MUMBAI: Nargis’ beauty and acting skills are still a topic of discussion. The legendary actor wowed everyone. 

She put up a tough fight against cancer before succumbing to it on May 3, 1981. In a heart-touching note, her elder daughter and second-born Namrata Dutt opened up about how Nargis Dutt and father Sunil Dutt had a marital life full of laughter and tears. In an essay on Pinkvilla, Namrata Dutt recalled the time when her family had to temporarily move to the US during Nargis’ treatment. “Dad was with her every single day from morning to night. He would feed her, clean her. We sisters too would take turns in looking after her. I’m sure he cried secretly but Dad never let us know what he was going through,” said Namrata. 

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Nargis and Sunil Dutt met on the sets of the cult film Mother India, in which he played Nargis’ onscreen son. It is well-known how Dutt’s heroic act of rescuing Nargis from a fire on the set changed the course of their lives, drawing them close and eventually leading to their marriage. 

According to Namrata, Nargis was content with her marital life after quitting acting. She had three kids, including son Sanjay Dutt and her second daughter Priya Dutt. But, things turned upside down when Nargis contracted cancer. Namrata said her father would “watch her with binoculars (from their rented apartment), Mom’s (hospital) room being on the opposite side.” “I was around 16. Priya was 10. We didn’t know how to cook. So, we’d call Mom on the landline in her room and ask her how to prepare simple dishes for my father. That’s how Priya and I picked up Indian cooking,” she added. 

After the removal of her pancreas, Nargis slipped into coma. Namrata said, “Coma patients can’t react but they apparently register everything. So, we would read out the news to her, talk to her about what’s happening in Bombay, as though she was very much there.” Recalling Nargis’ strong will the day she stood with a walker after waking up from the coma, Namrata said that people at the hospital clapped for her and called her “Miracle Lady”. “It was truly a touching moment.” 

Nargis Dutt passed away on May 3, 1981 after developing a urinary infection. 

Keep reading this space for more updates. 

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CREDIT:  INDIAN EXPRESS