The union of the Bollywood actress
Sharmila Tagore
and the Nawab of Pataudi,
Mansoor Ali Khan
Pataudi, also known as Tiger Pataudi, was a perfect blend of glamour and royalty. On the finale episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 15,
Sharmila
opened up about her love story with
Tiger Pataudi
and shared how he played a prank on her to ask her out.
When
Amitabh Bachchan
asked Sharmila about how their love story started, the veteran actress said that she was a cricketer fan and not a cricket fan.
They met at a cricket party in Kolkata and then they exchanged phone numbers.
Sharmila recalled that she was going to Nainital for the shooting of Yash Chopra's Waqt when Tiger had hit a double century in Delhi. She called him to congratulate on his big success but since he wasn't home, she left him a message.
She then added, "After a few months, in Mumbai, there was a funny call that there are five air conditioners for you from London. And at that time, all the imported things were banned. I said someone is trying to get me into trouble, I’ll go to jail. I was very flustered.”
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The message also had a phone number attached with it and when she called that number, she realised that Tiger had done all that. He answered and he was laughing saying that it was a joke. And that's how it happened. Tiger then asked Sharmila, 'Can we go out for coffee?’ And she replied, ‘Yeah, we’ll go out for coffee.’ And then they never stopped.
Their love story began in the mid-1960s when Sharmila was already a prominent actress in the Indian film industry and
Mansoor
had already made a mark on the international cricket scene.
Their courtship faced its fair share of challenges, as societal expectations and norms often made it difficult for couples from diverse backgrounds to find acceptance. However, the strength of their love prevailed, and they tied the knot on December 27, 1969.