Evergreen beauty Saira Banu

Saira Banu (born August 23, 1944) is the daughter of Naseem Banu, a well-known actress of the 1930's and 1940's and the granddaughter of the famous playback singer of the yesteryears Shamshad Begum. She is also the wife of actor Dilip Kumar.

Saira Banu was born in India in 1944. She made her screen debut in the 1961 film Junglee, which marked the beginning of color in Hindi films. Though Saira had spent a significant part of her childhood in London, and went to a finishing school, she fit the role of a rustic.

Ever since her marriage, Saira looked for dramatically challenging roles. Her valiant attempts to establish a reputation as an actress after Gopi, Sagina and Bairaag (all with Dilip Kumar) and films like Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Chaitali met with limited success. In 1976, Saira chose to end her film career. Subsequently she has weathered a storm in her marriage, appeared in a cameo opposite her husband in Duniya (1984); and become a successful television producer.

In 1966, 22-year-old Saira married 44-year-old Dilip Kumar and despite apprehensions from the media, theirs has been one of the longest lasting marriages in Bollywood

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