Ray introduced Sharmila Tagore in Apur Sansar, the final film of the Apu Trilogy. She played the young wife Aparna. She was just a fourteen-year-old then, with no previous acting experience. As the shooting began, Ray had to shout instructions to Sharmila during the takes. None of this, however, is reflected on the screen. Ray cast her in his next film Devi too.
She went on to become a very successful actress in Bombay’s Hindi films. She returned to work in later Ray films – Nayak, Aranyer Din Ratri and Seemabaddha.
Aradhana with Rajesh Khanna was one of the most successful films of 1970’s. In Gulzar’s Mausam, she played a memorable role of a prostitute. Her later notable films include Amanush, Anand Ashram and New Delhi Times.
She married the former cricketer Nawab Ali Saif Ali Khan Khan Pataudi, and has a son – who is one of the leading actors of Bombay cinema.
Awards Received By Sharmila Tagore
Civilian honors
- 2013 – Padma Bhushan
National Film Awards
- 1975 – National Film Award for Best Actress — Mausam
- 2003 – National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress — Abar Aranye
Filmfare Awards
- 1970 – Filmfare Award for Best Actress — Aradhana
- 1998 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
Anandalok Awards
- 2010 – Lifetime Achievement Award
Screen Awards
- 2002 – Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2014 – Sanskriti Kalashree Award, Lifetime Achievement
Films Done By Sharmila Tagore
- 1959 Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) Satyajit Ray Aparna Bengali
- 1960 Devi (The Goddess) Satyajit Ray Doyamoyee Bengali
- 1963 Shes Anko Haridas Bhattacharya Mala Bengali
- 1963 Nirjan Saikate Tapan Sinha Renu Bengali
- 1963 Barnali Ajoy Kar Aloka Choudhury Bengali
- 1963 Chhaya Shurjo Partha Pratim Chowdhury Ghentoo Bengali
- 1964 Kashmir Ki Kali Shakti Samanta Champa Hindi
- 1965 Waqt Yash Chopra Renu Khanna Hindi
- 1965 Dak Ghar Zul Vellani guest appearance Hindi
- 1966 Anupama Hrishikesh Mukherjee Uma Sharma Hindi
- 1966 Devar Mohan Sehgal Madhumati / Banwariya Hindi
- 1966 Sawan Ki Ghata Shakti Samanta Seema Hindi
- 1966 Nayak Satyajit Ray Aditi Bengali
- 1966 Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi Brij Kiran / Kiranmai Hindi
- 1967 Milan Ki Raat R.Bhattacharya Hindi
- 1967 An Evening in Paris Shakti Samanta Deepa Malik/Roopa Malik (Suzy) Hindi
- 1967 Aamne Saamne Suraj Prakash Sapna Mathur / Sapna G. Mittal Hindi
- 1968 Mere Hamdam Mere Dost Amar Kumar Anita Hindi
- 1968 Humsaya Joy Mukherjee Leena Sen Hindi
- 1969 Yakeen Brij Rita Hindi
- 1969 Satyakam Hrishikesh Mukherjee Ranjana Hindi
- 1969 Talash O. P. Ralhan Madhu / Gauri Hindi
- 1969 Aradhana Shakti Samanta Vandhana Tripathi Hindi
- 1970 Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest) Satyajit Ray Aparna Bengali
- 1970 Suhana Safar Vijay Sapna Hindi
- 1970 Mere Humsafar Dulal Guha Taruna/Meenakshi Hindi
- 1970 My Love S. Sukhdev Sangeeta Thakur Hindi
- 1970 Safar Asit Sen Neela Kapoor Hindi
- 1971 Seemabaddha Satyajit Ray Tutul Bengali
- 1971 Chhoti Bahu K.B. Tilak Radha Hindi
- 1972 Amar Prem Shakti Samanta Pushpa Hindi
- 1972 Dastaan B.R.Chopra Meena Hindi
- 1972 Yeh Gulistan Hamara Atma Ram Soo Reni Hindi
- 1973 Raja Rani Sachin Bhowmick Nirmala / Rani Hindi
- 1973 Daag Yash Chopra Sonia Kohli Hindi
- 1973 Aa Gale Lag Jaa Manmohan Desai Preeti Hindi
- 1974 Shaandaar Hindi
- 1974 Avishkaar Basu Bhattacharya Mansi Hindi
- 1975 Mausam Gulzar Chanda/Kajli Hindi
- 1975 Chupke Chupke Hrishikesh Mukherjee Sulekha Chaturvedi Hindi
- 1975 Faraar Shanker Mukherjee Mala/Asha Hindi
- 1975 Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka Devendra Goel Aruna Hindi
- 1975 Amanush Shakti Samanta Lekha Bengali
- 1976 Ek Se Badhkar Ek Brij Rekha Hindi
- 1977 Anand Ashram Shakti Samanta Asha Bengali
- 1978 Besharam Deven Verma Rinku/Monica Hindi
- 1979 Chuvanna Chirakukal Jayan Malayalam
- 1979 Dooriyaan Bhimsain Khurana Hindi
- 1981 Kalankini Kankabati Uttam Kumar Aparna/Kanka Bengali
- 1982 Namkeen Gulzar Nimki Hindi
- 1982 Desh Premee Manmohan Desai Bharti Hindi
- 1983 Protidan Prabhat Roy Gouri
- 1983 Gehri Chot – Urf: Durdesh Ambrish Sangal (India), Ehtesham (Bangladesh) Shobha Bengali
- 1984 Sunny Raj Khosla Sitara Hindi
- 1988 Anurodh Jayanta Bhattarcharya Jaya/Maya Bengali
- 1991 Mississippi Masala Mira Nair Kinnu English
- 1993 Aashiq Awara Umesh Mehra Mrs. Singh Hindi
- 1999 Mann Indra Kumar Dev’s grandmother Hindi
- 2000 Dhadkan Dharmesh Darshan Dev’s mother Hindi
- 2002 Abar Aranye Goutam Ghose Ashim’s wife – Aprana Bengali
- 2003 Shubho Mahurat Rituparno Ghosh Padmini Chowdhury Bengali
- 2005 Viruddh… Family Comes First Mahesh Manjrekar Sumitra Patwardhan Hindi
- 2006 Eklavya: The Royal Guard Vidhu Vinod Chopra Suhasinidevi Hindi
- 2007 Fool and Final Ahmed Khan Bhabi Hindi
- 2008 Tasveer 8*10 Nagesh Kukunoor Savithri Puri Hindi
- 2009 Antaheen Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury Pishima Bengali
- 2009 Morning Walk Arup Dutta Neelima Hindi
- 2009 Samaantar Amol Palekar Shama Vaze Marathi
- 2010 Break Ke Baad Danish Aslam Ayesha Khan