Saira Banu

Saira Banu (Hindi: साइरा बानु, Urdu: سائرہ بانو‎, born 23 August 1944), also known as Saira Bano, is an Indian Bollywood actress and the wife of the film actor Dilip Kumar. She acted in many Bollywood films between 1961 and 1980.

Early life

Saira Banu was born in India to actress Naseem Banu^[1] and film producer Mian Ehsan-ul-Haq, who produced the film Phool in Mumbai and film Wadah in Pakistan. Her grandmother was the courtesan Chamiyan Bai, also known as Shamshad Begum of Delhi (not to be confused with the famous playback singer of yesteryear Shamshad Begum who was from Amritsar, Punjab). Saira spent a significant part of her childhood in London, and went to finishing school.

Career

Saira Banu was 16 year old in 1960 when she made her debut in Bollywood films.^[2] She said in show, that she had no talent and no dancing experience. Her peers all were classically trained, which was why she wasn't put in the top league. Saira started taking Kathak and Bharata Natyam lessons. Soon she became a dancer and her films flaunted more of her dance. Banu made her acting debut at 17 years opposite Shammi Kapoor in the 1961 film Junglee for which she earned her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress. The famous song from this movie "Yaahoo!! Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe" sung by Mohammed Rafi was a big success. "Junglee" was written by Aghajani Kashmeri (aka Kashmiri and Agha Jani), who also coached her in Urdu dialogue delivery, given his background in Urdu literature and poetry from Lucknow. Junglee also instantly made her a successful actress throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. But it is said that the turning point of her career was the comedy and love story Padosan, which brought her to be one of the successful actresses.

Her valiant attempts to establish a reputation as an actress after Gopi, Sagina and Bairaag (all with Dilip Kumar) and films like Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Chaitali met with limited success. She did earn three additional Filmfare nominations as Best Actress for Shagird (1967), Diwana (1968), and Sagina (1974). In 1976, Saira chose to end her film career. Subsequently she weathered a storm in her marriage in 1980 which was quickly resolved. She then appeared in a cameo opposite her husband in Duniya (1984) and her last film Faisla released in 1988 which was filmed and completed in mid-70s. She lately appeared in supporting roles in Telugu movies.

Personal life

Saira Banu married actor Dilip Kumar in 1966.^[3] He was 44 at the time while she was 22.^[4]

In an interview, Saira Banu stated that when she entered Bollywood, she had a dream. Her dream was to marry Dilip Kumar. Fortunately she made her dream come true.

Filmography

• Junglee (1961) ... Rajkumari 'Raj'
• Shaadi (1962)
• Bluff Master (1963) ... Seema
• Door Ki Awaaz (1964)
• Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964) ... Barkha Choudhry
• April Fool (1964) ... Madhu/Rita Christina
• Saaz aur awaaz (1966)
• Yeh Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai (1966)
• Pyar Mohabbat (1966)
• Shagird (1967)
• Diwana (1967)
• Aman (1967)
• Padosan (1968)
• Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan (1968)
• Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969)
• Gopi (1970)
• Purab Aur Paschim (1970)
• Victoria No. 203 (1972)
• International Crook (1973)
• Resham Ki Dori (1973)
• Jwar Bhata (1973)
• Sagina (1974)
• Pocket Maar (1974)
• Zameer (1974)
• Saazish (1975)
• Chaitali (1975)
• Hera Pheri (1976)
• Bairaag (1976)
• Kala Aadmi (1978)
• Duniya (1984)
• Faisla (1988)