Nargis

This article is about the Indian actress. For other uses, see Nargis (disambiguation).

Nargis
Portrait of Nargis taken from a 1993 stamp of India
Born
Fatima Rashid[1]

(1929-06-01)1 June 1929
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Kolkata, West Bengal, India)
Died3 May 1981(1981-05-03) (aged 51)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
(present-day Mumbai)
Resting placeBada Qabrastan Mumbai
Other names
  • Nargis Dutt
  • Nirmala Dutt
  • Baby[2]
  • Baby Nargis[3]
Occupations
  • Actress
  • politician
Years active1935–1936
1942–1968
WorksFull list
Spouse
​
(m. 1958)​
Children3, including Sanjay Dutt and Priya Dutt
MotherJaddanbai
FamilyDutt family (by marriage)
Awards
Mother India 1957 Oscar Nominated[4]
HonoursPadma Shri (1958)
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
3 April 1980 – 3 May 1981
Nominated byNeelam Sanjiva Reddy
Preceded byVidya Prakash Dutt
Succeeded byAsima Chatterjee
ConstituencyNominated (Arts)

Nargis Dutt[3][5] (née Fatima Rashid, also known as Nirmala Dutt; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) known mononyomusly as Nargis was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian Cinema,[6] she often portrayed sophisticated and independent women. Nargis' work was in a range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama, and earned her various accolades. In 2013, an Eastern Eye poll named her as the sixth greatest Bollywood star of all time.[7][3]

In a career spanning three decades, Nargis made her screen debut in a minor role at the age of six with Talash-E-Haq (1935),[8] but her acting career actually began with the film Tamanna (1942).[9] Nargis had her first leading role with Taqdeer (1943). Nargis had her breakthrough with the romance film Andaz (1949) and the musical Barsaat (1949). Following this she starred in Raj Kapoor's crime drama Awaara (1951), which was a major critical and financial success. After a brief setback in the early 1950s, she reemerged with the comedy-drama Shree 420 (1955) and the romantic comedy Chori Chori (1956). Nargis starred in Mehboob Khan's Oscar-nominated epic drama Mother India (1957), the highest-grossing film in India at that point of time, for which she won Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her last film was the drama Raat Aur Din (1967), for which she received the inaugural National Film Award for Best Actress.

Nargis married her Mother India co-star Sunil Dutt in 1958. Together they had three children, including the actor Sanjay Dutt.[10] Along with her husband, Nargis formed the Ajanta Arts Culture Troupe which hired several leading actors and singers of the time and held stage shows at border areas. In the early 1970s, Nargis became the first patron of The Spastic Society of India and her subsequent work with the organisation brought her recognition as a social worker and later a Rajya Sabha nomination in 1980.[11]

Nargis died in 1981 of pancreatic cancer, only three days before her son Sanjay Dutt made his debut in Hindi films with the film Rocky.[9] In 1982, the Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Foundation was established in her memory. The award for Best Feature Film on National Integration in the Annual Film Awards ceremony is called the Nargis Dutt Award in her honour. In 2011, Rediff.com listed her as the greatest Indian actress of all time.[12]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference George1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Why Nargis said 'Meena, Maut Mubarak Ho!'". The Times of India. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Bollywood actor Nargis Dutt remembered in today's Google Doodle". The Indian Express. 1 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Throwback Thursday: The 1 thing all 3 Oscar-nominated films from India had in common". India Today.
  5. ^ "NOMINATED MEMBERS OF THERAJYASABHA". Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  6. ^ "Sanjay Dutt writes a heartfelt note for mom Nargis Dutt on her 39th death anniversary | Entertainment - Times of India Videos". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Amitabh Bachchan crowned greatest Bollywood star in UK poll". India Today. 27 July 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  8. ^ Ghosh, Biswadeep (3 May 2019). "Nargis Dutt: The woman and the actress". National Herald. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Nargis Dutt: From a child actor to 'Mother India'". The Economic Times. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  10. ^ "The Nargis and Sunil Dutt love story: When he saved her from fire and she found the love of her life". Hindustan Times. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Nargis Dutt: Lesser known facts". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Nargis' 86th Birthday". Google. Retrieved 5 September 2021.