Yesteryear actor and the queen of Bollywood in the 1960s, Saira Banu needs no introduction. It took her only a few films to capture the audience’s imagination. With films like Junglee, April Fool, Padosan, Jhuk Gaya Aasman, Purab Paschim, Aman Aur Insaan, and Victoria No. 203 — to name only a few — Saira established herself as the top female lead of the time. Decades later, pictures showing her glamorous avatar have surfaced on social media.
Retro Bollywood, an Instagram handle, has shared memories of Saira Banu 70s. The handle has shared a collage of two photographs. A picture from 1970 shows Saira Banu in a black and white frame, while the other picture was clicked in 1976.
Retro Bollywood captioned the picture with a question by Stardust, “What is your reply to critics who say that you’ve made it on glamour and not on talent?”
“Maybe they are right – but what matters is that I am around, whether they like it or not! Remember, the same was said for the great star Madhubala, comparing her to Marilyn Monroe, and I am happy to be in such illustrious company!” Saira said, in this interview published in 1973.
Saira was one of the highest-paid female actors from 1971 to 1976. She made her film debut with Subodh Mukherjee’s film Junglee, and while the world loved her screen presence, it was always her beauty that dominated the conversation, more than her acting skills.
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In 1966, Saira Banu married legendary actor Dilip Kumar, after they dated for a couple of years. Dilip Kumar passed away on 7 July 2021 due to age-related prolonged illness.
