Nimmi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nimmi
Born	Nawab Bano (1933-02-18)18 February 1933 Agra, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, British India, (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
Died	25 March 2020(2020-03-25) (aged 87) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Years active	1949–1965
Notable work	Barsaat (1949) Deedar (1951) Daag (1952) Aan (1952) Amar (1954) Uran Khatola (1955) Kundan (1955) Basant Bahar (1956)
Spouse(s)	S. Ali Raza ​ ​ (m. 1965; his death 2007)​
Awards	Kalakar Award (Living Legend Award) in 2015

Nimmi (born Nawab Bano; 18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020) was a famous Indian actress. She became a big star in the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her roles in Hindi films during what many call the "golden era" of Indian cinema.

Nimmi was very popular for playing lively village girls. But she also acted in many different types of movies, like fantasy films and social dramas. Some of her best movies include Sazaa (1951), Aan (1952) which was India's first movie in Technicolor, and Uran Khatola (1955). The famous filmmaker Raj Kapoor was the one who changed her name from Nawab Bano to "Nimmi".

Early Life of Nimmi

Nawab Bano was born in Agra to a Muslim family. Her mother, Wahidan, was a singer and actress who knew many people in the film world. Nimmi's father, Abdul Hakim, worked as a military contractor. Her grandfather named her "Nawab," and her grandmother added "Bano."

When Nimmi was a young child, she often visited Bombay (now Mumbai). Her mother was good friends with Mehboob Khan and his family. They were very important people in the movie business.

Sadly, Nimmi's mother died when Nimmi was only eleven years old. Her father lived in Meerut and had another family, so he wasn't often in touch with Nimmi's mother. Nimmi then went to live with her grandmother in Abbottabad, near Rawalpindi.

In 1947, India was divided into two countries, and Abbottabad became part of Pakistan. So, Nimmi's grandmother moved to Mumbai. She lived with her other daughter, Jyoti, who was also a former actress. Jyoti was married to G. M. Durrani, a popular Indian singer and actor.

Nimmi's Film Career

In 1948, the famous filmmaker Mehboob Khan invited young Nimmi to watch him make his movie Andaz. Nimmi's mother had worked with him before. Nimmi was interested in movies, so this was a great chance to see how films were made. On the set of Andaz, Nimmi met Raj Kapoor, who was acting in the film.

At that time, Raj Kapoor was making his own movie, Barsaat (1949). He had already chosen the famous actress Nargis for the main female role. But he was looking for a young girl to play the second main role. Raj Kapoor noticed Nimmi's natural and shy way of being on the set of Andaz. He decided to cast the teenage Nimmi in Barsaat alongside actor Prem Nath.

Nimmi played an innocent shepherdess from the mountains who falls in love with a city man. Barsaat was released in 1949 and became a huge success. Even though famous stars like Nargis, Raj Kapoor, and Prem Nath were in the movie, Nimmi's role was very important and well-liked. She became an instant hit with audiences.

Becoming a Star

After Barsaat, Nimmi received many offers for new films. She worked hard to improve her acting skills. She developed a unique and expressive style of acting. Nimmi was a small actress with big, expressive eyes. Her intense performances quickly won her many loyal fans.

The 1950s

Nimmi worked with top actors like Raj Kapoor in Banwara and Dev Anand in Sazaa and Aandhiyan. She became a very popular acting duo with Dilip Kumar. They had great success with films like Deedar (1951) and Daag (1952).

Nimmi also acted with many other famous actresses. These included Madhubala in Amar, Suraiya in Shama, and Meena Kumari in Char Dil Char Rahen (1959). Nimmi was also a singer and sang her own songs in the film Bedardi (1951). However, she only recorded songs for this one movie.

Mehboob Khan then cast her in Aan (1952). This film was made with a very large budget. Nimmi played one of the main female roles. Nimmi was so popular that when an early version of the film was shown, people thought her character died too soon. So, an extra dream scene was added to give Nimmi more time on screen.

Aan was one of the first Indian movies to be released worldwide. It had a very fancy premiere in London, which Nimmi attended. The English version of the film was called Savage Princess. In London, Nimmi met many Western film stars, including Errol Flynn. When Flynn tried to kiss her hand, she pulled it away. She said, "I am an Indian girl, you cannot do that!" This event made headlines, and the newspapers called Nimmi the "... unkissed girl of India".

In a 2013 interview, Nimmi shared that she received four offers from Hollywood during the London premiere of Aan. One offer was from Cecil B. DeMille, who really liked the film and Nimmi's acting. But Nimmi turned down these offers. She chose to focus on her successful career in India.

After Aan became a big hit, Mehboob Khan asked her to be in his next film, Amar (1954). This film was not a big commercial success, but critics praised Nimmi's strong performance. It remained Mehboob Khan's favorite film among his own productions.

Nimmi also became a producer with the popular film Danka (1954). In Kundan (1955), Nimmi played a memorable double role as both a mother and her daughter. Her sensitive acting earned her more recognition as a talented actress. In Uran Khatola (1955), her last film with Dilip Kumar, she starred in one of her biggest box-office hits.

Nimmi had two more big successes in 1956 with Basant Bahar and Bhai-Bhai. In 1957, Nimmi received a critic's award for best actress for her role in Bhai Bhai. The songs in these films, sung by Lata Mangeshkar, were also very popular. By this time, Nimmi was one of the most successful and popular leading actresses in Hindi cinema.

In the late 1950s, Nimmi worked with famous directors like Chetan Anand (Anjali), K. A. Abbas (Char Dil Char Rahen), and Vijay Bhatt (Angulimala). During this time, Nimmi became very careful about choosing her films. She wanted to work on better quality projects and roles. However, she sometimes turned down films that later became big hits for other actresses, like B. R. Chopra's Sadhna (1958).

Love & God

Nimmi decided to retire early and get married. But first, she put all her effort into one last film. Director K. Asif had started his version of the Laila–Majnun love story, Love & God. He began it even before finishing his biggest film, Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Nimmi believed that Love & God would be a perfect final film for her career. She hoped it would make her famous forever, just as Mughal-e-Azam had done for its lead actress, Madhubala.

K. Asif had trouble finding the right male actor for Love & God. He finally chose Guru Dutt to act with Nimmi. But Guru Dutt died suddenly, which stopped the film's shooting. Sanjeev Kumar was chosen as his replacement. However, the film was completely stopped when director K. Asif also died.

Nimmi had been retired from films for over twenty years when K. Asif's wife, Akhtar Asif, released Love & God on June 6, 1986. The film was not complete. It had editing problems because some important scenes were never filmed before Asif died. But the parts Nimmi finished showed her great and emotional acting. She looked beautiful in the colorful Technicolor and the historical costumes.

Nimmi in recent years

In 2013, Nimmi gave a rare interview to Rajya Sabha TV. She talked about her entire Hindi film career. She shared stories from her childhood in Agra, her first break in Barsaat, and her experiences over the years.

Personal Life

Portrait of Nimmi in 1949

In her interview, Nimmi shared how she first saw a photo of her husband, Ali Raza. He was a scriptwriter for Mehboob studios. Her hairdresser showed her Raza's photo in a film magazine and asked why she didn't want to marry him. Nimmi liked the idea because she had heard good things about Ali Raza. Soon, her co-actor Mukri also suggested the same thing. They acted as matchmakers. After that, their parents met, and Nimmi and Ali Raza were married. Their marriage was arranged by their families, which was common in India.

The couple did not have their own children, which made them both sad. Later, they adopted Nimmi's sister's son. He now lives in Manchester. Nimmi's husband, Ali Raza, passed away in 2007.

Awards and Recognition

• Kalakar Award (Living Legend Award) in 2015.

Illness and Death

Nimmi passed away on March 25, 2020, at the age of 87. She had been ill for a long time. She was taken to Juhu hospital after having trouble breathing. Doctors confirmed her death that same evening. She had been in and out of the hospital during the year before she died.

After her death, Lata Mangeshkar remembered Nimmi as a kind and graceful lady.

Filmography