Nargis was one of the greatest Indian actresses of all time. Her performances were authentic and natural to a degree not seen then in Indian Cinema, which could still be quite loud and theatrical.
She was born in Allahabad in a Muslim family and her original name was Fatima Rashid. When she was just 5 years old, her mother introduced her as a child star, Baby Rani.

Her first adult lead role was in Mehboob Khan's Taqdeer (1943) opposite Motilal. She made her presence felt in the same filmmaker's Humayun (1945) as Hamida Bano but real stardom came her way with Andaaz (1949) and Barsaat (1949). Andaaz remains one of the best triangles in Hindi Cinema with Nargis turning in a fine performance as the modern woman caught between Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor.



Mother India is the ultimate tribute to Indian Womanhood! This epic saga of the sufferings of an Indian peasant woman has an inherent and perennial appeal, being typical of the Indian situation. The film is an opulent colour remake of Mehboob's earlier austere Black and White film Aurat (1940). In fact everything about the film is highly charged right down to the strong, earthy central performance by Nargis. The film represents the pinnacle of her career and won her the Best Actress award at the prestigious Karlovy Vary festival. Mother India was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film but it lost to Fellini's Nights of Caberia by a solitary vote!

It is a well-known story that while shooting for the film, Nargis was trapped amidst lit haystacks. As the flames got higher and higher, Sunil Dutt playing her rebellious son, Birju, in the film ran through the fire and rescued her. He proposed to her and Nargis married Sunil Dutt and quit films after marriage



Famous Movie of Nargis Dutt were Aag (1948), Mela (1948), Andaaz (1949), Barsaat (1949), Babul (1950) , Jogan (1950), Awaara (1951) , Deedaar (1951), Anhonee (1952), Aah (1953) ,Shree 420 (1955), Chori Chori(1956), Jagte Raho (1956), Mother India (1957), Pardesi (1957) Adalat (1958), Lajwanti (1958) and Raat Aur Din