CHENNAI: Walking down memory lane, the veteran Hindi and Bengali actor Sharmishta Tagore paid glorious tributes to the late screen legend at a programme titled ‘Ye chand Sa Roshan Chehra’, organised by Sanskriti Cultural Foundation in her honour at The Music Academy here on Monday.
While her co-star in Anupama, Dharmendra was caring, it was Shammi Kapoor who gave her the much-needed break in Bollywood, starring with her in hits like Kashmir Ki Kali and An Evening in Paris. There was no wonder that the evening’s musical tribute in her honour, organised by foundation members Sangeetha Bihani and Siddharth Ghoti, began with a popular number from An Evening in Paris - Aasman se aaya farishtaa.
“I like cricket. And that is how I met Tiger at a party,” she reminisced, after an audience query on how she came to know her real-life hero and later her husband, cricketing legend Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. “I am happy my son Saif, daughter Soha and daughter-in-law Kareena are in films,” she said.
As Sharmila spoke at length about the movies she had acted in a career spanning several decades, someone from the audience pointed out that she had forgotten the film Anupama. The actor became excited at the mention of the flick and conveyed that she considered it as one of thebest ones. Recalling her bouffant hairstyle in the film, she confessed that she would not like such a hairdo now. “The style has changed. My director told me, so I had to wear it then.”
A group dance choreographed to Aaj ko junli raat maa, a song from the 1969 film Talaash, captivated the large gathering.
Later, the Bollywood actor was presented with the Sanskriti Kalashree award, comprising a memento and citation, by foundation president Suresh Chouraria.