He was also honored with the Padma Shri award for his contribution to the film industry.
He received many accolades for his diverse roles in films of different genres.
Late Nargis Dutt has been one of the quintessential vintage actresses of Hindi cinema. One of the leading actresses of her era, Nargis often played women who were educated, sophisticated and self-reliant. He has received numerous honors for his diverse work, which includes literary dramas and screwball comedies. She played one of the strongest female characters in Hindi cinema in Mother India. Other films like Shree 420 with Raj Kapoor propelled her to stardom. The evergreen song Pyaar Hua Iqraar Hua in Baarish has managed to be loved by audiences across generations.
Do you know that Nargis was not her real name? She was born as Fatima Rashid in Kolkata. She was introduced to cinema as a child actress at the age of 6 in 1935’s Talaash Haq, where she was credited as Baby Nargis. In Persian, the word ‘nargis’ refers to the daffodil flower, narcissus. After that she was given the name Nargis in all her films.
After her debut, Nargis got more cinematic roles. She starred opposite Motilal in Mehboob Khan’s Taqdeer in 1943, when she was just 14 years old. She was highly appreciated for her performance and the film was a hit at the box office. It was deemed “an excellent debut” by Filmindia.
The 1944 film Amban featured Nargis in the lead role after Takdeer. The 1945 period drama Humayun, in which she starred opposite top actor Ashok Kumar of the time, followed the mythological film Ramayani. He acted in Nargis in 1946. These films had an average level of success. She and Raj Kapoor first collaborated in the 1948 drama Aag, in which she played a homeless woman who becomes an actor. Her most successful film was Mother India in which she played the mother of her real-life husband Sunil Dutt.
He was also honored with the Padma Shri award for his contribution to the film industry.
Nargis Dutt died of pancreatic cancer on 2 May 1981, just a week before the release of her son Sanjay Dutt’s debut film Rocky.