Nargis

The iconic actress who defined Hindi cinema's golden age.

Nargis was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema, born Fatima Rashid on 1 June 1929 in Calcutta.^[1][2] In the history of Hindi cinema, Nargis is counted among the finest actresses, and during the 1950s and 1960s she was one of the highest-paid performers.^[3][4]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Birth name: Fatima Rashid
Born: 1 June 1929
Birthplace: Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Kolkata, West Bengal, India)
Died: 3 May 1981
Place of death: Bombay, Maharashtra, India (present-day Mumbai)
Resting place: Bada Qabrastan Mumbai
Occupation: Actress, politician
Years active: 1935–1936; 1942–1968

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Her first leading role came in Taqdeer (1943), a film that performed well at the box office.^[5][6] The drama Aag (1948) was the first film where Nargis worked with Raj Kapoor, beginning a partnership that would eventually include more than a dozen movies.^[7] In Awaara (released in December 1951), Nargis played a lawyer who speaks out against traditional views of women, and one scene showed her in a swimsuit, which was considered daring.^[8] After marrying Sunil Dutt, her co-star from Mother India, in 1958, Nargis left her film career to focus on family life.^[9][10]

Nargis passed away on 3 May 1981 due to pancreatic cancer, and the Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Foundation was created in her honor the following year.^[11]

What the cited sources add

The duo worked together on 16 films, including Barsaat (1949), Awara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955).^[12] A 2019 Scroll.in survey asked respondents to pick their favorite Bollywood couple from each decade starting with the 1950s; the team of Raj Kapoor and Nargis was chosen as the top couple of that decade, receiving 46% of the votes.^[12] An Open Library record for ISBN 9788172231491 lists a 224-page book titled "The life and times of Nargis", published by Megatechnics in 1994.^[13] An Open Library record for ISBN 9789386228581 lists a 225-page book titled "Sanjay Dutt", published by Juggernaut in 2018.^[14]

References

Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bollywood actor Nargis Dutt remembered in today's Google Doodle", The Indian Express, 1 June 2015; "NOMINATED MEMBERS OF THERAJYASABHA" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: T. J. S. George, "The life and times of Nargis", Megatechnics, December 1994; "On Nargis's 39th death anniversary, hre're some less-known facts", Hindustan Times, 3 May 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sanjay Dutt writes a heartfelt note for mom Nargis Dutt on her 39th death anniversary Entertainment - Times of India Videos", The Times of India (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sen, Raja, "Bollywood's best actresses. Ever", Rediff.com, 6 March 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ghosh, "Nargis Dutt: The woman and the actress", National Herald, 3 May 2019; "Nargis Dutt: From a child actor to 'Mother India'", The Economic Times (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "NARGIS DUTT (1929--1981)" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nargis movies, filmography, biography and songs", Cinestaan (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rao, "Raj Kapoor-Nargis to Deepika-Ranbir: A survey ranks the most popular Bollywood couples", Scroll.in, 13 July 2019; "Filmfare Awards Winners 1958: Complete list of winners of Filmfare Awards 1958", The Times of India (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Nargis and Sunil Dutt love story: When he saved her from fire and she found the love of her life", Hindustan Times, 1 June 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "On Nargis's 39th death anniversary, here are some lesser-known facts about the legendary actor", Hindustan Times, 3 May 2020; "Boxofficeindia.com", 15 January 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Nargis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nargis Dutt: From a child actor to 'Mother India'", The Economic Times (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Rao, "Raj Kapoor-Nargis to Deepika-Ranbir: A survey ranks the most popular Bollywood couples", Scroll.in, 13 July 2019. facts only, no text reused. scroll.in
Open Library record, ISBN 9788172231491 ("The life and times of Nargis"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
Open Library record, ISBN 9789386228581 ("Sanjay Dutt"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Nargis (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.