Saira Banu

Saira Banu (born 23 August 1944), also known as Saira Bano, is an Indian film actress. She is married to film actor Dilip Kumar. She acted in many hit Bollywood films between 1961 and 1988.

Saira Banu
Saira Banu in 2018
Born	(1944-08-23) 23 August 1944 Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India)
Other names	Saira Bano
Occupation	Actress (film theatre)
Years active	1961–1976
Notable work	Junglee (1961) Bluff Master (1963) Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964) Jhuk Gaya Aasman (1968) Padosan (1968) Victoria No. 203 (1972) Hera Pheri (1976) Bairaag (1976)
Spouse(s)	Dilip Kumar (m. 1966)
Parents	Mian Ehsan-ul-Haq (father) Naseem Banu (mother)
Relatives	Nasir Khan (brother-in-law) Shaheen Banu(niece) Sayyeshaa (grandniece)

Early life

Saira Banu was born in Pernambut, India to actress Naseem Banu,[1] and film producer Mian Ehsan-ul-Haq, who produced the film Phool in Mumbai and the film Wadah in Pakistan. Her maternal 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). Her niece is former actress Shaheen Banu, who is the daughter of her brother Sultan.

Saira spent a significant part of her childhood in London, and went to finishing school. Her maternal grandmother was from Hasanpur (Uttar Pradesh). Her paternal grandfather, Muhammad Suleman, was an architect who served as the Chief Engineer of New Delhi and was later involved in the construction of Jinnah's Mazar in Karachi. Her paternal grandmother, Khatoon Begum, was from Old Delhi's Mohalla Churiwalan, and a daughter of the "raees" and public figure, Khan Bahadur Maulvi Abdul Ahad Honorary Magistrate(1850-1920). Her paternal great aunt Khadeeja Begum, was married to the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in Delhi, Ahmed Bukhari.

Career

Saira Banu was 16 years old in 1960, the year she made her debut to Hindi films.[2] She said in a programme that she had basic talent and little dancing experience. Her peers all were classically trained, which was why she wasn't put in the top league. Banu started taking Kathak and Bharata Natyam lessons with success, and trained herself professionally. Soon she became a dancer, and her films featured more of her dancing.

Banu made her acting debut 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 was the beginning of her career as a successful actress. Her image was that of a romantic heroine and she acted in many love stories. She did one more film opposite her first hero Shammi Kapoor, Bluff Master, directed by Manmohan Desai. Some of her successful films during this time include Jhuk Gaya Aasman and Aayi Milan Ki Bela, with Rajendra Kumar, and April Fool, with Biswajeet, Aao Pyaar Karen and Shagird with Joy Mukherjee. Banu also did Pyar Mohabbat with Dev Anand.

Aman (1967), opposite Rajendra Kumar, was her first release after marriage to the thespian. She acted in three films with Manoj Kumar, Shaadi, Purab Aur Paschim and Balidan. Cult film Padosan, in 1968, opposite Sunil Dutt, catapulted her to the top league and she continued to play the heroine for several years after that. Victoria No. 203 with Navin Nischol is her biggest hit. She acted in three films with her husband: Gopi. Sagina and Bairaag. Only Gopi was successful at the box office. She acted in three films with Manoj Kumar, Shaadi, Purab Aur Paschim and Balidan and six with Dharmendra: Jwar Bhata, Aadmi Aur Insaan, Resham Ki Dori, Pocket Maar, International Crook and Chaitali.

In an interview, she quoted that she regretted missing the chance of working with Rajesh Khanna. She quoted: "I was supposed to work with him in Choti Bahu (1971), but I could not because I was ill. I shot with him for two days and found that he was very charming, humble and a shy person."[3] She was paired with Vinod Khanna in Aarop and Amitabh Bachchan in Zameer and Hera Pheri. Nehle Pe Dehla with Sunil Dutt in 1976 was her last successful film. With a slew of flops like Daaman Aur Aag, Mounto, Zameer and Koi Jeeta Koi Haara, and films such as Faisla, Mera Vachan Geeta Ki Kasam and Aarambh on hold, she drew the curtains on her career as a heroine.

She has earned three Filmfare nominations for Best Actress: Shagird (1967), Diwana (1968), and Sagina (1974). She appeared in a cameo opposite her husband in Duniya (1984), wherein the song "Teri meri zindagi" became very popular. Faisla which was eventually released in 1988 and is officially her last film

Personal life

Saira Banu married actor Dilip Kumar in 1966.[4][5] Saira Banu was the third highest paid actress in Hindi Cinema from 1963 to 1969 and the fourth highest paid actress from 1971 to 1976.

Actress Shaheen is her niece. She is Saira Banu's brother's (Sultan Ahmed's) daughter.

Her husband Dilip Kumar revealed in his 2014 memoir "Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow" that she became pregnant in 1972 but developed high blood pressure in her eighth month of pregnancy and the doctors couldn't save the baby, which had been strangulated by the umbilical cord. After that, they never had children, believing that it was God's will.

Filmography

Year	Film	Character	Additional Notes
1961	Junglee	Rajkumari	Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Actress
1962	Shaadi	Gauri
1963	Bluff Master	Seema
1964	Ayee Milan Ki Bela	Barkha
	Aao Pyaar Karein	Shalini
	April Fool	Rita Christiana
	Door Ki Awaz	Bela / Jyoti
1965	Saaz Aur Awaaz
1966	Yeh Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai	Princess Sarita
	Pyar Mohabbat	Rita Singh
1967	Shagird	Poonam	Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Actress
	Diwana	Kaamini Gupta	Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Actress
	Aman
1968	Padosan	Bindu
	Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan	Priya Khanna
1969	Aadmi Aur Insaan	Meena
1970	Gopi	Seema
	Purab Aur Paschim	Preeti
1972	Victoria No. 203	Rekha
1973	Jwar Bhata	Gayatri
1974	Resham Ki Dori	Anupama
	International Crook	Seema
	Sagina	Lalita	Nominated Filmfare Award for Best Actress
	Pocketmaar	Asha Rai
	Aarop	Aruna
	Paise Ki Gudiya
1975	Zameer	Sunita Singh
	Saazish	Sunita
	Chaitali	Chaitali
	Aakhri Daao	Reena
1976	Hera Pheri	Kiran Singh

References

1. Superstars of Hindi Cinema - Naseem Banu
2. Rana Siddiqui Zaman (12 August 2010). "Arts / Cinema : My First Break: Saira Banu". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
3. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Rajesh-Khanna-was-very-shy-person-Saira-Banu/articleshow/15030142.cms
4. Devinder Bir Kaur (7 July 2002). "Dilip Kumar saw a psychoanalyst after acting as Devdas". The Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
5. "Dilip Kumar turns 84". IBN Live. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2011.

External links

• Saira Banu on IMDb