This is a tribute to Celluloid Silver Screen’s evergreen actress Saira Banu whose 77th birth anniversary fell on 23rd Aug, 2017. Saira Banu was also known as Saira Bano. She was one of the most popular Indian Hindi film actresses and the wife of the evergreen actor Dilip Kumar. She had acted in many Bollywood films between 1961 & 1988.
Saira Banu was born in India to actress Naseem Banu & film producer Mian Ehsan – ul – Haq, who produced the film Phool in Mumbai & the film Wadah in Pakistan. Her maternal grandmother was the courtesan Chamiyan Bai, also known as Shamshad Begum of Delhi (not to be confused with the famous playback singer of yesteryear Shamshad Begum who was from Amritsar, Punjab). Her niece is former actress Shaheen Banu who is the daughter of her brother Sultan.
Saira Banu spent a significant part of her childhood in London, and went to a finishing school. Her maternal grandmother was from Hasanpur (Uttar Pradesh). Her paternal grandfather, Muhammad Suleman, was an architect who served as the Chief Engineer of New Delhi and was later involved in the construction of Jinnah’s Mazaar in Karachi. Her paternal grandmother, Khatoon Begum, was from Old Delhi’s Mohalla Churiwalan and a daughter of the scholar Khan Bahadur Maulvi Abdul Ahad (1849 – 1920). Her paternal grand – aunt, Khadeeja Begum, was married to the Shah Imam of Jama Masjid in Delhi, Ahmed Bukhari.
Saira Banu was 16 years old in 1960, the year she made her debut in Hindi films. She said in a programme that she had basic talent and little dancing experience. Her peers all were classically trained: which was why she wasn’t put in the top league. Saira started taking Kathak & Bharatnatyam lessons with success and trained herself professionally. Soon she became a dancer and her films flaunted more of her dance.
Saira Banu made her acting debut opposite Shammi Kapoor in the year 1961 in Junglee for which she earned her debut Filmfare nomination as “Best Actress”. The famous song from this movie “Yaahoo!!!!! Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe” sung by Mohammed Rafi was a big success. Junglee was written by Agha jani Kashmiri, who also coached her in Urdu dialogue delivery, given his background in Urdu literature & poetry from Lucknow. Junglee also instantly made her a successful actress throughout the 1960’s as well as early 1970’s.
Saira Banu’s image was that of a romantic heroine for love stories in the 1960’s till 1967. She did one more film opposite Shammi Kapoor named Bluff Master directed by Manmmohan Desai. Some of her successful romantic films included Jhuk Gaya Aasman & Aayi Milan Ki Bela’ with Rajendra Kumar & April Fool with Biswajeet & 5 films with actor Joy Mukherjee namely Aao Pyar Karen, Saaz Aur Awaaz, Door Ki Awaz, Yeh Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai & Shagird. She did a double role in the film Yeh Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai.
Saira Banu’s 1st film to release after her marriage in 1966, was Aman opposite Rajendra Kumar and she continued to act as the lead heroine till the year 1977. But it is said that the turning point of her career was the comedy & love story Padosan in 1968 opposite Sunil Dutt, which brought her to the top league of the successful actresses and thereafter she started receiving more offers.
Her films with Navin Nischol were very successful like Victoria 203 & Paise Ki Gudiya. In an interview she quoted that she regretted missing the chance of working with Rajersh Khanna. She quoted “I was supposed to work with him in Choti Bahu (1971) but I could not because I was ill. I shot with him for 2 days and found that he was very charming, humble & a shy person”. She did earn 3 additional Filmfare nominations as Best Actress for Shagird (1967), for Diwana (1968) & for Sagina (1974).
Saira Banu’s valiant attempts to establish a reputation as an actress after Sagina & Bairaag (all 3 with Dilip Kumar) & films like Hrishikesh Mukherji’s Chaitali met with limited success although each of them were critically acclaimed. Her only film to be successful at the Box – Office turnstiles opposite her husband was Gopi. She also had stable pairing with Dharmendra which included Jwar Bata, Aadmi Aur Insaan, Resham Koi Dori, Pocket Maar, International Crook & Chaitali.
She also did Pyaar Mohabat with Dev Anand & films with Manoj Kumar, namely Shaadi, Poorab Aur Paschim & Balidaan. She established herself as a versatile actress, post her marriage, with her performances in Padosan, Victoria 203, Jhuk Gaya Aasman, Sagina, Chaitali and with each of them belonging to different genres. She was paired with Vinod Khanna in Aarop wherein the song “Naino Mein Darpan Hai” became a chartbuster in 1974. Her pairing with Sunil Dutt continued to be good at the Box – Office turnstiles with films like Nehle Pe Dehla being successful in 1976. The song “Sawan Ka Mahina Aagaya” became very popular in 1976. However, with films like Daaman Aur Aag, Mounto, Zameer, Koi Jeeta Koi Haara becoming disasters and with some of her films being kept on hold for release like Faisla, Mera Vachan Geeta Ki Kasam, Aarambh, she decided not to sign any more films.
Hence in 1976, Saira chose to end her film career. Subsequently she weathered a storm in her marriage in 1980, when her husband married a girl named Asma, which was quickly resolved. She then appeared in a cameo opposite her husband in Duniya (1984) wherein the song “Teri Meri Zindagi” became very popular. Her last film Faisla where she was cast opposite Vinod Mehra which was completed in 1976 but released in 1988.
Saira Banu married actor Dilip Kumar in 1966. Saira Banu was the 3rd highest paid actress in Hindi Cinema from 1963 – 1969 & the 4th highest paid actress from 1971 to 1976.
Actress Shaheen is her niece. She is Saira Banu’s brother Sultan Ahmed’s daughter.
Saira Banu’s husband Dilip Kumar revealed in his 2014 memoir “Dilip Kumar: The Substance And The Shadow” that she became pregnant in 1972 with their son, but at that time she developed high blood pressure in her 8th month of pregnancy and the doctors couldn’t save the baby, which had unfortunately been strangulated by the umbilical cord. After that, they never had children, believing that it was God’s will.
Saira Banu’s some memorable films were Junglee (1961), Shaadi (1962), Bluff Master (1963), Door Ki Aawaaz (1964), Aao Pyaar Karein (1964), Aayee Milan Ki Bela (1964), April Fool (1964), Saaz Aur Awaaz (1966), Yeh Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai (1966), Pyaar Mohabbat (1966), Shagird (1967), Diwana (1967), Aman (1967), Padosan (1968), Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan (1968), Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969), Gopi (1970), Purab Aur Paschim (1970), Victoria No 203 (1972), International Crook (1973), Resham Ki Dori (1973), Jwar bhata (1973), Sagina (1974), Pocket Maar (1974), Zameer (1974), Paise Ki Gudiya (1974), Saazish (1975), Chaitali (1975), Hera Pheri (1976), Bairaag (1976), Nehle Pe Dehla (1976), Kala Aadmi (1978), Duniya (1984) & Last but not the least Faisla (1988).
