Saira Banu today is a devout wife to one of Indian Cinema's biggest superstar, Dilip Kumar. Her dedication to the actor is the stuff that we hear in mythological tales. For her, being Mrs. Dilip Kumar is the favourite part she played. But when she dawned on Hindi films with Junglee opposite Shammi Kapoor, she had taken the whole nation by storm. Her soft delicate beauty, bright eyes, heart-melting laugh and perfect figure got everyone talking. The world was at her feet and she was all of 17! Rishi Kept Alive Bond of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor: Saira Banu

Our favourite movies of Saira Banu are Junglee, Padosan, Shagird, Purab Aur Paschim and many more. It is wrongly assumed that she gave up on movies after her marriage Dilip Kumar. Most of the movies listed above happened, post her marriage. She decided to be with her husband as her interest had shifted from movies. She had said in an interview with Quint, "I am not being a martyr when I say I don’t regret putting my career on the back burner. I am grateful for every day that I get with the people I love."

So on her birthday today, let us tell you a bit about Saira Banu so you know more about her apart from being Dilip Kumar's wife.

#First Hero to a father figure

Saira Banu debuted opposite Shammi Kapoor in Junglee who played her father in Zameer.

#The dreaded colitis

Manoj Kumar had just convinced Dilip Kumar to let Saira Banu work in Purab Aur Paschim when tragedy struck. During the making of the film, she fell severely ill and had to be rushed to London for treatment. Kumar waited patiently for her return as he didn't want anybody but Banu in the film. Rediff described the ailment as Colitis.

#Guide twice over

Banu was offered Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman starrer Guide twice. She had informed Quint in her interview, "Today Dev saab (Dev Anand) and Vijay Anand would deny it completely, but Guide was offered to me twice. It is a fact that Ted Danielsky (director of the English version) came to me with Guide. At that time I was supposed to start Mehboob Khan’s Habba Khatoon. Mehboob saab required uninterrupted dates in Kashmir. The leading man opposite me was none other than Dilip Kumar. How could I give up this opportunity? Habba Khatoon never got made. (But) when I look at Guide, I realise I could have never done what Waheeda ji did. For one, I was no dancer. (And) I would have looked like a complete misfit as a married woman." This is from an old interview.

#The lost child

While Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar have no qualms about being childless, the couple was almost blessed with a boy. In his autobiography ‘Dilip Kumar: The Substance And The Shadow’, narrated by Udayatara Nayar, the thespian recalled, “The truth is that Saira had borne a child, a boy (as we came to know later), in 1972. We lost the baby in the eighth month of pregnancy… We took the loss in our stride as the will of God."

#Education first

Banu belongs to the illustrous family of actress Naseema Banu, her mother, and Shamshad Begum, her grandmother. But both of them were very strict about her studies. She told Hindu in an old interview, "As my grandmother Shamshad Begum was a noted classical singer, who had settled down in London, we used to receive several people from the music, film and literature fraternity at home. People like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Mehboob Khan, Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, K. Asif etc., used to visit us regularly. Then also people like Ramanand Sagar, Kamal Amrohi etc., used to offer films but my mother would tell them ‘Inke samne film ki baatein na karein'."

Only after she finished her schooling, that Banu was allowed to work in movies.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 23, 2020 08:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).