1935–1948: Film debut and breakthrough Fatima made her first film appearance in the 1935 film
Talashe Haq when she was six years old, credited as Baby Nargis. Nargis ( ) is a
Persian word meaning
Narcissus, the
daffodil flower. She was subsequently credited as Nargis in all of her films. Nargis appeared in numerous films after her debut. In 1943 at the age of 14, she appeared in
Mehboob Khan's
Taqdeer, opposite Motilal. The film was a box office success, and she was extensively praised for her performance.
Filmindia referred to it as "an excellent debut". Following
Taqdeer, Nargis starred in the 1944 film
Anban. Nargis next starred in the 1945 period drama
Humayun, opposite the leading actor of those times,
Ashok Kumar and the mythological film
Ramayani. In 1946 she starred in
Nargis. These films were moderately successful. In 1948, she made her first collaboration with
Raj Kapoor, the drama
Aag, in which she portrays a homeless woman who becomes an actress. The film was not a major success and did average business at the box office. However this marked the first of more than a dozen films in which Raj Kapoor and Nargis appeared together. She also starred in highly successful tragedy
Mela, the editor of
Filmindia,
Baburao Patel praised her performance, but in her role of mother found her "unconvincing" and "synthetic", The reported box office gross for the film according to IBOS was ₹50
lakhs in 1948. The adjusted gross as of 2015 is roughly estimated at ₹340.44
crores. Her last film of the year was
Anokha Pyar, which was not a success.
1949–1954: Rise to prominence, success and setback In 1949, Nargis starred in
Mehboob Khan's critically acclaimed drama
Andaz. The film saw her playing Neena, whose husband Rajan (Raj Kapoor) suspects of her having an affair with her friend Dilip (Dilip Kumar). It had a slow start at the box office, but as soon as positive word-of-mouth spread, it emerged as a major commercial success and the highest-grossing film of all time. The film was first hit in Kapoor's career, and a breakthrough for Nargis and Kumar. Following this she starred in
Barsaat, directed by Kapoor starred Nargis as a village belle and Kapoor as a poet. The film was the debut of
Nimmi, who would later become a well-known actress. Its release was already hyped due to the huge success of
Andaz, and therefore it became another major box office success.
Barsaat was the highest-grossing film of 1949, as well as of all time, breaking the record of
Andaz. She followed this with roles in the 1950 films
Meena Bazaar, the romantic drama
Jogan, Jan Pahechan, the musical drama
Babul, and
Aadhi Raat. Both Jogan and Babul were box office hits and her performance in Babul was specially noticed. Following this she starred in the drama films
Hulchul and
Deedar (both 1951). Due to the success of
Andaz and
Barsaat, Raj Kapoor was impressed by Nargis' onscreen charm and presence. He therefore chose her to play a character in
Awaara (1951) (often written as
Awāra). Although it revolved around a father and his estranged son, Nargis played the pivotal role of a lawyer who knows the truth that Raj (played by Kapoor) and Raghunath (played by
Prithviraj Kapoor) are son-father. Unlike the roles played by other actresses of those times, Nargis portrayed an outspoken woman-lawyer who criticises the people who regard woman as a "thing made for household chores". She was also seen donning a
swimwear in a scene from
Awaara, a bold outfit for an Indian woman to wear in that era. The film was released on 14 December 1951, receiving universal acclaim for the performances of Prithviraj, Raj and Nargis. Not only in India, the film was a blockbuster overseas too, making Nargis and Raj well-known stars in countries such as Greece and the United States. Grossing 12.5 million in India, it became the highest-grossing film of all time, breaking the record of
Barsaat. In 1952, Nargis starred in the romance film
Bewafa, which was not a major success. Following this, she also starred in the psychological drama
Anhonee Nargis was highly appreciated for enacting a dual role and her performance garnered critical acclaim. Furthermore,
rediff commented "The ethereal actress is equally adept at bringing out the conflicting qualities of both -- the gregarious courtesan Mohini as well as her dignified half-sister and heiress, Roop". She then starred in the adventure film
Amber. Out of her releases of 1952, only Anhonee was a success. Following this was the 1953 film
Dhoon, which was not a major success. Her last film of the year was the romantic drama
Aah, which too was not major success, despite this it is often regarded as a
cult classic. Her only film of 1954 was
Angarey.
1955–1958: Resurgence and stardom Nargis revived her career with Raj Kapoor's social drama
Shree 420 (1955). In the film, Nargis portrays a school teacher who becomes Raj's (played by Kapoor) love interest. It was Nargis' last under Raj Kapoor's direction. Commenting on the performance,
rediff said that "The performances help the film's endorsement of ethical living and high thinking. Nargis' quiet demeanour in the film contrasted with Raj Kapoor's flamboyance". The film was a major blockbuster, emerging as the highest-grossing film in India at the time. She once again collaborated with Kapoor for the box office success
Chori Chori (1956), which revolves around a girl (Nargis) who runs away from her house in order to marry a gold digger pilot (
Pran), but ends up falling for a news reporter (Kapoor) whom she meets in a bus. Described by
ThePrint which praised the lead's chemistry. The film was also a major box office success emerging as one of the highest-grossing films of the year. In the same year, she did a special appearance in Kapoor's
Jagte Raho. The film was her last to co-star Raj Kapoor. In 1957, she appeared in Mehboob Khan's Oscar-nominated epic drama
Mother India, which won her the
Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
Baburao Patel of the film magazine,
Filmindia, in December 1957, described
Mother India as "the greatest picture produced in India" and wrote that no other actress would have been able to perform the role as well as Nargis.
Mother India is generally regarded as Nargis's best performance.
Box Office India gave the film's
net collection as ₹40 million and its gross as ₹80 million, the highest for an Indian film up until
Mughal-e-Azam (1960), while estimating that
Mother India's inflation-adjusted net would be equivalent to ₹1.173 billion in January 2008. Box Office India later estimated in 2017 that
Mother India had over 100 million footfalls at the domestic box office, making it one of the
highest-grossing Indian films of all time when adjusted for inflation. Nargis won the
Filmfare Best Actress Award in 1958 and became the first Indian to receive the Best Actress award at the
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in present-day
Czech Republic. Also in 1957, she acted in
Pardesi (marketed as
Journey Beyond Three Seas in English), which was an Indo-
Soviet co-production. She married
Sunil Dutt who played one of her son in
Mother India. After their marriage in 1958, Nargis gave up her film career to settle down with her family, after her last few films were released. From 1951 to 1957,
Box Office India ranked Nargis as the top actress.
1960–1968: Final film appearances She made her last film appearance in the psychological drama
Raat Aur Din (1967), after being convinced to act for one last time after a long hiatus. Nargis was also nominated to the
Rajya Sabha (upper house of
Indian Parliament) from 1980 to 1981, but due to cancer she fell ill and died during her tenure. ==Personal life==