We all are well aware of the love affairs of Bollywood actresses and Indian cricketers but do you know from where the love affairs between cricketers and actors started? This saga started with the love story of Bollywood’s Bengali beauty Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi who was popularly known as Tiger Pataudi. There is no denying that Sharmila and Mansoor Ali were the ‘IT’ couples of their time. The love story of the couple is much more interesting than it sounds. Finding a love like them is really a dream for many:
The love story of the couple goes back to the 1960s. The youngest Indian cricket team captain, Mansoor Ali Khan first saw Sharmila Tagore in 1965 when her career was on peak and she was riding high on success.
The love story of the couple goes back to the 1960s. The youngest Indian cricket team captain, Mansoor Ali Khan first saw Sharmila Tagore in 1965 when her career was on peak and she was riding high on success.
But something clicked between them and in their first meeting they developed feeling for each other. Being an Oxford return, Mansoor was the most eligible bachelor at that time and Sharmila was Bengal’s most precious gift to Bollywood.
His nawabi family didn't think highly of the acting profession and her prosaic Bengali family hadn't heard many good things about the 'indulgent' lifestyle of the Pataudis. But Tiger and Sharmila were in love and nothing was going to stop them.
After dating each other for few years and going through every up and down together, the couple decided to get married in 1969 but the two ensured they had their families' approval. And while the media had termed their relationship as 'doomed', their union caught everyone by surprise.
In the late 60s, the country was not as progressive as it is now and that was the reason why Sharmila who just did a bikini shoot faced a backlash when she decided to marry a Muslim Pataudi.
At a time when female actors were left with no career after their marriage, Sharmila Tagore came back to movies and continued to work even after motherhood.
Their's was a marriage of equals filled with love and respect for each other. They shattered societal norms, lived on their own terms and together, gave us all a love story of a lifetime.
