Happy Birthday Sharmila!

As she turns 64, here's a look at the life of the luminous Sharmila Tagore.

Born to a Hindu Bengali family of Gitindranath Tagore in Hyderabad, Sharmila is a distant relative of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

On a personal front, Sharmila converted to Islam in order to marry cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Nawab of Pataudi in a Nikah ceremony held on 27 December 1969. Post the wedding vows, she was asked to take on the name of Ayesha Sultan.

Together, the Nawab and his Begum have three children. The eldest son, Saif Ali Khan is one of the leading actors in Bollywood today, while the middle child, daughter Saba, chose to move towards designing jewellery. Youngest Soha Ali Khan worked independently in the financial sector till a much delayed debut into Bollywood.

Sharmila debuted into the big bad world of films as the leading lady in Stayajit Ray's 1959 film Apur Sansar. She played the role of the ill-fated bride at the tender age of 14, with no prior acting experience whatsoever.

The critically acclaimed director cast her again in his next film Devi too. Thereafter, their bond grew thicker through three other films together.

It was Howrah Bridge director Shakti Samanta who gave Sharmila Tagore her first break in Bollywood with Kashmir Ki Kali, opposite yesteryear Shammi Kapoor. This 1964 film was a mega hit that marked her entrance.

Samanta used his tried-and-screen-tested beauty in hopes that they could recreate the magic on the silver screen. And they did exactly in An Evening in Paris, where Sharmila was featured in double role, once again opposite Shammi Kapoor.

Creating greater sensation, this young sensation made the first appearance on a two-piece bikini in cinematic history.

This blue tankini wearing damsel scored her a place as one of the hottest actresses of all time. Soon after, she also posed on the cover of Filmfare in an itsy-bitsy bikini and set the trend for many of her peers.

Ironically many years later, when she was accredited the post of Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, Sharmila expressed concerns about the rising number of bikini-wearing girls in on the silver screen.

Samanta later teamed up Tagore with Rajesh Khanna for Aradhana in 1969. The film portrayed Sharmila as an aged beauty as well and featured many hits from Mere Sapno Ki Rani to Roop Tera and many more. Sharmila's heart wrenching performance was finally recognised and she was awarded the Filmfare Best Actress Award.

Another subsequent project for the Samanta, Sharmila and Rajesh Khanna was the 1972 hit Amar Prem. Tagore was accorded the role of Pushpa, a courtesan in Kolkata. The film was most remembered for Khanna's dialogue, "Pushpa I hate tears".
With all the success garnered by the Sharmila-Rajesh duo, it was inevitable that other directors would choose to pair them together. The two went on to do Daag, Maalik and Safar.

In 1975, Sharmila Tagore starred in Gulzar's legendary film Mausam alongside Sanjeev Kumar. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her character portrayal of Chanda and the notorious Kajli.

Her picks in films have dwindled in the last 20 years, since she played the supporting role in Mira Nair's film Mississippi Masala. Her recent films include the Marathi film Samaantar and Eklavya: The Royal Guard.

Sharmila may not have received as many awards as the hits she delivered during the span of her film career, but the actress' attempts were not in vain. Every five years, she is recognised with a lifetime achievement award - the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, the Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and 2007 scored her the Lifetime Achievement National Award by the Journalist Association of India.

In 2004, she received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, credited with Abar Aranye.

The critically acclaimed actress also received the title of 'Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters of France', given to those who have made a mark in recognition of significant contributions to the arts and literature.

In 2009, she was the third Indian woman to be part of the jury at the Cannes film festival.

Earlier this year, Sharmila Tagore looked stunning as she walked the ramp for Dwarkadas Chandumal at the India International Jewellery Week.

As we got our dose of this timeless beauty in the Deepika Padukone, Imran Khan starrer Break ke Baad. We wish her a very Happy Birthday!