The famous and iconic actress, Sharmila Tagore, was an admirable figure in the 1960s and 1970s, captivating audiences with her mesmerizing performances. She recently shared some interesting facts and incidents from her acting career. In an interview with The Quorum, the veteran actress discussed how she managed her involvement in both arthouse and mainstream Bollywood films during the 1970s.
She revealed that at some point she had to make an important decision that would have serious consequences today.
Sharmila Tagore explained that she was offered a role in the film.Aranyer Din Ratriby the legendary director Satyajit Ray. However, at the same time, she was already committed to ‘Aradhana’, a Hindi film directed by her mentor Shakti Samanta and starring the popular actor. Rajesh Khannawho is still regarded as the king of Bollywood.
Securing Rajesh Khanna’s dates for the film was incredibly challenging because he had signed contracts with 12 different producers simultaneously. During her work in ‘Aradhana’, Satyajit Ray, who was also known as ‘Manik da’ approached her with a role in ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’, which took a full month of shooting. This created a problem as she was also committed to another film.Sapno Ki Raniand was being shot in Darjeeling.
Sharmila Tagore informed Shakti Samanta, director of ‘Aradhana’ that she was going to accept Satyajit Ray’s offer, which will probably leave him in a quandary.
He went on to say that Rajesh Khanna’s scenes in ‘Aradhana’ with Sujit Kumar were shot in Darjeeling, while her scenes were shot in the studio using a technique called rear projection. This was a significant compromise and she believed that in this day and age she could have been legally charged for breaching her contract.
But luckily ‘Aradhana’ turned out to be a big hit and was forgiven. She continued to work in Shakti Samanta’s later films.
He also mentioned that ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ gained international recognition and is highly regarded in France till date.
She revealed that at some point she had to make an important decision that would have serious consequences today.
Sharmila Tagore explained that she was offered a role in the film.Aranyer Din Ratriby the legendary director Satyajit Ray. However, at the same time, she was already committed to ‘Aradhana’, a Hindi film directed by her mentor Shakti Samanta and starring the popular actor. Rajesh Khannawho is still regarded as the king of Bollywood.
Securing Rajesh Khanna’s dates for the film was incredibly challenging because he had signed contracts with 12 different producers simultaneously. During her work in ‘Aradhana’, Satyajit Ray, who was also known as ‘Manik da’ approached her with a role in ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’, which took a full month of shooting. This created a problem as she was also committed to another film.Sapno Ki Raniand was being shot in Darjeeling.
Sharmila Tagore informed Shakti Samanta, director of ‘Aradhana’ that she was going to accept Satyajit Ray’s offer, which will probably leave him in a quandary.
He went on to say that Rajesh Khanna’s scenes in ‘Aradhana’ with Sujit Kumar were shot in Darjeeling, while her scenes were shot in the studio using a technique called rear projection. This was a significant compromise and she believed that in this day and age she could have been legally charged for breaching her contract.
But luckily ‘Aradhana’ turned out to be a big hit and was forgiven. She continued to work in Shakti Samanta’s later films.
He also mentioned that ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ gained international recognition and is highly regarded in France till date.
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Sharmila Tagore is known for her roles in timeless classics such as “Chupke Chupke, “Amar Prem”, “Waqt” and “Anupama”. She started her career as a teenager in Satyajit Ray’s films and became one of the leading female stars of the era. Her most recent appearance was in the popular family drama series ‘Gulmohar’ on an OTT platform where she acted opposite Manoj Bajpayee. Gulmohar received good reviews from both critics and audiences as a silent melodrama that explored Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee and Simran thoroughly.
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