara Ali Khan (b. 1995), an actress, and son Ibrahim Ali Khan (b. 2001). His second marriage was to actress Kareena Kapoor in 2012 with whom he has two sons, Taimur Ali Khan (b. 2016) and Jahangir Ali Khan (b. 2021). Soha married actor Kunal Khemu in 2015, and has a daughter Inaaya Naumi Khemmu (b. 2017).
Reception and legacy
Tagore is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. Tagore is highly regarded for her range as an actor, her beauty, and her fashion sense and style. One of the highest paid actress of the late 1960s and early 1970s, she appeared in Box Office Indias "Top Actresses" in 1969 and 1973. Subhash K. Jha of Firstpost termed her the only actress with "a wide spectrum of directorial leaps" and said, "No other Bollywood actress apart from Sharmila has had such spectacular innings after marriage." American critic Pauline Kael stated, "She is exquisite, perfect - a word I don't use casually." Hemachhaya De of Femina noted, "Sharmila Tagore successfully straddled diverse film genres: arthouse, crossover and mainstream."
Tagore was widely known as the "style icon of the 60s and 70s" and was known as a sex symbol. Beehive hairdo and winged eyeliner were some of the style statements of Tagore that are still relevant in the fashion world and brought her the title of "The queen of dramatic eye make-up". Numerous actresses including Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone have been inspired by her style. Her daughter-in-law actress Kareena Kapoor said, "I like my mother-in-law Sharmilaji's dressing sense, both on and off screen." Tagore was placed 2nd in Rediff.coms "Best Bollywood Debut Ever" list, for her films Apur Sansar and Kashmir Ki Kali. Tagore was known for playing challenging roles such as that in Devi, Nayak, Aradhana, Safar, Amar Prem, Daag and Mausam. Filmfare added her performances in Mausam in its list of Bollywood's "80 Iconic Performances". She was also placed in Times of Indias "50 Beautiful Faces" list.
In 2022, she was placed in Outlook Indias 75 Best Bollywood Actresses list. Tagore was known as an actress who was always ahead of her time. She became the first Indian actress to wear a bikini on-screen, for her film An Evening In Paris (1967). Tagore is considered among the hottest Bollywood actresses of all time. She was known for her range of portrayals - from the most traditional roles to the most bindaas ones. Surendra Kumar of The Sunday Guardian noted, "She beautifully balanced her two avatars — the serious persona of realist Bengali films, and the Bollywood persona of films with song-and-dance sequences focused on success at the box office." Film historian Sanjay Mukhopadhyay said, "Sharmila's most significant contribution to Indian cinema is a sense of dignity and grace — after Waheeda Rehman, she was the only actress of her time who exuded this.” In the 2008 film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodis song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte", actress Preity Zinta dressed her hair with her famous Beehive hairdo as a tribute to Tagore.
Filmography
Accloades
Civilian award
Acting awards
Other awards
Honours and recognitions
1999 - Honoured by the French government with the Insignes de Commandeur de Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
2012 - Honoured by the Edinburgh University with a Honorary Doctorate of Arts, for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.
See also
List of Indian film actresses
References
External links
1944 births
Living people
Indian film actresses
Actresses in Bengali cinema
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Actresses in Marathi cinema
Actresses in Malayalam cinema
Bengali actresses
Best Actress National Film Award winners
Best Supporting Actress National Film Award winners
Actresses from Hyderabad, India
Actresses from Mumbai
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts
Sharmila
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors
Converts to Islam from Hinduism
Indian former Hindus
21st-century Indian Muslims
20th-century Indian actresses
21st-century Indian actresses
Filmfare Awards winners
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners