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The renowned and iconic actress, Sharmila Tagore, was an admirable figure in the 1960s and 1970s, captivating audiences with her mesmerizing performances. Recently she 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 one point, she had to make a significant decision that would have serious consequences today.
Sharmila Tagore explained that she was offered a role in the film ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ by the legendary director Satyajit Ray. However, at the same time, she had already committed to ‘Aradhana,’ a Hindi film directed by her mentor Shakti Samanta, and starring the popular actor Rajesh Khanna, who is still considered 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 at the same time. During her work on ‘Aradhana,’ Satyajit Ray who has been also known as ‘Manik da’ approached her with a role in ‘Aranyer Din Ratri,’ which required a full month of shooting. This posed a problem as she was also committed to another film, ‘Sapno Ki Rani’ and it 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 possibly leave him in a dilemma.
She went on to say that Rajesh Khanna’s scenes in ‘Aradhana’ with Sujit Kumar were filmed 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 today’s time, she could have been legally charged for breaching her contract.
But fortunately ‘Aradhana’ turned out to be a massive hit and she was forgiven. She continued to work in Shakti Samanta’s later films.
She also mentioned that ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ gained international recognition and is highly respected in France to this day.
She revealed that at one point, she had to make a significant decision that would have serious consequences today.
Sharmila Tagore explained that she was offered a role in the film ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ by the legendary director Satyajit Ray. However, at the same time, she had already committed to ‘Aradhana,’ a Hindi film directed by her mentor Shakti Samanta, and starring the popular actor Rajesh Khanna, who is still considered 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 at the same time. During her work on ‘Aradhana,’ Satyajit Ray who has been also known as ‘Manik da’ approached her with a role in ‘Aranyer Din Ratri,’ which required a full month of shooting. This posed a problem as she was also committed to another film, ‘Sapno Ki Rani’ and it 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 possibly leave him in a dilemma.
She went on to say that Rajesh Khanna’s scenes in ‘Aradhana’ with Sujit Kumar were filmed 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 today’s time, she could have been legally charged for breaching her contract.
But fortunately ‘Aradhana’ turned out to be a massive hit and she was forgiven. She continued to work in Shakti Samanta’s later films.
She also mentioned that ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ gained international recognition and is highly respected in France to this day.
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Sharmila Tagore is known for her roles in timeless classics like ‘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 alongside Manoj Bajpayee. Gulmohar garnered good reviews from both the critics and viewers as a muted melodrama which explored Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee and Simran thoroughly.