Nargis Dutt: “Narcissus” the Wonderful flower of Silver Screen

The cultural icon, Nargis Dutt with her charismatic style, poise and cheerful screen presence is known for enacting a variety of roles ranging from shy coquette to westernized woman. In all her stellar roles, she reinvented herself as a woman who could be desired and deified. The moment she lifted her ghoonghat, she blazed the silver screen with her portrayal of strong women protagonists. ‘Mother India’ (1958) is proof of Nargis’s unmatched ability to summon up inner reserves of inspiration and propel herself to new levels of excellence. She brought naturalness, authenticity and a degree of self-assurance to every role that she embodied on the silver screen. The brilliance of Nargis's screen image lay in that it oscillated between the simple and the chic with equal ease. Not a ‘Tragedy Queen’ like Meena Kumari nor as beautiful as Madhubala, she had no dancing prowess like Vyjayantimala or the delicacy of Nimmi but still she was exquisite and incomparable. She was the nimble and spring-in-the-step upscale young woman in many a film and also in real life the tomboy of Marine Drive. Mother India is to Nargis what The Godfather is to Marlon Brando and The Sound of Music to Julie Andrews. From the carefree laughter of a mischievous runaway girl in ‘Chori Chori’ to the stoic stance of a suffering Radha in ‘Mother India’, Nargis still reigns the hearts of Indian cinema lovers.

Nargis was born as Fatima Abdul Rashid on 1 June, 1929 in Calcutta to famous songstress Jaddanbai and Uttamchand Mohanchand. She was given the name Tejeshwari by her father. She was also nick-named Baby Rani. Mohan Babu, a Mohyal Brahmin was eclipsed by the fascinating Jaddan Bai, a singer and courtesan of Allahabad. Her father, an aspiring student of medicine came to Calcutta from Rawalpindi, fell in love with Jaddan Bai, a mother of two sons on first sight. Despite family resistance, he changed his religion to marry his lady love. Fatima did her schooling from the Convent Queen’s Mary’s School. Like her father, she also was an aspiring doctor. However, Jaddanbai ardently desired that Fatima follow in her footsteps.

She introduced her in ‘Talash-e-Haq’ (1935) at the tender age of five. Though the movie failed to make a mark at the box office but it brought Nargis into spotlight. She was prominently credited as Baby Rani in films like Sher Dil Aurat (1935), Madam Fashion (1926), Hriday Manthan (1936) and Moti Ka Haar (1937) etc. until she was crowned as heroine opposite Motilal in Mehboob Khan’s “Taqdeer” (1943) and christened as Nargis. She made debut at juvenescence and when Mrs. Mehboob was doing her makeup and wrapping her up in a Saree, she was mugging up the dialogues. She had to wear high heels to match the height of Motilal. ‘Taqdeer’ proved to be change of destiny for Nargis.

She featured in Akhtar Hussain’s films Romeo & Juliet, Darogaji and Bhisma Pratigya produced under the banner of Nargis Art Concern. She made her presence felt in films like Humayun (1945), Anokha Pyar (1948), Mela (1948) and Lahore (1949). Her fine portrayal of the modern girl in Andaaz (1949) followed by Barsaat (1949) catapulted her to fame. She could be savagely elemental in Anhonee and bring a sense of quietness in Jogan. She was also the white sari clad ‘Jogan’ (1950). Raj Kapoor cast her in his directional debut ‘Aag’ (1948). Nargis as the third heroine in this film appeared as dishevelled and half-mad following the holocaust of the Partition. She quickly progressed to playing lead roles and became the top actress of her era.

Super success came her way when she broke the prevailing norms and played the modern-day girl in Mehboob Khan's ‘Andaaz’ (1949). She essayed the character of an urban belle, whose candid nature is misunderstood by her husband. This was followed by ‘Barsaat’ (1949), where an entirely new idiom of screen romance was at work. Raj Kapoor’s fingers tenderly probing around her mouth, her head tilting in a gesture of total submission, his hands fondly rustling her hair, her eyes catching fire as she looked at him, this was intuitive honest romancing. As Reshma, the daughter of a Kashmiri boatman, she hears her beloved Raj playing the violin, rushes to him to fall into his arms, a moment captured in the logo of RK Studios.

After Andaz, Dilip Kumar-Nargis formed a successful pair providing big hits like Babul, Deedar, Mela, Jogan etc. However it was her superb coupling with Raj Kapoor in films like Barsaat, Awara, Shree 420 and Chori Chori that created magic on the silver screen. The wondrous aura surrounding the pair gave their films an extraordinary pitch and panache. So perfect was the chemistry between them that even ordinary poses struck instinctively by them became classic images of India’s entertainment lore. One of these poses Nargis flowing over the arm of a violin-bearing Raj became the famous logo of RK Films. A simple shot from Shree 420, showing Raj-Nargis sheltering under an umbrella in heavy rain, tugs at heartstrings for completely inexplicable reasons.

The scorching chemistry between her and Raj Kapoor sizzled not only the projection screens, but also the real life. After Awaara (1951) she worked almost exclusively with Raj even turning down her mentor Mehboob's Aan (1952). Nargis knowing Raj Kapoor's obsession for white took to dressing in white and was known as his lady in white. She even met the then Home Minister Moraji Deasai to try and get him to sanction a marriage between her and Raj Kapoor. After Raj refused to divorce his wife, Nargis decided to end their long relationship. By 1956, the pair had broken up, Chori Chori (1956), a breezy entertainer, being their last film together. She did a special appearance in ‘Jagte Raho’ (1956) and at the climax singing ‘Jago Mohan Pyare’, she finally quenches Raj Kapoor's thirst, while she bears the security of tradition as well as beauty and eroticism.

With Raj Kapoor out of her life, Mehboob offered her his magnum opus Mother India (1957). She gave the lifetime performance, from a young bride with painted eyebrows to a matriarchal figure that doesn’t seem to even run a comb through her hair. The long muddy drenched scene where Nargis searches for food for her children and later surrenders herself to the evil Sukhilala, took seven days to complete. She ruthlessly guns down her own son when he tried to abduct a girl. It was a Nargis who had attained a fullness of artistic maturity. The film represented the pinnacle of her career and won her the Best Actress award at the prestigious Karlovy Vary festival and also Film Fare trophy. The film’s poster shows Nargis shouldering the plough as a beast of burden. During the shooting of film’s climax, Nargis was trapped amidst the lit haystacks. Sunil Dutt playing her rebellious son Birju, ran through the blazing fire and rescued her from the inferno at the risk of his own life.

She lent her voice and silhouette to Sunil Dutt’s one actor movie Yaadein (1964). She expertly played a woman with a split personality in Raat Aur Din (1967). Her brother Jaffer Hussain lured her back to do this film, as he was going through a difficult time. Shooting began in 1961 when Nargis was pregnant with Namrata and the film took six years to complete. She played the role of Varuna, a married woman who has Dissociative Identity Disorder. By day, she is a typical Hindu homemaker, whilst at night she calls herself Peggy and walks the streets of Calcutta. During the song ‘Dil Ki Girha Khol Do’, she was carrying Priya and she had to wear a corset to appear slim. Nargis did a splendid job of the script and won the Urvashi Award for best actress.

She had scaled the summit of stardom and after that to come back as a mere shadow of her original self wasn’t her idea of a comeback. Nargis boldly declined the offer of Satyajit Ray, when he wanted to cast her in the role of Begum of Mirza Sajjad Ali in his first Hindi movie ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’. She also turned down a proposal to re-team with Dilip Kumar. S.S. Vasan approached her for a role in his upcoming film. He presented her with a blank cheque for her to fill in the amount she desired. She refused the offer saying that she was doing three films already Sanju, Anju, and Priya.

Nargis and Sunil Dutt’s love story is nothing less than a fairytale romance. Nargis was Sunil’s long-time crush and though they have crossed each other’s paths at many film gatherings he kept his appreciation for her to himself. They had met first time on the sets of Do Bigha Zameen, he was then a student aspiring to be an actor and she was already an established star. The fire incident on the sets of ‘Mother India’ proved to be a turning point in their life. Sunil found in Nargis, a human being and a woman who would take care of his family. They started dating and got married in a secret ceremony on 11 March 1958 but stayed with their respective families. A year later they held a reception. The couple was blessed with three children Sanjay, Namrata, and Priya.

After marriage, Nargis had no qualms in giving up stardom to revel in her role as a homemaker. She almost quit acting only appearing sporadically in a few movies. Nargis became the driving force behind Sunil’s rise in stature as an actor. Their home production venture Ajanta Arts produced quality cinema but often failed to pull in money. She would not hesitate to break her piggy bank to meet the expenses. On the anniversary day of Ajanta Arts (First of January), she would cook a special delicacy ‘Matka Gosht’ on a ‘sigdi’ for the distinguished gathering. Their Cultural Troupe held stage shows in border areas.

Nargis, a modern woman in her capri pants, throwing her head back in laughter with her hair styled like a Hollywood star like Katharine Hepburn or Joan Fontaine. She was always in sync with world fashion, she sported a shot crop when Indian actresses reveled in their long tresses. She was dubbed as the Lady in White, given her penchant for white sarees. She never wore jewellery and later she began wearing a rudraksha mala. Nargis was a fun-loving person and a great swimmer. She carried no halo of stardom around her, she’d happily eat gol-gappe from a Chaatwala down the street.

In later years in life, she devoted herself to philanthropy and helping people in need. As Chairperson of the Spastics Society of India, Nargis had rendered a yeoman service and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1980. She was the first film personality to be awarded Padam Shri. Nargis was keen on launching her son Sanjay’s career as an actor. She was happy the day she was shown the final print of ‘Rocky’ (1981). Her social and charitable activities continued till a terminal disease overtook her and she lost life's final battle to pancreatic cancer on 3rd May, 1981. She was truly a renaissance woman who left her footprints behind for others to follow.

The cancer deaths in Indian film industry had a long history. This week, two popular actors Irrfan khan and Rishi Kapoor were snatched away from us by the horrendous disease “Cancer”. In the past, Bollywood celebrities like Bimal Roy, Prithivi Raj Kapoor, Subodh Mukherjee, Mani Kaul, Sohrab Modi, Jehanara Kajjan, Shobhna Samrath, Rehman, Subir Sen, Hansraj Behl, Nutan, Sadhna, Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Feroz Khan, Vinod Khanna, Vijay Arora, Sujit Kumar, Mac Mohan, Adesh Srivastava, Tom Alter, G. M. Durrani, Shanta Apte, Cuckoo, Jennifer Kendal, Reshma, Ragini, Baby Naaz, Simple Kapadia, Nazia Hassan, Laxmi Chhaya, Kalpana Lajmi, Richa Sharma and many more lost the battle against cancer and embraced the lap of death.