Saira Banu is one of the rare beauties who ages like fine wine. Her
contribution to Indian cinema remains incredibly special. As the veteran actress turned 79 today, she traveled down memory lane and recalled how her late husband and actor, Dilip Kumar, proposed to her right after her 22nd birthday.
Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar tied the knot in 1966, when the former was at the peak of her career. Their 22-year age gap made the actress second-guess herself for marrying Kumar, but love prevailed over prejudice.
On her 79th birthday, Saira Banu took to Instagram and shared some unseen pictures of herself with Dilip Kumar. She also revealed how he would travel frequently from Chennai to Mumbai just to have dinner with her. The Padosan actress also revealed how, on one such occasion, Dilip proposed to her for marriage.
Unseen pictures of Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar
The Purab Aur Paschim actress shared some unseen pictures with her late husband. In the first picture, a young Saira Banu can be seen receiving flowers on a stage. In the same frame, Dilip Kumar,
Dev Anand, and Rajendra Kumar can be seen.
As the actress received the flowers, Dilip could be seen smiling. Have a look.
Saira Banu reminisces about her birthdays
Sharing a series of photos, the
veteran actress wrote, "As far as I can remember, birthdays have been so 'special' for me. My mother, Pari Chehra Naseem Banuji, went to the ends of the world to always give me the best fun time with my friends, whether here in Mumbai or in London School, not to forget once a towering layered cake that would have put the Qutub Minar to shame!"
She continued, "We were a very close-knit small family that lived doting on each othermdashmy grandma, my grand-aunt, my mother, and my darling brother Sultan. Then, Hey Presto! What good luck! No sooner than I finished my London School and came back home to Bombay, I had the sheer luck of getting to do Junglee, the superhit Eastman Color Film that became the rage of the time. Until now, black and white films were the order of the day and held the roost."
Saira Banu talks about Dilip Kumar
"Soon life became a blast of light and joy, and occasions such as birthdays blossomed into a flood of appreciation, flowers, and messages from friends and fans, making the whole house into a Garden of Eden. On August 23, 1966, such a quality evening, the house warming of our new residence at 34-B Pali Hill was on. The house was made intentionally and absolutely according to Dilip Sahib's 'Dar Kay Saamney' (Ghar Kay Saamney). He was shooting in Madras, and on my mother's invitation, he flew into town to attend my birthday," wrote the Junglee actress.
Saira Banu on how Dilip Kumar proposed to her
She further wrote, "Life became besieged with good luck, one miracle after another, and can you imagine that the Emperor of Acting, for whom the world was his stage, Mr. Dilip Kumar, who knew me since I was a little girl and consequently refused to work with me, exclaimed, 'You have grown up into a beautiful girl? The next couple of days he traveled on whirlwind flights from Madras to Bombay every other night and had dinner with me."
Banu concluded by writing, "On one of these magical evenings, he
popped the question, 'Will you marry me?' Here came the realization of a dream that I had nurtured ever since I was in my teens. We were happily married, and I went from an admiring fan to a devoted wife. I got to see the different aspects and qualities of this great human being. He was unlike any person that I had ever metmdasha man who oozed a royal halo of understated elegance."
Radio City wishes Saira Banu a very happy birthday.
