Nargis actress biography

Pakistani actress

This article is about the Pakistani actress. For the Indian actress, see Nargis.

Nargis (Urdu: نرگس), born Ghazala Idrees, is a Pakistani film actress and stage artist. She has acted in more than 104 films in her career spanning from 1993 to 2018, and was the highest-paid stage artist across the country in 2016.

She is best known for her supporting role in the musical romantic film Choorian (1998 film), which ranks amongst the highest-grossing domestic films of all time. Her other notable films include International Luteray (1994), Ghunda Raj (1994), Soha Jora (2007), and Dushman Rani (2014).

Incidents of domestic violence

In March 2002, Nargis was kidnapped and allegedly assaulted by dismissed police inspector Abid Boxer. She reported that Abid had been intimidating her because she refused to pursue a relationship with him. Abid was accused of establishing strong connections with organized crime and gangsters.

In November 2024, she was reportedly subjected to severe torture by her husband, Inspector Majid Bashir, after she declined to transfer her property into his name.

Awards and recognition

Selected filmography

References

External links

One could say that the teenager at the time was mildly manipulated into being in the movies as the producers, including her co-star Motilal, told her that they would lose lakhs if she chose not to participate. She gave in and made them promise that they wouldn’t force her to do any more movies. That accident soon became Nargis’ career. And soon after, she found herself as one of the most celebrated and refined actors at the movies. However, the societal censure followed as her school teacher made her feel bad about her choice of career. “I cried till I could cry no more. But when the tears were exhausted, I began to think. I thought, my mother works in films. But she is not bad. She is the most wonderful woman in the world…” she told Filmfare.

The 1949 film Andaz is widely considered as Nargis’ breakthrough role and for her, it was the one of the roles that she thoroughly enjoyed. The film had her starring with Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, and playing a woman who is surrounded by bossy men. Yet, it was her personality that never made her come across as a pushover. Dilip Kumar believed that the versatility that Nargis showed on screen was admirable, and even though she was a much bigger star than him when they worked together initially, she made sure that he was treated as an equal. “The kind of versatility she had, no other artist has shown it. She was a delightful person, easy to work with. There was no pressure while working with her, you didn’t feel like you were working with a star,” he shared in a documentary made by Priya Dutt on the late star.

Her 1950 film Jogan was another landmark film in her career. Here, Nargis played a sage-like character who has dedicated her life to God. Until Jogan, Narg

Indian actress (1929–1981)

This article is about the Indian actress. For other uses, see Nargis (disambiguation).

Nargis Dutt (néeFatima Rashid, also known as Nirmala Dutt; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) known mononyomusly as Nargis was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, Nargis often portrayed sophisticated and independent women in a range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama. She was among the highest paid actresses of the 1950s and 1960s.

In a career spanning three decades, Nargis made her screen debut in a minor role at the age of six with Talash-E-Haq (1935), but her acting career actually began with the film Tamanna (1942). Nargis had her first leading role with Taqdeer (1943). Nargis had her breakthrough with the romance film Andaz (1949) and the musical Barsaat (1949). Following this she starred in Raj Kapoor's crime drama Awaara (1951), which was a major critical and financial success. After a brief setback in the early 1950s, she reemerged with the comedy-drama Shree 420 (1955) and the romantic comedy Chori Chori (1956). Nargis starred in Mehboob Khan's Oscar-nominated epic drama Mother India (1957), the highest-grossing film in India at that point of time, for which she won Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her last film was the drama Raat Aur Din (1967), for which she received the inaugural National Film Award for Best Actress.

Nargis married her Mother India co-star Sunil Dutt in 1958. Together they had three children, including the actor Sanjay Dutt. Along with her husband, Nargis formed the Ajanta Arts Culture Troupe which hired several leading actors and singers of the time and held stage shows at border areas. In the early 1970s, Nargis became the first patron of The Spastic Society of Indi