By Pragati Pal Last Updated:
Legendary actors of Indian cinema, Sunil Dutt and Nargis ji had belonged from such contrasting backgrounds, that their worlds were poles apart. Nargis ji was born to Mohan Babu and Jaddanbai, whereas, Sunil ji had belonged to a Punjabi land-owning family. The iconic film, Do Bigha Zameen, was the stepping stone for the maiden voyage of Sunil Dutt and Nargis' beautiful love story.
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The sets of Mehboob Khan’s movie, Mother India, had not only proved to be a masterpiece in Indian cinema and Nargis ji's career, but it was also the ground for Sunil and Nargis ji's flourishing love. On March 11, 1958, Nargis and Sunil had secretly gotten married and had then announced the news to their close ones.
The superstar, Nargis Dutt had left the glamour world at the peak of her career to bring up her kids, Priya, Namrata and Sanjay. While scrolling through our social media, we found a priceless picture of a young Nargis ji from the 60s, walking with her little daughter, Namrata Dutt. In the picture, Nargis ji looked gorgeous and radiant as ever in a black ensemble.
Nargis ji was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In her book, Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of our Parents, her daughter, Priya Dutt had remembered those days, "I was extremely close to her. I was at an age when I wanted to be with her all the time while Namrata and Sanjay wanted to spend time with their friends. I think it was great for Mom to have me there and it was great to be with her. She would even take me to attend weddings! She'd tell me we're going to see the bride and we'll get damn good food to eat and bribe me to come along. I was happy just to be with Mom."
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Priya had further talked about her mother's popularity and had written, "In our childhood, when we went on an outing or shopping, people would recognise Mom on the street. We usually ignored the chain of whispers that followed her. Her eager fans could be heard saying excitedly as they nudged each other, ‘Nargis! It's Nargis.’ When it came to Mom's film, I only saw a few in my childhood. Not until 1991, when I was making a documentary on her, did I watch her films with great attention and learn about her work. In the years when I was growing up, I had no idea she was such a popular and famous actress. My most painful discovery was to think she had been a child artiste, realising what a difficult life she must have had until she married Dad at 29."
Sunil Dutt had founded The Nargis Dutt Foundation in 1981 in New York City in memory of his wife, Nargis, who had died of cancer in 1981. Priya Dutt had once mentioned, "While undergoing treatment, my mother used to tell my father that since he had money, he could afford her treatment in a US hospital. “But what about poor people in India who suffer from the deadly disease".” Nargis Dutt had passed away just three days before the release of her son, Sanjay’s debut film, Rocky. In a 2018 interview with India Today, Sanjay had talked about his mother and had shared, "The most important thing is to be a good human being. Everything else comes after that. I learned from both my father and mother. I'm passing on to my kids. I hope my wife doesn't pamper my children the way my mother did me. My wife tells me if the kids don't hate the parents when they are growing up, there is something wrong in their parenting. I am tough to my children when I want to be tough."
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Did you like Nargis ji's throwback picture?
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