Sharmila Tagore is one of the most legendary, evergreen actresses of her generation in Bollywood. She had began her journey in films at the age of 13, when she was roped into playing the pivotal character of ‘Aparna’ in Satyajit Ray’s classic film, Apur Sansar. Having a career with no looking back, Sharmila went on to become a part of some of the most amazing films across multiple languages, including Hindi and Bengali. Speaking about her personal life, Sharmila got married to eminent cricketer, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi in 1968. The duo have three children, Saif Ali Khan, Saba Ali Pataudi and Soha Ali Khan.
Sharmila Tagore recalls gaining massive overnight stardom at the age of 13
In a recent interaction with the YouTube channel, Quorum, Sharmila Tagore candidly recalled taking her first step into the film world, at the age of 13. For the unversed, she was offered to play the iconic character of ‘Aparna’ in Satyajit Ray’s second instalment of The Apu Trilogy, titled Apur Sansar. The diva recalled how the eminent filmmaker, Satyajit Ray called her grandfather, Gitindranath Tagore and asked the latter’s permission to rope in a young Sharmila for the role. Sharing how she couldn’t fathom becoming an overnight heartthrob by working in such a prestigious role, Sharmila mentioned:
“Working in that film, and when that film was released, the kind of praise it received, just changed my life. I became the heartthrob of Bengal overnight at the age of 13. At that time, I didn’t even appreciate what was happening.”