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Somewhere behind the fame of Dilip Kumar, we have forgotten Saira Banu is not just the Tragedy King’s wife, but an accomplished actress in her own right. She was one of the highest-paid actresses in Hindi cinema until she gave it all up in 1988. She was not only regarded as a star but also as a talented dancer in the industry without having any professional training until she debuted with the 1961 film Junglee, starring Shammi Kapoor.
Saira Banu was born to Naseem Banu, an actress known for her beauty. Naseem was the daughter of classical singer and courtesan Chamiyan Bai. Speaking about her mother’s beauty, Saira Banu, in an interview with Doordarshan, had recalled actor Ashok Kumar telling her, “When your mother entered any room, she would fill it with light. That’s how beautiful she is.”
Saira’s grandmother was against Naseem becoming an actress, she wanted her daughter to be a doctor, but she lost to Naseem’s stubbornness, who eventually marked her debut as an actress in Sohrab Modi’s Hamlet. Saira also followed a similar path.
A photo shared by Saira Banu on Instagram. (Photo: Saira Banu/Instagram)
Kept away from glitz and glamour, Saira Banu spent her formative years in the UK. Talking to ATN Canada, Saira Bano recalled, “It was a very decided effort. She (Naseem Banu) took me to London for schooling when I was 6. She had her reasons, she wanted me to have some other kind of career as I was academically good.” She added, “She wanted to see me as a lawyer or a doctor, but I very much wanted to be in films.” The actress would often travel to India for her summer holidays.
Saira Banu during her early days. (Photo: Saira Banu/Instagram)
In the show Ek Mulaquat, Saira revealed, “We had a ritual of taking a tour of the entire Europe and eventually India for our summer holidays. During one such visit, we went on the set of Mughal-e-Azam, when I saw Dilip Sahab. He was standing there in all-white attire. I was like ‘Oh my god’. We all then went to watch a qawwali show.” Saira, 14 at the time, was approached by several producers who wanted her to star in their films.
“After matriculation when I arrived in India, I received as many as seven offers, one of which was Junglee”, she told on the show Ek Mulaquat.
In her interview with ATN Canada, the actress said, “I took up the offer but it met with a whole lot of turbulence from my family and mother.” She added, “I started the film during my holidays. I shot for a few months and then I went back to school and that’s how it set the ball rolling and I never had to fall back on anything else. This was my dream come true.” However, the actress discontinued her education.
In her conversation on the show Ek Mulaquat, Saira confessed she knew nothing about acting when she signed Junglee. She recalled feeling embarrassed. “I was very insecure, I thought neither am I a dancer, nor do I have great diction or the kind of language they used at that time. My Urdu and Hindi were not as good as they are now because my medium was always English, French, and Latin.”
Recalling the first day of her shoot on the sets of Junglee, Saira told in an interview with Doordarshan, “When I went to Kashmir’s Shalimar Bagh for the shoot, there were thousands of people looking. I was a shy person. There was this line in the song “Kashmir Ki Kali” — ‘Pyaar se gussa karte ho, tera gussa humko pyara hai’. Here, I was supposed to turn and lip-sync the song. For some reason, I was struggling to shoot that scene. If I paid attention to my lip-syncing, I would turn wrong and if I paid attention to how I turned, I would miss the song. They took several takes. Eventually, Shammi Kapoor, very true to his Junglee character, walked up to me and was like, ‘What is this? If you want to work, do it properly.’ I was so embarrassed.”
She added, “I started crying when my Apa came running to me and told me ‘Look child, there is still time, you can rethink your decision of becoming an actor. This is not for you. Let’s return. This is just the first day of shooting.’ I thought to myself, ‘No, this is wrong. I was dreaming of this life for years and I am ruining it.’ I stood up and started right from where I had stopped and this time I did it.”
Upon its release, Junglee went on to become a “diamond jubilee”, establishing both Saira and Shammi Kapoor as bankable stars. It also gave tough competition to Dilip Kumar’s Gunga Jumna, which released around the same time. The film put Kashmir on the map, after which many Bollywood films were shot there. The success of Junglee, along with the films Hum Hindustani (1961) and Professor (1962), began the era of colour cinema with the use of Eastmancolour.
Earlier to Eastmancolour, Technicolour was introduced to India in the 1940s. Though the produced images through this technique were rich in colour and detail, the film and the process were too expensive for Indian filmmakers as they had to be sent abroad for developing. With the introduction of Eastman Kodak’s Eastmancolour, making films became considerably cheaper as it allowed the makers to get films processed and printed in local studios.
For Saira, however, the journey after Junglee was no cakewalk. While Junglee mostly had free-style dancing, which Saira somehow managed, for Ayee Milan Ki Bela, the actress had to do two special dance numbers — “Tumko Humari Umar Lag Jaye” and the film’s title song. “I had done a little bit of ballet in London. When I did the first song “Tumko Humari Umar Lag Jaye”, it was under the guidance of Saroj Khan. The song had simple steps, so I managed. It was after this that the real struggle started.”
“For “Ayee Milan Ki Bela” title song, I had to do a folk dance. The kind of steps that it had should have been appropriate for excellent dancers like Vyjayanthimala. I was extremely terrorised, wondering how I would do this.” Saira took special classes from Kathak exponent Roshan Kumari and practiced over days.
Several of Saira’s dance performances including “Mera Naam Rita Christina” from the 1964 film April Fool and “Bhai Battur” from her 1968 film Padosan are still remembered.
Over time, she didn’t just become an excellent actress and dancer, but also a trendsetter in terms of fashion. In around 60 films that she starred in after Junglee (1961), the actress’ costumes, accessories, and hairstyles, designed by her mother Naseem Banu, became a rage. Her sarees in Ayee Milan Ki Bela with delicate embroideries, scoop neck blouses, and elegantly draped elbow-length sleeves became a trend.
Crediting her mother, Saira said, “My mother designed all my costumes according to the scene and situation. She even designed a special saree for me to wear to the premiere of Gunga Jumna. I was so excited to wear it and hoping Dilip sahab would notice me. She would customise jewellery for every outfit I wore.”
Despite all the success, the actress quit cinema with Faisla (1988) being her final film. Saira told on the show Ek Mulauat, “All these years, I worked so much and was so busy and there were many other films I was considering, Zameer, Hera Pheri, but suddenly I realised that I am not getting enough time to spend with my dear ones and I decided to quit films.”
By this time, the actress was married to the love of her life Dilip Kumar, who she wanted to marry since the age of 12. The real life couple starred in the films Gopi (1970), Sagina (1874), and Bairaag (1976), among others only after their marriage in 1966.
Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar in Bairaag. (Photo: Saira Banu/Instagram)
By this time, the actress was married to the love of her life Dilip Kumar, who she had been in love with since she was a teenager. The real-life couple starred in the films Gopi (1970), Sagina (1874), and Bairaag (1976) after their marriage in 1966.
Recalling how Dilip Kumar refused to do films with her, Saira told ATN Canada, “Do you know he (Dilip) refused film after film with me including Ram Aur Shyam; this is something I hold against him.”
In the same interview, Dilip clarified, “The decision was made under instructions. Some of Saira’s family members didn’t want her to be in films and I thought I would be displeasing her family members. I was a good friend of her father as well as her grandfather. They had sent messages to me to persuade her to drop all this. Not that I was successful in doing so, but I thought it would be betrayal if I did a film with her.”
After quitting films, the actress started WORCS — Women’s Organisation of Relief and Care Services, on the advice of her husband and mother to help the needy. She also opened a production house that made several Bhojpuri films. Since the death of Dilip Kumar in 2021, Saira Banu actively posts anecdotes from their lives on her Instagram handle. She turns 80 today.
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