A fairy tale that ended too soon: Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt’s timeless tale of romance

The first meeting

Nargis and Sunil Dutt had first met on the sets of director Bimal Roy's 'Do Bigha Zamin'. Sunil Dutt was a student and an aspiring actor while Nargis was already an established star. Both came from very different backgrounds when they had met each other. Sunil Dutt was the son of a Punjabi land-owning family who had lost their land to Pakistan and had to rebuild their lives and homes in independent India. Whereas Nargis was the daughter of a Muslim thumri singer from Allahabad, Jaddanbai.

Love blossomed between them

Nargis and Sunil Dutt worked together for the first time in director Mehboob Khan's 'Mother India' (1957). It was during the shoot of this classic film that both of them came closer. Sunil Dutt had started to develop feelings for Nargis but decided to express at the right time. This was also the time when the rumours of Nargis' affair with Raj Kapoor were almost everywhere. And then came the fated day, albeit a dangerous one. While shooting for a fire scene in 'Mother India', Nargis was required to run between the burning haystacks. But suddenly, the wind changed its direction and Nargis was trapped inside the fire. She called for help and it was then when Sunil Dutt did not care about his life and barged in with nothing but a blanket to rescue her. At the end, Sunil saved Nargis but suffered several burns on his face and chest. Nargis took care of him for weeks and and by the time the actor was discharged, they came closer and expressed their feelings for each other.

“I was not concerned about her past”

Sunil Dutt was once asked about the equation between late Raj Kapoor and Nargis, to which he had said in an interview, "I never knew there was a romance. The only thing I knew was that she came into my life. I was not concerned about her past. I know these questions arise. But I am concerned about the person who comes in my life; what matters from that day on is how true the person is to me. The past is nothing to me." [sic] Even, Nargis had been quoted in one of her old interviews where she said, "Sunil’s shoulders were always there for me to cry on, and I also knew that his garments will absorb my tears and not scatter them out for people to make fun of me." [sic] This was the man who healed the heart of Nargis that had been broken in the past. This was what helped Nargis move on in life and get over Raj Kapoor, the love of Sunil Dutt.

Sunil Dutt and Nargis’ marriage was kept a secret

Sunil Dutt and Nargis had started dating and wanted to get married. But they never opened up about their relationship and maintained a low profile as their film 'Mother India' was ready for a release, and they were playing mother and son in that. A romantic affiliation between the two would have brought negative publicity to the film, in those conservative times. However, they tied the knot in 1958, soon after the release of the movie. But, they kept their marriage under wraps till 1959, and lived with their respective families, and communicated with letters and telegrams. They moved in together in 1959, and held a wedding reception with close friends and relatives in attendance.

The happy family of Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt

The couple was blessed with a son, who they named Sanjay. This was followed by two daughters, Namrata and Priya, completing their happy family. Sunil Dutt was thriving in his professional life, with success in films like 'Padosan', 'Khandan', 'Hamraaz' etc. He had also successfully ventured into direction and production. Nargis' love and support for Sunil got them through some difficult times too, making their relationship even stronger. But, their happiness was short-lived.

The tragic turn strikes, Nargis’s death separated both

It was the year 1980, Sunil and Nargis Dutt’s son Sanjay Dutt was ready to make his Bollywood debut with ‘Rocky’ (1981). But, before the film was completed Nargis fell severely ill and was diagnosed with cancer of pancreas. She had to be flown to New York where she went through a lot of treatments. She had returned to Mumbai in April 1981 and was looking forward to watching her son Sanjay’s film ‘Rocky’ which was scheduled for a release on May 7, 1981. But, sadly the caring mother of Sanjay didn’t live to see her son on big screen. At the age of 51, the veteran actress lost her battle against cancer and passed away on May 3, 1981. In one of his interviews, Sunil Dutt had recalled about Nargis’ wish to see Sanjay Dutt’s ‘Rocky’ saying, “She told me, 'Whatever it is, even if you have to carry me on a stretcher or in a wheelchair, I want to see the premiere of my son's movie'. I made all the arrangements and had an ambulance, stretcher and wheelchair. We kept a seat for her next to Sanjay. But she never made it. She died on May 3." [sic]