Indian movie actress Sharmila Tagore is a very famous Bengali film actress who successfully intervene in Hindi film industry and got huge response from that as well. In April 2005 she was the head of Indian Film censor board. In December 2005 she was the ambassador of UNICEF Goodwill. The actress was born on 8 December in Kanpur. Sharmila Tagore is the daughter of Gitindranath Tagore, who was a distant relative of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

The great director Satyajit Ray introduced Sharmila Tagore in `Apur Sansar`, the final film of the Apu Trilogy. This was her debut film. In that film she played the young wife Aparna. She was just a fourteen-year-old, with no previous acting experience. But it was director`s work that has come out of her and the film became one of the masterpieces. She worked on another film of Ray, `Devi`. After working in many of the successful films in Bombay she returned to work in some of Ray films namely `Nayak`, `Aranyer Din Ratri` and `Seemabaddha`. Her smile and dimples took the hearts of millions right in her first Hindi film. Sharmila Tagore has been the embodiment of glamour in the Hindi film industry. With Shakti Samanta`s `Kashmir Ki Kali` in the year 1964, she acquired the status of a sex symbol in Bollywood. Her electrifying presence in swimsuit was really a courageous step for a coy Bengali girl. 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. Some of her other remarkable films include `Amanush`, `Anand Ashram` and `New Delhi Times`. Sharmila began her career in Bollywood with a romantic musical, `Kashmir Ki Kali` in the year of 1964. In that film she acted opposite to Shammi Kapoor. The famous director Shakti Samantha directed the film. In the year 1966 she took up the nominal role of `Anupama` in the Hrishikesh Mukherjee`s film.

In the year 1967 she went on to become one of the most hottest and glamorous actress of her times after she acted in a double role in `An Evening in Paris`. Millions of youth have become her fans after the song `Akele Akele Kahan Ja rahe ho`. That movie catapulted her as a trendsetter. All the women began copying her style of knotty blouses, style of hair and makeup especially those long eyelashes and the curvy dresses. In 1968, she got married to the Nawab of Pataudi, the former Indian Captain Mansoor Ali Khan much to the disappointment of her fans. She also converted to Islam and took on the name of Ayesha Sultana. She proved her detractors wrong who were sure that this marriage wont work if she were to continue acting in films. In fact her best performances were after she married and she did not keep away from the tinsel town for long. She was back with a bang in the smash hit `Aradhana` with Rajesh Khanna released in 1969. Again the film was directed by Shakthi Samantha. In this film she acted in a complete change of image as a total deglamorised mother. Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila were declared a hit pair and they went on to give many more super duper films like `Safar`, `Amar Prem`, `Daag` and the artistically acclaimed `Aavishkar`. `Amar Prem` is the film where Sharmila is seen as in the famous character of Pushpa, a mute courtesan with whom Rajesh khanna is in love with. There was much speculation about the rivalry between her and Raakhee while they were shooting the film Daag. They became complete rivals after many years in 2000 they worked in Rituparna Ghosh`s film `Shubha Muhurat`.

In `Aavishkar` she was with minimum makeup, no wigs and she very ably matched Rajesh Khanna as she alternated between bouts of anger and self-reproach as the wife struggling to save her marriage. In between these schedules she also gave birth to her first child Saif Ali Khan who is now a national award winner star in his own right. In the year 1975 Sharmila was in a new look as a whore in the film `Mausam`. This was a double role opposite to Sanjeev Kumar directed by Gulzar. This movie also garnered her the coveted National Award. Her other movies with Sanjeev Kumar include `Charitraheen`, `GrihaPravesh` and `Namkeen`. After the success of `Mausam` she moved to Delhi and had two daughters Soha and Saba. Sharmila has also been paired with other stars. One of such stars is Shashi Kapoor. Some of the important films with the star are `Aa Gale Lag Ja`, `Waqt`, `Aamne Saamne`, `Suhana Safar` with Dharmendra she has done `Devar`, `Chupke Chupke`, `Satyakaam` and `Anupama` and with Amitabh Bachchan she did `Faraar`, `Besharam` and `Desh Premee` but the pair did not create any such impact in the industry. Even after settling in Delhi she often comes to Bombay to do an occasional film like `New Delhi Times` and `Namkeen` which was directed by one of her favorite director Gulzar. In recent times she was seen in `Mann` in the year 1999, which was a sweet love story, by Inder Kumar and `Dhadkan` in 2000, but these were of course not eye catching role for the superstar like Sharmila Tagore. In the industry where all the heroine`s make a mark Sharmila Tagore with her royal background has left with a permanent mark with her cute dimples, her styles and most of all the glamour which she inherit from family background as well.

Indian movie actress Sharmila Tagore was a real award winner as she has been able to win the hearts of her audieence with her dimpled smile as well as her simplicity. She won many awards including filmfare best actress award in the year 1969 for `Aradhana`. In the year 1976 she won National film award for best actress in `Mausam`. She got filmfare lifetime achievement award in 1997. In 2003 she got star screen lifetime achievement award. In the year 2004 she again got national film award as best supporting actress for the film `Abar Aranye`.