Sharmila Tagore
The actress with class
Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore made her entry into films as the young wife in Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar, the final film of the Apu Trilogy. A mere 14-year-old girl, she had no prior acting experience. As the shooting began, Ray had to shout instructions to Sharmila during the takes. However, she was a natural in the film. Ray gave her a role in his next film Devi too. In the film she was cast as an incarnation of Goddess KaliSharmila began her career in Bollywood with a romantic musical, Kashmir Ki Kali ( 1964) opposite Shammi Kapoor, directed by the famous director Shakti Samantha. In 1966 she took up the titular role of Anupama in the Hrishikesh Mukherjee film. Though she sported a stylised bouffant, she wowed everyone as the simple, shy and soft-spoken girl. In 1967 she essayed a double role in An Evening in Paris which catapulted her to the position of a popular and glamorous actress. Millions went ga-ga over her coquettish expressions in the song Akele Akele Kahan Ja rahe ho. In 1968, she got married to the Nawab of Pataudi, the former Indian Captain Mansoor Ali Khan much to the disappointment of her fans. Though her detractors were sure that she would not be able to combine marriage and acting, she gave her best performances in films after she married and did not keep away from the tinsel town for long. Back to Bollywood, she returned with the smash hit Aradhana (1969) with Rajesh Khanna. In tow with director Shakthi Samantha , she went in for a complete change of image in this movie as a total deglamorised mother. Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila gave other box office hits such as Safar, Amar Prem, Daag and the artistically acclaimed Aavishkar. In between these schedules she also had her first child Saif Ali Khan who is now a star in his own right. The year 1975 saw Sharmila as the obscenity-spewing streetwalker in the film Mausam, again a dual role, opposite Sanjeev Kumar directed by Gulzar. This movie also garnered her the coveted National Award. Her other movies with Sanjeev Kumar include Charitraheen, Grihapravesh and Namkeen. After Mausam she moved to Delhi and also had two daughters Soha and Saba. Less successful was her pairing with co-stars such as Shashi Kapoor (Aa Gale Lag Ja, Waqt, Aamne Saamne, Suhana Safar) Dharmendra (Devar, Chupke Chupke, Satyakaam and of course Anupama) and the superstar Amitabh Bachchan (Faraar, Besharam and Desh Premee). Later she was seen in Mann (1999) and Dhadkan (2000), but was a huge disappointment to her fans in not-so-well etched characters. Another film was Shubha Muhurat, a Bengali film directed by Rituparno Ghosh. Sharmila has lately enacted a role in Viruddh (2005). Her fans would welcome more hits from her. Compiled by Cultural correspondent
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