There are very few actors in cinema who’ve proven to be true trailblazers, and carved her niche for themselves. One of them Nadira. Her unforgettable presence in “Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh” from Shri 420, paired with her fiery performance as the disapproving mother in Julie, made her an icon. Though playing the vamp wasn’t her dream role, Nadira took what came her way and transformed it into a lasting legacy. She brought complexity and credibility to a character type that was often dismissed, creating a blueprint for generations of actors who followed. For Nadira, who had seen financial struggle growing up in an immigrant household, the film was life-changing. In a candid interview years later, she recalled,“I started Aan with Rs 1200 a month in 1949, which increased to Rs 2500 in the second year and Rs. 3000 in the third year. When I got my first three-monthly instalment of Rs 3600, I didn’t know what to do with it! That day I asked Mehboobji if I could be dropped home in his car because I was afraid to carry so much money!” Although Nadira longed to be a leading lady in Hindi cinema, fate had different plans. When Raj Kapoor offered her a negative role in ‘Shri 420’, she didn’t hesitate. Like many young women of her time, Nadira had dreamt of working with Kapoor, and the chance to do so was too big to pass up. Fortunately, her character Maya was no ordinary vamp, it was a strong, memorable role that left a lasting impact. Yet, what seemed like a breakthrough turned into an unexpected trap. Nadira later described it as the turning point that derailed her ambitions. “I took up Shree 420 for a lark but it became my Waterloo. I took up the role as a challenge, to prove my versatility, and it ruined my career,” she admitted. Following Shri 420, Nadira actively sought out more positive roles, hoping to break away from the “vamp” image. Reports say she turned down nearly 200 scripts because filmmakers repeatedly offered her the same kind of part. But after months of waiting, she had to make peace with what was available. “After Shree 420, I starved for a year and a half because everybody wanted me to wear the same black fitting dress and hold the cigarette the same way,” she recalled. Meanwhile, do you know, she was the first Indian actor to own a luxury Rolls Royce. Nadira’s final appearance on the silver screen was in 2000 with ‘Josh’ with Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. After that, she quietly stepped away from the film industry. In her later years, Nadira lived with her family in Mumbai, though she never married. Eventually, when her family relocated abroad, she chose to stay behind. She spent the rest of her life in a Mumbai flat, living independently with only her house help for company.
