When Sunil Dutt rescued Nargis from the blaze that broke out on the set of Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), little did he realise that the fire had somewhere consecrated their relationship. Sunil,a beginner then, soon married superstar Nargis in an Arya Samaj wedding on March 11, 1958.
Namrata’s childhood is dotted with playful memories. “Just our parents and the three of us – Sanjay, Priya and me in Europe.” Namrata remembers her mother Nargis as a fun-loving person. Nargis was too happy to give up stardom to revel in her role as a homemaker and even went on to learn cooking. She’d cook matka gosht (mutton in an earthern pot) on sigdi (coals) and seal it with flour. Our foreign guests would be fascinated when the matka was opened.