Sharmila Tagore

Sharmila Tagore (; born 8 December 1944) also known by her married name Begum Ayesha Sultana, is an Indian actress whose illustrious career has spanned over six decades across Hindi and Bengali films. In recognition of her contributions to cinema, she was honoured with Commander of Order of Arts and Letters by Government of France in 1999, and Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2013. Tagore is also a recipient of two National Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards.

Born into the prominent Tagore family, one of the leading families of Calcutta and a key influence during the Bengali Renaissance, Tagore made her acting debut at age 14 with Satyajit Ray's acclaimed Bengali epic drama ''The World of Apu'' (1959). She went on to collaborate with Ray on numerous other films, including ''Devi'' (1960), ''Nayak'' (1966), ''Aranyer Din Ratri'' (1970), and ''Seemabaddha'' (1971), her other Bengali films over the time included Barnali (1963), Shes Anko (1963), Nirjan Saikate (1965), Amanush (1975), Anand Ashram (1977), and Kalankini Kankabati (1981); thus establishing herself as one of the most acclaimed actresses of Bengali cinema.

Tagore's career further expanded when she ventured into Hindi films with Shakti Samanta's romance ''Kashmir Ki Kali'' (1964). She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema with films like ''Waqt'' (1965), ''Anupama'' (1966), ''Devar'' (1966), ''An Evening in Paris'' (1967), ''Aamne Saamne'' (1967), ''Satyakam'' (1969), ''Aradhana'' (1969), ''Safar'' (1970), ''Amar Prem'' (1972), ''Daag'' (1973), Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973), ''Avishkaar'' (1974), ''Chupke Chupke'' (1975), ''Mausam'' (1975), and ''Namkeen'' (1982). She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for ''Aradhana'' and the National Film Award for Best Actress for ''Mausam''. This was followed by intermittent film appearances in the subsequent decades, including in Sunny (1984), Swati(1986), New Delhi Times (1986), Mira Nair's ''Mississippi Masala'' (1991) and Goutam Ghose's ''Abar Aranye'' (2002), which won her the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, ''Shubho Mahurat'' (2003), and in the Hindi films ''Aashik Awara'' (1993), ''Mann'' (1999), ''Viruddh'' (2005), ''Eklavya'' (2007) and ''Break Ke Baad'' (2010). Following a hiatus of 13 years, she made her film comeback with the drama ''Gulmohar'' (2023) followed by a critically acclaimed performance in ''Puratawn'' (2025).

Tagore served as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification from October 2004 to March 2011. In December 2005, she was chosen as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Provided by Wikipedia