From Raj Kapoor to Sanjay Dutt

Life imitating Art

                                                                       Two families and three films 

The life of actress Nargis Dutt links three notable films, and two of the most known family names in the cinema in India.

In the 1948 movie Aag, Raj Kapoor played an actor who fell in live with his co-star, played by Nargis Dutt, towards the finale he sees a painting of her in an artist's studio as he is in the act of destroying the picture, thinking she loves the painter, the artist returns to explain she asked for her portrait to be painted as a sign of her love for Raj's character. With this news, he wanders backstage to watch her perform; what he didn't see until too late is his interest in her caused him to dislodge a lantern, and set the stage on fire. As everyone rushes out, he is seen trapped in the burning stage. Moments later, a burned figure emerges, and falls into his lover's arms.

Less than a decade later, in 1957 Nargis was to repeat this horror, this time in her life. On the set of the film Mother India, Nargis found herself trapped on a flaming stage, after an electrical fault caused the fire. This time it was her co-star, actor Sunil Dutt, who pulled her to safety; in doing so he badly burned his hands, and needed care for several months after the fire. The couple fell in love, and married, their son, actor Sanjay Dutt is still working in Bollywood.

Perhaps the saddest part of the story is Nargis never got to see Sanjay perform, she died three days before his debut film Rocky was released in 1981. At the premiere, Sanjay asked for the central seat in the front row to be reserved for the memory of his mother.