New Delhi: Indian cinema's one of the noted female stars of yesteryear, Nimmi, breathed her last on Wednesday (March 25, 2020). She died after a prolonged illness and complained of breathlessness before being rushed to the hospital. Nimmi left for her heavenly abode at 6 pm in the evening at her Juhu home, revealed her family spokesperson.
Nimmi swooned into the hearts of millions with her maiden act in Raj Kapoor's 'Barsaat' in 1949. Nargis played the lead role in the movie but Nimmi's debut performance was widely appreciated. Soon, her glorious movie career witnessed an all-time high and she was hailed as the next big superstar in the Hindi movie industry.
Let's take a look at some of the lesser-known facts about veteran actress Nimmi:
- Nimmi's real name is Nawab Banoo. Her grandfather called her 'Nawab' and grandmother added 'Banoo'. In an interview some time back, the actress revealed how she got her screen name 'Nimmi'. She narrated the incident when on the sets of a movie, she met Raj Kapoor, who was also filming 'Barsaat' and was on a lookout for a second lead. She said, "after giving my first shot, I saw sweets being distributed on the sets and so I asked the assisted about the reason for the celebrations. He told me I have been selected for the role and have passed my screen test."
It was at that point, Raj Kapoor came and gave her the screen name Nimmi. In the same interview, she also revealed how before 'Barsaat', a film titled 'Aag' released and the name of the actress in that movie was Nimmi. Therefore, she was given that screen name and that's how Nawab Banoo became Nimmi.
- She was born in Agra to Abdul Hakim, a military contractor father and her mother Wahidan was a singer-actress.
- Her on-screen pairing with Dilip Kumar was much appreciated.
- Besides acting, Nimmi also was a great singer and lent her vocals for her movie 'Bedardi'.
- She married screenwriter-director S. Ali Raza. He died on November 1, 2007, at the age of 82 in Mumbai.
- Her super successful film 'Aan' was released internationally as 'Savage Princess' and she even attended the London premiere. She had once in an interview revealed that after 'Aan' she received many Hollywood offers but did not take them up as she was focussed on her Bollywood career.
Some of Nimmi's notable works include Barsaat, Aan, Uran Khatola, Mere Mehboob, Pooja Ke Phool, Sazaa, Akashdeep, Kundan, Bhai-Bhai, Love and God, Banwara, Aandhiyan, Daag, Deedar, Bedardi, Wafaa to name a few.
A void created by Nimmi's death can never be filled in the Hindi film history.
May her soul rest in peace!
